John Herbert Crawford, (22 March 1908 – 10 September 1991) was an Australian

tennis 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 cov ...

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. 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 Urangeline is a village community in the central part of the Riverina. It is situated by road, about 9 kilometres north from Urangeline East and 16 kilometres north east from Bidgeemia. Urangeline Post Office opened on 1 Januar ...

, near

Albury, New South Wales Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – t ...

, the second youngest child of Jack Sr. and Lottie Crawford. He had no tennis training as a child and practised mainly by hitting against the house and school and playing his older brother. Crawford played his first competition match at age 12 in a mixed doubles match at the Haberfield club. He won the Australian junior championships four consecutive times from 1926 to 1929 which entitled him to the permanent possession of the trophy.

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 John Donald Budge (June 13, 1915 – January 26, 2000) was an American tennis player. He is most famous as the first tennis player — male or female, and still the only American male — to win the Grand Slam, and to win all four Grand Slam e ...

accomplished the feat for the first time in 1938. In 1933, Crawford won the

Australian Championships The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. ...

French Championships The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...

, and

Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is pla ...

, leaving him needing to win the U.S. Championships to complete the Grand Slam. An

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, co ...

tic who suffered in the muggy summer heat of Forest Hills, Crawford was leading the Englishman

Fred Perry Frederick John Perry (18 May 1909 – 2 February 1995) was a British tennis and table tennis player and former world No. 1 from England who won 10 Majors including eight Grand Slam tournaments and two Pro Slams single titles, as well ...

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, Bernard Brown, Pierre Gillou, Didier Poulain,

John R. Tunis John Roberts Tunis (December 7, 1889 – February 4, 1975), "the 'inventor' of the modern sports story", was an American writer and broadcaster. Known for his juvenile sports novels, Tunis also wrote short stories and non-fiction, including ...

(''

The Literary Digest ''The Literary Digest'' was an influential American general interest weekly magazine published by Funk & Wagnalls. Founded by Isaac Kaufmann Funk in 1890, it eventually merged with two similar weekly magazines, ''Public Opinion'' and '' Current Op ...

''),

Harry Hopman Henry Christian Hopman CBE (12 August 1906 – 27 December 1985) was an Australian tennis player and coach. Early life Harry Hopman was born on 12 August 1906 in Glebe, Sydney as the third child of John Henry Hopman, a schoolteacher, and Jen ...

(''Melbourne Herald''), Alfred Chave ( ''Brisbane Telegraph''), "Set" (''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, '' The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuous ...

'') and Ellsworth Vines. 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 John Albert Kramer (August 1, 1921 – September 12, 2009) was an American tennis player of the 1940s and 1950s. He won three Grand Slam tournaments (the U.S. Championships in 1946 and 1947, Wimbledon in 1947). He led the U.S. Davis Cup tennis ...

, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, included Crawford in his list of the 21 greatest players of all time. Crawford was inducted into the

International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indo ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

in 1979 and into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame in 1997. He was made an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(OBE) in the

1977 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1977 are appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1977. The awards were announced on 30 December 1976 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: Australia,Australia: Ne ...

for his services to sport.

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 Henri Jean Cochet (; 14 December 1901 – 1 April 1987) was a French tennis player. He was a world No. 1 ranked player, and a member of the famous " Four Musketeers" from France who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Born i ...

. Crawford always wore long, white pressed flannels and a long-sleeved shirt. He played with an old-fashioned flat-topped racket produced by the

Alexander Patent Racket Company The Alexander Patent Racket Company was an Australian sports equipment manufacturer based in Launceston, Tasmania, which operated between 1925 and 1961. The company was established by Alfred Alexander Jr. and Stephen B. Hopwood, initially to man ...

Launceston, Tasmania Launceston () or () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, Launceston has a population of 87,645. Material was copie ...

Grand Slam tournament finals

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

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

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

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

Sources

Notes and references

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Jack 1908 births 1991 deaths Australian Championships (tennis) champions Australian Championships (tennis) junior champions Australian male tennis players French Championships (tennis) champions Sportspeople from Albury International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Tennis people from New South Wales Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' doubles World number 1 ranked male tennis players Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees 20th-century Australian people Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Sportsmen from New South Wales