Perry T. Jones (June 22, 1890 – September 16, 1970) was an amateur tennis official who was a major fundraiser for the

Los Angeles Tennis Club The Los Angeles Tennis Club (LATC) is a private tennis club opened in 1920 that was the host of the Pacific Southwest Championships from 1927 until 1974 and 1980 until 1983. It is located at 5851 Clinton Street, between Wilcox and Rossmore, one ...

and its tournaments. He took control of Southern California Tennis in 1930s and ran the Pacific Southwest Championships, the second most prestigious tournament after the U.S. Championships. He became one of most powerful officials in tennis because most of the good players were developed in Southern California.

Life

Jones was born on June 22, 1890.

Network

Jones set up his office at the

(LATC) with his secretary, Doris Cooke, and made the Club and the Southern California Tennis Association famous through his junior development patrons network. It reached from Santa Barbara to San Diego and came together at the LATC to produce a steady stream of world-class tennis players. Dubbed "the cradle of tennis", Jones mentored men players:

Ellsworth Vines Henry Ellsworth Vines Jr. (September 28, 1911 – March 17, 1994) was an American tennis champion of the 1930s, the World No. 1 player or the co-No. 1 in 1932, 1934, 1935, 1936 and 1937, able to win Pro Slam titles on three different surfaces. ...

, Bob Falkenburg,

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 ...

, Pancho Gonzales, Ted Schroeder,

Bobby Riggs Robert Larimore Riggs (February 25, 1918 – October 25, 1995) was an American tennis champion who was the World No. 1 amateur in 1939 and World No. 1 professional in 1946 and 1947. He played his first professional tennis match on December ...

, Mike Franks,

Stan Smith Stanley Roger Smith (born December 14, 1946) is an American former professional tennis player. Smith is best known to non-tennis players as the namesake of a popular brand of tennis shoes. A world No. 1 player and two-time major singles cha ...

, Rafael Osuna,

Dennis Ralston Richard Dennis Ralston (July 27, 1942 – December 6, 2020) was an American professional tennis player whose active career spanned the 1960s and 1970s. As a young player, he was coached by tennis pro Pancho Gonzales. He attended the University o ...

Arthur Ashe Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was an American professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam singles titles. He started to play tennis at six years old. He was the first black player selected to the Un ...

Charlie Pasarell Charles Manuel Pasarell Jr. (born February 12, 1944) is a Puerto Rican former tennis player, tennis administrator and founder of the current Indian Wells tournament. He has also commented for the Tennis Channel and with Arthur Ashe and Sheridan ...

, and women players: Pauline Betz,

Louise Brough Althea Louise Brough Clapp (née Brough; March 11, 1923 – February 3, 2014) was an American tennis player. In her career between 1939 and 1959, she won six Grand Slam singles titles as well as numerous doubles and mixed-doubles titles. At the ...

, Dodo Cheney, Maureen Connolly,

Billie Jean King Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former World number 1 ranked female tennis players, world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's double ...

and Karen Hantze.

Attitude

Jones believed in schooling, cleanliness, proper attire, and sportsmanship when helping players develop into champions.

USA Davis Cup team

He became

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organi ...

captain in 1958, recruited, mentored and named

Alex Olmedo Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple * Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple ...

to the team, that included Barry MacKay and

Ham Richardson Hamilton Farrar Richardson (August 24, 1933 – November 5, 2006)"Former tenni ...

, and won the Davis Cup from Australia, that year.

and Pancho Gonzales acted as advisors to Jones.

International Tennis Hall of Fame

Perry T. Jones was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1970. He established the Southern California Tennis Association (SCTA) Hall of Fame in 1968, and was known as "Mr. Tennis of the West Coast".

Death

Jones died on September 16, 1970.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Perry T. International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees 1890 births 1970 deaths