Jack Crawford (tennis)

Jack Crawford
OBE
Full name	John Herbert Crawford
Country (sports)	Australia
Born	22 March 1908; Urangeline, New South Wales, Australia
Died	10 September 1991 (aged 83); Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Turned pro	1926 (amateur tour)
Retired	1951
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF	1979 (member page)
Singles
Career record	681-182 (78.9%)
Career titles	66
Highest ranking	No. 1 (1933, A. Wallis Myers)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	W (1931, 1932, 1933, 1935)
French Open	W (1933)
Wimbledon	W (1933)
US Open	F (1933)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	W (1929, 1930, 1932, 1935)
French Open	W (1935)
Wimbledon	W (1935)
US Open	F (1939)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	W (1931, 1932, 1933)
French Open	W (1933)
Wimbledon	W (1935)

John Herbert Crawford, OBE (22 March 1908 – 10 September 1991) was an Australian tennis player during the 1930s. He was the World No. 1 amateur for 1933, during which year he won the Australian Open, the French Open, and Wimbledon, and was runner-up at the U.S. Open in five sets, thus missing the Grand Slam by one set that year.^[2] He also won the Australian Open in 1931, 1932, and 1935. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1979.

Early life

Crawford was born on 22 March 1908 in Urangeline, near Albury, New South Wales, the second youngest child of Jack Sr. and Lottie Crawford.^[3] He had no tennis training as a child and practised mainly by hitting against the house and school and playing his older brother.^[3] Crawford played his first competition match at age 12 in a mixed doubles match at the Haberfield club.^[4] He won the Australian junior championships four consecutive times from 1926 to 1929 which entitled him to the permanent possession of the trophy.^[5]

Career

Although he won a number of major championship titles he is perhaps best known for something he did not do – complete the tennis Grand Slam in 1933, five years before Don Budge accomplished the feat for the first time in 1938.

In 1933, Crawford won the Australian Championships, French Championships, and Wimbledon Championships, leaving him needing to win the U.S. Championships to complete the Grand Slam.^[6] An asthmatic who suffered in the muggy summer heat of Forest Hills, Crawford was leading the Englishman Fred Perry in the final of the US Championships by two sets to one when his strength began to fade. It was said that Crawford was an asthmatic who frequently took brandy mixed with sugar to help his breathing during matches, and on the muggy afternoon in Forest Hills he was said to have downed two or three doses of the concoction, though there are differing accounts of what Crawford actually drank. Crawford ended up losing the match by the final score of 3–6, 13–11, 6–4, 0–6, 1–6.

Crawford was ranked World No. 1 amateur in 1933 by A. Wallis Myers,^[7] Bernard Brown,^[8] Pierre Gillou,^[9] Didier Poulain,^[10] John R. Tunis^[11]^[12] (The Literary Digest), Harry Hopman^[13] (Melbourne Herald), Alfred Chave (Brisbane Telegraph),^[14] "Set" (The West Australian)^[15] and Ellsworth Vines.^[16]

Crawford exacted some measure of revenge against Perry at the 1935 Australian, winning the final against Perry in four sets. Historically, he was competing in his tenth straight major final, a record matched only by Big Bill Tilden and then joined by Roger Federer. He advanced to his last Australian finals in 1936 and 1940, felled each time by fellow Aussie Adrian Quist, but he had set a record by making seven Australian finals appearances, equaled only by Roy Emerson in 1967.

In his 1979 autobiography Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, included Crawford in his list of the 21 greatest players of all time.^[17]

Crawford was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island in 1979 and into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame in 1997. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1977 New Year Honours for his services to sport.^[18]

Playing style

Crawford was a right-handed baseline player with a game that was based more on technical skills and accuracy than on power. He was not particularly fast but had excellent anticipation and his game was described as fluent and effortless. His style was compared with Henri Cochet. Crawford always wore long, white pressed flannels and a long-sleeved shirt.^[19] He played with an old-fashioned flat-topped racket produced by the Alexander Patent Racket Company in Launceston, Tasmania.^[20]

Grand Slam tournament finals

Singles: 12 (6 titles, 6 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1931	Australian Championships	Grass	Harry Hopman	6–4, 6–2, 2–6, 6–1
Win	1932	Australian Championships	Grass	Harry Hopman	4–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 6–1
Win	1933	Australian Championships	Grass	Keith Gledhill	2–6, 7–5, 6–3, 6–2
Win	1933	French Championships	Clay	Henri Cochet	8–6, 6–1, 6–3
Win	1933	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Ellsworth Vines	4–6, 11–9, 6–2, 2–6, 6–4
Loss	1933	U.S. Championships	Grass	Fred Perry	3–6, 13–11, 6–4, 0–6, 1–6
Loss	1934	Australian Championships	Grass	Fred Perry	3–6, 5–7, 1–6
Loss	1934	French Championships	Clay	Gottfried von Cramm	4–6, 9–7, 6–3, 5–7, 3–6
Loss	1934	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Fred Perry	3–6, 0–6, 5–7
Win	1935	Australian Championships	Grass	Fred Perry	2–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4
Loss	1936	Australian Championships	Grass	Adrian Quist	2–6, 3–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–9
Loss	1940	Australian Championships	Grass	Adrian Quist	3–6, 1–6, 2–6

Doubles: 12 (6 titles, 6 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1929	Australian Championships	Grass	Harry Hopman	Jack Cummings Edgar Moon	6–1, 6–8, 4–6, 6–1, 6–3
Win	1930	Australian Championships	Grass	Harry Hopman	Tim Fitchett John Hawkes	8–6, 6–1, 2–6, 6–3
Loss	1931	Australian Championships	Grass	Harry Hopman	James Anderson Norman Brookes	2–6, 4–6, 3–6
Win	1932	Australian Championships	Grass	Edgar Moon	Harry Hopman Gerald Patterson	12–10, 6–3, 4–6, 6–4
Loss	1933	Australian Championships	Grass	Edgar Moon	Keith Gledhill Ellsworth Vines	4–6, 8–10, 2–6
Loss	1934	French Championships	Grass	Vivian McGrath	Jean Borotra Jacques Brugnon	9–11, 3–6, 6–2, 6–4, 7–9
Win	1935	Australian Championships	Grass	Vivian McGrath	Patrick Hughes Fred Perry	6–4, 8–6, 6–2
Win	1935	French Championships	Clay	Adrian Quist	Donald Turnbull Vivian McGrath	6–1, 6–4, 6–2
Win	1935	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Adrian Quist	Wilmer Allison John Van Ryn	6–3, 5–7, 6–2, 5–7, 7–5
Loss	1936	Australian Championships	Grass	Vivian McGrath	Adrian Quist Donald Turnbull	8–6, 2–6, 1–6, 6–3, 2–6
Loss	1939	U.S. Championships	Grass	Harry Hopman	Adrian Quist John Bromwich	6–8, 1–6, 4–6
Loss	1940	Australian Championships	Grass	Vivian McGrath	John Bromwich Adrian Quist	3–5, 5–7, 1–6

Mixed doubles: 8 (5 titles, 3 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1928	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Daphne Akhurst	Elizabeth Ryan Patrick Spence	5–7, 4–6
Loss	1929	Australian Championships	Grass	Marjorie Cox Crawford	Daphne Akhurst Edgar Moon	6–0, 7–5
Loss	1930	Australian Championships	Grass	Marjorie Cox Crawford	Nell Hall Hopman Harry Hopman	9–11, 6–3, 3–6
Win	1930	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Elizabeth Ryan	Hilde Sperling Daniel Prenn	6–1, 6–3
Win	1931	Australian Championships	Grass	Marjorie Cox Crawford	Emily Hood Westacott Aubrey Willard	7–5, 6–4
Win	1932	Australian Championships	Grass	Marjorie Cox Crawford	Nell Hall Hopman Jiro Sato	6–8, 8–6, 6–3
Win	1933	Australian Championships	Grass	Marjorie Cox Crawford	Marjorie Gladman Ellsworth Vines	3–6, 7–5, 13–11
Win	1933	French Championships	Clay	Margaret Scriven	Betty Nuthall Fred Perry	6–2, 6–3

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Key
W	F	SF	QF	#R	RR	Q#	DNQ	A	NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Tournament	1926	1927	1928	1929	1930	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949	1950	1951	SR	W–L	Win %
Australia	1R	QF	SF	QF	SF	W	W	W	F	W	F	SF	3R	SF	F	NH	NH	NH	NH	NH	3R	1R	3R	3R	2R	1R	4 / 21	52–17	75.4
France	A	A	QF	A	2R	A	A	W	F	SF	A	A	A	A	NH	NH	NH	NH	NH	NH	A	3R	A	A	A	A	1 / 6	20–5	80.0
Wimbledon	A	A	4R	A	3R	A	SF	W	F	SF	QF	QF	A	A	NH	NH	NH	NH	NH	NH	A	1R	A	A	A	A	1 / 9	36–8	81.8
United States	A	A	QF	A	A	A	A	F	A	A	A	A	A	3R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	3R	A	A	A	A	0 / 4	10–4	71.4
Win–loss	0–1	2–1	12–4	2–1	6–3	5–0	10–1	23–1	15–3	14–2	8–2	7–2	1–1	5–2	4–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–1	1–4	1–1	1–1	0–1	0–1	6 / 40	118–34	77.6

Sources

Kendall, Allan (1995). Australia's Wimbledon Champions. Sydney, NSW: ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corp. ISBN 9780733304101.

Notes and references

^ ^a ^b "Jack Crawford: Career match record". thetennisbase.com. Tennismem SL.
^ ^a ^b "Mr Wallis Myers' Ranking", The Sydney Morning Herald, 22 September 1933.
^ ^a ^b Kendall (1995), p. 57
^ Kendall (1995), p. 60
^ Bradshaw, Finn, ed. (2004). Our Open : 100 Years of Australia's Grand Slam. Melbourne: News Custom Publishing. p. 25. ISBN 9781876176600.
^ "Jack Crawford :". Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 – 1938). NSW. 12 July 1933. pp. 14–16 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Crawford Ranks First". The Daily Telegraph. Vol. 3, no. 199. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. 5 October 1933. p. 3. Retrieved 22 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^ Brown, Bernard (13 September 1933). "ANZAC Net Star Has Best Record for '33 Season". Brooklyn Times-Union. p. 10.
^ "Comment M. Pierre Gillou – président de la Fédération Française de Tennis – classe les dix meilleurs joueurs du monde" [How Mr. Pierre Gillou – president of the French Tennis Federation – ranks the ten best players of the world]. L'Auto (in French). 15 September 1937. p. 1.
^ "Quels sont les dix meilleurs joueurs du monde ?" [Who are the ten best players in the world?]. L'Auto (in French). 14 September 1933. p. 1.
^ "Le classement des dix meilleurs joueurs du monde" [The ranking of the world's ten best players]. L'Auto (in French). 4 November 1933. p. 4.
^ "PLAYING THE GAME". Daily Examiner. Vol. 25, no. 7882. New South Wales, Australia. 25 October 1933. p. 6. Retrieved 28 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "CRAWFORD SUPREME". The Herald (Melbourne). No. 17, 583. Victoria, Australia. 21 September 1933. p. 2. Retrieved 28 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^ ""The Telegraph" Names World's First Ten". Telegraph (Brisbane). Queensland, Australia. 29 September 1933. p. 20 (LATE CITY). Retrieved 29 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "TENNIS LEADERS". The West Australian. Vol. XLIX, no. 9, 746. Western Australia. 23 September 1933. p. 13. Retrieved 4 December 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Vines steps out to name ten best tennis players in world". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 5 November 1933. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Writing in 1979, Kramer considered the best ever to have been either Don Budge (for consistent play) or Ellsworth Vines (at the height of his game). The next four best were, chronologically, Bill Tilden, Fred Perry, Bobby Riggs, and Pancho Gonzales. After these six came the "second echelon" of Rod Laver, Lew Hoad, Ken Rosewall, Gottfried von Cramm, Ted Schroeder, Jack Crawford, Pancho Segura, Frank Sedgman, Tony Trabert, John Newcombe, Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Björn Borg, and Jimmy Connors. He felt unable to rank Henri Cochet and René Lacoste accurately but felt they were among the very best.
^ "Jack Crawford". The Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
^ "International Tennis Hall of Fame". tennisfame.com. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
^ Green, Christopher (2011). What a racket! : the illustrated story of the Alexander Patent Racket Co. Ltd., Launceston, Tasmania, Australia 1925-1961. Launceston, Tas.: Bokprint Pty. Ltd. ISBN 978-0-9871085-0-0. OCLC 733310743.