Earl Henry "Butch" Buchholz, Jr. (born September 16, 1940) is a former professional

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 from the United States who was one of the game's top players in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Tennis career

Juniors

Buchholz was an outstanding junior, winning all three of the Boys' Singles slam titles in a row during 1958–1959: * French Open: (

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

) * Wimbledon: (

) * Australian Open: (

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

) Buchholz also won the U.S. National Boys’ 18 title in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1958. On February 10, 1959, he appeared as a mystery contestant on the television quiz show ''

To Tell the Truth ''To Tell the Truth'' is an American television panel show. Four celebrity panelists are presented with three contestants (the "team of challengers", each an individual or pair) and must identify which is the "central character" whose unusual ...

'', where he was described as holding the “grand slam” of junior tennis titles in France, England, Australia and the United States.

Amateur/Pro Tour

Buchholz was ranked by

Lance Tingay Lance Tingay (15 July 1915 – 10 March 1990) was a British sports journalist, historian, and author of several tennis books. For many years his annual ranking of top tennis players was "the only one that counted" before ATP rankings were introduc ...

the world No. 5 amateur player in 1960 and ranked four times in the U.S. top 10. He played for the United States in the Davis Cup in 1959 and 1960. In the 1960 Wimbledon quarterfinal, Buchholz led Neale Fraser 2 sets to 1, and had match points in the fourth set, but Buchholz had started cramping and had to retire from the match when Fraser made it 15–15 in the fourth set. Fraser went on to win the 1960 Wimbledon title. Buchholz reached the semifinals of the U.S. Championships in 1960, losing to

Rod Laver Rodney George Laver (born 9 August 1938) is an Australian former professional tennis player. Laver was ranked as the World number 1 ranked male tennis players, world number 1 professional player indisputably for five years from 1965 to 1969, ...

in five sets. Buchholz turned professional in 1961. He won the United States Pro Championship in 1962, beating

Pancho Segura Francisco Olegario Segura Cano (June 20, 1921 – November 18, 2017), better known as Pancho "Segoo" Segura, was a leading tennis player of the 1940s and 1950s, both as an amateur and as a professional. He was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, ...

in the finals. Buchholz was an original member of

Lamar Hunt Lamar Hunt Sr. (August 2, 1932 – December 13, 2006) was an American businessman most notable for his promotion of football, soccer, and tennis in the United States. With his brothers, he also attempted to corner the silver market. He was t ...

's Handsome Eight, a group of players signed by in 1968 for the newly formed professional

World Championship Tennis World Championship Tennis (WCT) was one of the principal organizing bodies of men's professional tennis headquartered at the WCT Lakeway World of Tennis facility, Austin, Texas, United States from 1968 to 1989. It administered the WCT Circuit a w ...

Retirement

Since retiring as a player, Buchholz has served tennis in many professional and administrative capacities. He has been the Commissioner of

World Team Tennis World TeamTennis (WTT) was a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973. The league's season normally took place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA would ...

from 1977 to 1978, an executive director of the

Association of Tennis Professionals The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is the governing body of the men's professional tennis circuits – the ATP Tour and the ATP Challenger Tour. It was formed in September 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to p ...

from 1981 to 1982, and member of the men's pro council from 1981 to 1983. In 1985, Buchholz founded the Lipton International Players Championships (now known as the Miami Open), which is a leading event on both the men's and women's tours. One of the courts there is named after Buchholz. Buchholz helped create Altenis, a management company which oversees tennis tournaments in Latin America. He also helped secure the continuation of the Orange Bowl International Tennis Tournament, a prominent international junior event in Florida. In 1992, Buchholz teamed with

Arthur Ashe Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was an American professional tennis player. He won three Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, Grand Slam titles in singles and two in doubles. Ashe was the first Black player selected ...

to found the Good Life Mentoring Program, benefiting hundreds of elementary and middle school children in the greater Miami area. In 2005, Buchholz 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, 13 grass tennis courts, an ...

in Newport, Rhode Island.

Singles performance timeline

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Buchholz, Butch American male tennis players Australian Championships (tennis) junior champions French Championships junior (tennis) champions International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Tennis players from St. Louis Wimbledon junior champions 1940 births Living people People from Westport, Connecticut Sportspeople from Fairfield County, Connecticut Professional tennis players before the Open Era Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' doubles 20th-century American sportsmen