Beals Coleman Wright (December 19, 1879 – August 23, 1961) was an American

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

player who was active at the end of the 1890s and early 1900s. He won the singles title at the 1905 U.S. National Championships. Wright was a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and the older brother of American tennis player Irving Wright.

Biography

Beals was born in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, on December 19, 1879, to George Wright, the shortstop for the Cincinnati Red Stockings and founder of the sporting goods store Wright & Ditson. Beals was the brother of Irving Wright, the 1917 and 1918 U.S. Championship mixed doubles champion. Together they won the men's doubles title at the Canadian Tennis Championship four times (1902, 1903, 1904, 1905). Beals was the nephew of baseball pioneer Harry Wright. In 1899 Beals Wright traveled with his father to California where he played at the Delmonte Tennis Championship in Monterey. George Wright managed the team the same year he coached at Harvard. Two Harvard University players participated in the DelMonte Tournament-the first time east coast players took on California tennis champions. Wright played at the 1904 St. Louis Olympics and won gold medals in both the singles and doubles competition. He also won three consecutive singles titles (1904–1906) at the Tri-State Tennis Tournament (now Cincinnati Open), and reached the doubles final (with Edgar Leonard) in 1904. Wright won the Canadian International Championships, played in Niagara-on-the-Lake, in 1902, 1903 and 1904. In 1902 he won the Niagara International Tennis Tournament, also played in Niagara-on-the-Lake, by defeating Harold Hackett in the final in five sets and the default of Raymond Little in the challenge round. Wright's most important victory came in 1905 when he won the men's singles title at the U.S. National Championships by defeating reigning champion Holcombe Ward in the Challenge Round in straight sets 6–2, 6–1, 11–9. In 1915 he was hit by an errant baseball during a baseball game. In 1921 he was arrested following a car accident. Beals Wright was inducted in 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, 13 grass tennis courts, an ...

in 1956. He died in

Alton, Illinois Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend (Illinois), Riv ...

, on August 23, 1961.

Playing style

In their book ''R.F. and H.L. Doherty - On Lawn Tennis (1903)'' multiple Wimbledon champions Reginald and Lawrence Doherty described Wright's playing style: ''On Lawn Tennis'' - 1903

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 4 (1 title, 3 runners-up)

Doubles: 7 (3 titles, 4 runners-up)

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Beals 1879 births 1961 deaths American male tennis players Olympic gold medalists for the United States in tennis Tennis players from Boston International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Tennis players at the 1904 Summer Olympics United States National champions (tennis) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Medalists at the 1904 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Alton, Illinois 20th-century American sportsmen