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Gene Scott (tennis)

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Gene Scott
Full nameEugene L. Scott
Country (sports) United States
Born(1937-12-28)December 28, 1937
New York, U.S.
DiedMarch 20, 2006(2006-03-20) (aged 68)
Rochester, Minnesota, U.S.
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Turned pro1968 (amateur tour from 1951)
Retired1975
PlaysRight-handed
Int. Tennis HoF2008 (member page)
Singles
Career record322-220
Career titles16
Highest rankingNo. 7 [1](1965, World's Top 20)[2]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open2R (1964)
French OpenQF (1964)
Wimbledon3R (1964, 1965)
US OpenSF (1967)
Doubles
Career record12–22
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open2R (1964)

Eugene Lytton Scott (December 28, 1937 – March 20, 2006) was an American tennis player, tournament director, author, and publisher. His active tennis career lasted from the 1950s to mid-1970s. Scott's highest U.S. ranking as an amateur was No. 4 in 1963, and he reached as high as World No. 7 in 1967.

Early years

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Scott was the grandson of Dr. Eugene C. Sullivan, one of the inventors of Pyrex and chair and president of Corning Glass Works.[3] He graduated with a BA in history from Yale University in 1960, where he was a member of Skull and Bones[4] and lettered in tennis, ice hockey, soccer, and lacrosse.[3] He earned a law degree from the University of Virginia in 1964.[3]

Tennis career

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Scott's highest U.S. ranking as an amateur was No. 4 in 1963, and he reached as high as World No. 7 in 1967.[1][2] At the time, he was a member of the United States Davis Cup team, and was both teammate and roommate of Arthur Ashe. They remained friends, and with Charlie Pasarell and Sheridan Snyder, founded the National Junior Tennis League in 1969. He founded the magazine Tennis Week in May 1974.[5]

In 1963, he won the singles title at the Eastern Grass Court Championships in South Orange after a straight-sets victory in the final against compatriot Marty Riessen.[6]

Scott made it to the quarterfinals of the French Championships in 1964, defeating Antonio Palafox and Marty Mulligan in a close five sets, but losing the quarterfinal to eventual finalist Pierre Darmon. Scott won the Southampton Invitation (Long Island) at the Meadow Club, defeating Michael Sangster, Dennis Ralston, and Charlie Pasarell in long close matches.

In 1967 Scott won the Eastern Indoor Championships at Waldwick, N.J. defeating Frank Froehling in the final in three straight sets. That same season he won the Long Island Championships at Great Neck, N.Y. defeating Dick Stockton and Peter Fishbach. At the 1967 U.S. National Championships Scott defeated Tom Gorman, Ron Holmberg in a close five sets, and Owen Davidson in the quarterfinal. In the semifinal he lost to the eventual champion John Newcombe.

Later, Scott remained among the best players in the world in his age group. He won the USTA Men's 65 Clay Court Championships held at New Orleans Lawn Tennis Club in 2002. He won the USTA Men's 65 Grass Court Championships in September 2004 and the International Tennis Federation's Men's Super-Seniors World Individual Championships in the 65 division a week later. Scott also played real tennis at New York City's Racquet and Tennis Club.

Scott grew up in St. James, New York and played varsity hockey, track, soccer, and tennis at St. Mark's School in Southborough, Massachusetts.[5]

Scott competed in the Davis Cup in 1963 and 1965, and his 1963 singles and doubles victories helped the United States win the Cup that year.

Although Scott remained active as a court tennis player, which he played at The Racquet Club on Park Avenue, he became one of the major figures in American tennis through his publication Tennis Week, which he founded, published, and edited. His editorials—perceptive, authoritative and sometimes whimsical—were considered a must read for all the game's insiders as well as a tennis public who became educated about the game as a result of reading them.[5]

He was a mentor on and off court to Vitas Gerulaitis. Scott ran tournaments in New York and New Jersey for many years before taking over as tournament director of the ATP Masters at Madison Square Garden.[5] In 1990, he was asked to start up the Kremlin Cup, an ATP event in Moscow, with a remit to produce with $1 million in sponsorship in nine months. With some assistance from the Kremlin, when Boris Yeltsin became president of Russia, Scott came up with Bayer as his first title sponsor and the tournament, played inside the vast Olympic Arena, immediately drew some of the largest crowds on the ATP tour.

Death and legacy

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Scott died of amyloidosis at the age of 68[3] and was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF) in 2008 in the "contributor" category.[7] Since 2006, the ITHF annually presents the Eugene L. Scott Award to an individual who "embodies Scott's commitment to communicating honestly and critically about the game, and who has had a significant impact on the tennis world."[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b The Baltimore Sun, 12 September 1967
  2. ^ a b "Gene Scott: A pioneer and promoter who shaped open tennis", Addvantage USPTA, May 2006.
  3. ^ a b c d Litsky, Frank (March 23, 2006). "Gene Scott, 68, Publisher of Tennis Week, Is Dead". NY Times. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  4. ^ "Miss MacLeod Wed to Eugene Scott: '62 Debutante Bride of Lawyer, a Yale Alumnus, on L.I.". New York Times. July 17, 1966. p. 62.
  5. ^ a b c d e Richard Pagliaro (December 28, 2017). "Remembering an Icon: Hall of Famer Gene Scott". Tennis Now.
  6. ^ Lincoln A. Werden (August 1, 1964). "Graebner Upsets Riessen and Froehling Beats Pasarell in Eastern Tennis". The New York Times.
  7. ^ International Tennis Hall of Fame Archived July 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
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