Hamilton Farrar Richardson (August 24, 1933 – November 5, 2006)"Former tennis star Richardson dies at 73"
''ESPN'' November 8, 2006. was an American

tennis player Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cove ...

, who was active in the 1950s and 1960s.

Life

Richardson was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics at Tulane University, where he won two NCAA Singles Championships (in 1953 and 1954). He was named a charter member of the Tulane University Athletic Hall of Fame. He was named a Rhodes scholar and earned a master's degree at Oxford University during which he achieved the U.S. No. 1 ranking, both in 1956 and 1958 (Richardson was ranked in the U.S. Top 10 in nine other years). Lance Tingay of ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked Richardson the World No. 3 in 1956, No. 6 in 1958, No. 7 in 1955 and No. 10 in 1954. Richardson reached four Grand Slam singles semifinals. At the French championships in 1955, Richardson lost in the semifinals to

Tony Trabert Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leag ...

. In 1956, Richardson reached the Wimbledon semifinals (beating

Neale Fraser Neale Andrew Fraser (born 3 October 1933) is a former number one amateur male tennis-player from Australia, born in Melbourne, Victoria, the son of a Victorian judge. Fraser is the last man to have completed the triple crown, i.e. having won ...

, then lost to

Lew Hoad Lewis Alan Hoad (23 November 1934 – 3 July 1994) was an Australian tennis player whose career ran from 1950 to 1973. Hoad won four Major singles tournaments as an amateur (the Australian Championships, French Championships and two Wimbledon ...

). At the U.S. championships, Richardson reached the semifinals in 1952 (losing to

Gardnar Mulloy Gardnar Putnam "Gar" Mulloy (November 22, 1913 – November 14, 2016) was a U.S. No. 1 tennis player primarily known for playing in doubles matches with partner Billy Talbert. He was born in Washington, D.C. and turned 100 in November 2013. Du ...

) and 1954 (beating Hoad before losing to

Vic Seixas Elias Victor Seixas Jr. (; pronounced SAY-shus; born August 30, 1923)

). In 1958, he won a

U.S. National Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

doubles title in 1958 with Alex Olmedo and reached the mixed doubles final at the Australian National Championship with

Maureen Connolly Maureen Catherine Connolly-Brinker (née Connolly; September 17, 1934 – June 21, 1969), known as "Little Mo", was an American tennis player, the winner of nine major singles titles in the early 1950s. In 1953, she became the first woman to win ...

. At the Cincinnati Masters, Richardson reached two singles finals, losing in 1950 to

Glenn Bassett Glenn Noble Bassett (May 22, 1927 – August 18, 2020) was an American tennis player in the mid-20th century who later would be one of the most successful college tennis coaches of all time. Early Bassett was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. His ...

and in 1953 to Tony Trabert, and won two doubles titles, in 1950 with George Richards, and in 1953 with Trabert. He played on seven U.S. Davis Cup teams, including the winning Cup teams of 1954 and 1958. He was 20–2 in Davis Cup play. After retiring from tennis, he founded Richardson and Associates, a New York investment and venture capital firm.

Personal life

Richardson had three children from his first marriage, which ended in divorce. He was later married to author and editor Midge Turk Richardson from 1974 until his death from complications from diabetes in 2006.Goldstein, Richard (2006)
"Ham Richardson, 73, a Star in Tennis Despite Diabetes, Is Dead."
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', November 8, 2006.

Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Rankings

Richardson's Top Ten U.S. Rankings * 1951 – 9 * 1952 – 7 *1953 – 6 *1954 – 3 *1955 – 7 *1956 – 1 *1957 – N/A *1958 – 1 *1959 – N/A *1960 – N/A *1961 – N/A *1962 – 3 *1963 – 7 *1964 – 7 *1965 – 6

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Ham 1933 births 2006 deaths American male tennis players Deaths from diabetes French Championships junior (tennis) champions Sportspeople from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Tennis people from Louisiana Tulane Green Wave men's tennis players United States National champions (tennis) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' singles