George Clifford Richey Jr. (born December 31, 1946) is an American former amateur and 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 who was active during the 1960s and 1970s. Richey achieved a highest singles ranking of World No. 6 and reached at least the quarterfinal stage of the singles event at all four Grand Slam tournaments.

Career

Richey was the American junior national tennis champion in 1962 (16 years) and 1963 (18 years) and in 1964 he won the boys' singles title at the

French Championships The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam tennis events eve ...

. He won his first senior singles in October 1962 at the Permian Basin Invitation in

Midland, Texas Midland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Midland County with small portions extending into Martin County. The population was 132,524 as of the 2020 census. Located in the Permian Basin in West Texas, Midland is a ...

against Butch Newman. Richey was a member of the American team which won the

1969 Davis Cup The 1969 Davis Cup was the 58th edition of the Davis Cup, the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 32 teams entered the Europe Zone, 9 teams entered the Americas Zone, and 8 teams entered the Eastern Zone. Brazil def ...

against Romania but did not actively participate. He was an active member of the team that won the 1970 Davis Cup, winning both his singles matches in the final against West Germany, and was voted the most valuable player. In September 1971, Richey quit the Davis Cup team before the final against Romania citing his disagreement with the USLTA over the choice of surface and the lack of consultation with players. In total, Richey played in seven Davis Cup ties between 1966 and 1970 and compiled a record of ten wins and three losses. Richey was the winner of the first

Grand Prix tennis circuit The ITF Grand Prix Circuit was a professional tennis tour for male players founded in 1970 as the ILTF Grand Prix Tennis Circuit it was administered by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and ran annually until 1989 when it and the rival ...

, organized in 1970, finishing ahead of

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 ...

and

Ken Rosewall Kenneth Robert Rosewall (born 2 November 1934) is an Australian former World number one male tennis player rankings, world No. 1 professional tennis player. Rosewall won 147 singles titles, including 23 majors: a record 15 Major professional te ...

. His career-high singles ranking was World No. 6, achieved in 1970, and No. 1 in the U.S for that same year. The No. 1 ranking was decided by the outcome of the semifinal match at the Pacific Coast Championships against his direct competitor,

Stan Smith Stanley Roger Smith (born December 14, 1946) is an American former professional tennis player. A world No. 1 player and two-time major singles champion (at the 1971 US Open and 1972 Wimbledon Championships), Smith also paired with Bob Lutz t ...

, and ultimately came down to just a single point when both players had a match-point at 4–4 in the sudden death tiebreak of the final set. Richey reached the semifinal of a Grand Slam tournament on three occasions. His first semifinal appearance was at the 1970 French Open where he lost to Yugoslav

Željko Franulović Željko Franulović (; born 13 June 1947) is a Croats, Croatian former tennis player who competed for SFR Yugoslavia and has since had a long career in tennis management. He has been the Monte-Carlo Masters tournament director since 2005. Whils ...

in a five-set match after leading two-sets-to-one and 5–1 in the fourth set and having failed to convert two match points. At the 1970 US Open later that year Richey again reached the semifinal which he lost in straight sets to Australian

Tony Roche Anthony Dalton Roche Order of Australia, AO Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 17 May 1945) is an Australian former professional tennis player. A native of Tarcutta, Roche played junior tennis in the New South Wales regional city of Wagga ...

. His last Grand Slam semifinal appearance came two years later at the 1972 US Open where he defeated

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 the fourth round but was beaten in the semis in straight sets by compatriot

. His best singles result at the

Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly called Wimbledon, is a tennis tournament organised by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in collaboration with the Lawn Tennis Association annually in Wimbledon, London. It is chronologically the ...

was reaching the quarterfinal in 1971 in which he lost to

in a close four-hour five-set match. During the first years of the

Open Era The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Edgbaston, Warwickshire, England, now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today a ...

, which started in 1968, Richey chose to be an independent professional but in April 1972 he became a contract professional when he signed a four-year contract with

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 ...

to join the

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 ...

tour. He is the brother of Nancy Richey, a Hall of Fame tennis player who won two Grand Slam singles tournaments. They were the first brother-sister combination to both be concurrently ranked in the US Top Ten. They were ranked in the Top Three concurrently in 1965, 1967, 1969 and 1970. He won his final singles title at the Johannesburg Open in 1978 against

Colin Dowdeswell Colin Dowdeswell (born 12 May 1955) is a former professional tennis player who represented, at different times, Rhodesia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, and who achieved rank as UK No. 1. During his time on the world tour, he won one sing ...

Career finals

Singles: 72 (45 titles, 27 runners-up)

, 4–6, 2–6, 4–6 , - , style="background:#98fb98;", Win , 35. , 1971 , Des Moines International Indoors ,

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

, Carpet (i) ,

Vladimír Zedník Vladimír Zedník (born 1 February 1947) is a former professional tennis player who represented Czechoslovakia.Vladimi ...

, 6–1, 6–3 , - , style="background:#ffa07a;", Loss , 19. , 1971 , Midlands International ,

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, Carpet (i) ,

Ilie Năstase Ilie Theodoriu Năstase (; born 19 July 1946) is a Romanian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the inaugural world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 40 weeks. Năstase is one of ten play ...

, 4–6, 3–6, 1–6 , - , style="background:#98fb98;", Win , 36. , 1971 , Fort Lauderdale Open ,

Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it ...

, Clay , Pat Cramer , 6–7, 6–7, 6–3, 6–4, 6–2 , - , style="background:#98fb98;", Win , 37. , 1971 , Glenwood Manor Invitation ,

Overland Park Overland Park ( ) is the largest city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and the second-most populous city in the state of Kansas. It is one of four principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the pop ...

, ? , Alex Olmedo , 7–5, 5–7, 6–2 , - , style="background:#ffa07a;", Loss , 20. , 1971 , Caribe Hilton International Championships ,

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

, Hard ,

, 3–6, 3–6 , - , style="background:#98fb98;", Win , 38. , 1971 , River Oaks International ,

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Clay , Clark Graebner , 6–1, 6–2, 6–2 , - , style="background:#ffa07a;", Loss , 21. , 1971 , U.S. International Indoor Championships ,

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

, Hard (i) , Clark Graebner , 6–2, 6–7, 6–1, 6–7, 0–6 , - , style="background:#ffa07a;", Loss , 22. , 1971 , U.S. Clay Court Championships ,

, Clay ,

, 3–6, 4–6, 6–0, 3–6 , - , style="background:#98fb98;", Win , 39. , 1972 , Bretton Woods WCT , Bretton Woods , Clay ,

Jeff Borowiak Jeff Borowiak (born September 25, 1949) is a former professional tennis player from the United States, who won five singles and three doubles titles during his professional career, reaching a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP ...

, 6–1, 6–0 , - , style="background:#98fb98;", Win , 40. , 1972 , Rothmans International Tennis Tournament ,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Carpet (i) , Clark Graebner , 6–1, 6–0 , - , style="background:#ffa07a;", Loss , 23. , 1972 , Carolinas International Tennis Tournament , Charlotte , Clay ,

, 6–2, 2–6, 2–6 , - , style="background:#98fb98;", Win , 41. , 1972 , South African Open ,

, Hard ,

Manuel Orantes Manuel Orantes Corral (; born 6 February 1949) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He won 36 career singles titles, including the 1975 US Open, defeating defending champion Jimmy Connors in the final. Orantes reached a career-high ...

, 6–4, 7–5, 3–6, 6–4 , - , style="background:#ffa07a;", Loss , 24. , 1973 , WCT Munich , Charlotte , Carpet (i) ,

, 1–6, 5–7 , - , style="background:#98fb98;", Win , 42. , 1974 , Lakeway WCT , Lakeway , Hard , John Alexander , 7–6, 6–1 , - , style="background:#ffa07a;", Loss , 25. , 1974 , Australian Indoor Championships , Charlotte , Hard (i) ,

John Newcombe John David Newcombe AO OBE (born 23 May 1944) is an Australian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in both men's singles and men's doubles. Newcombe won a combined 26 major titles: seven in singles, a former ...

, 4–6, 3–6, 4–6 , - , style="background:#ffa07a;", Loss , 26. , 1976 , Boca Raton IPA Classic ,

Boca Raton Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and it ranked as the 23rd-largest city in Florida in 2022. Many people with a Boca Raton Address, ...

, Clay , Butch Walts , 6–4, 4–6, 4–6 , - , style="background:#98fb98;", Win , 43. , 1976 , Bermuda Tennis Classic ,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, Hard ,

Gene Mayer Gene Mayer (born May 11, 1956) is a former tennis player from the United States who won 14 professional singles titles during his career. Mayer was born in Flushing, Queens Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the Ne ...

, 7–6, 6–2 , - , style="background:#ffa07a;", Loss , 27. , 1976 , Sun Devil Open , Tempe , Hard (i) , Dick Stockton , 1–6, 4–6 , - , style="background:#98fb98;", Win , 44. , 1977 , Bahamas International Open , Freeport , Hard ,

John McEnroe John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ...

, 7–5, 4–6, 6–2 , - , style="background:#98fb98;", Win , 45. , 1978 , Johannesburg Open ,

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, Hard ,

, 6–2, 6–4 , -

Personal life

Golf highlights: *Founding member, Celebrity Players' Tour (1997) *Played celebrity golf tour for 15 years (1992–2007) *Won tour events in Jamaica (2004) and Baltimore (2006) *Scratch golfer (74.5 career stroke average; career best round 63) Mental health awareness fundraising and activism: *Richey organized tennis and golf tournaments to benefit charities: *Angelo Catholic School (1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990) *James Phillips Williams Memorial yslexiaFoundation (1991, 1992, 1993) *Mental Health/Mental Retardation (MHMR) (1999) *United Way (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009) *Nominated for Frank M. Adams Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service (2000) Public lectures and presentations: *Keynote presentation, Texas state convention for executive directors of MHMR (2000) *Community legislative forums (1999, 2000) *Invited lectures to college campuses and psychology classes (2006, 2007, 2008) *Keynote address, MHMR banquet (Palestine, TX, 2000) *2010 Mental Health America/TX Boots, Bells, and Hearts award *2010 Texas Council of MHMR's Annual Conference, Keynote Speaker, Woodlands TX *2010

National Alliance on Mental Illness The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is a United States–based nonprofit organization originally founded as a grassroots group by family members of people diagnosed with mental illness. NAMI identifies its mission as "providing advoca ...

(NAMI) National Convention, breakfast presentation *Fourteen-city book tour for ''Acing Depression: A Tennis Champion's Toughest Match'', 2010 *2010 Lecture at the Grand Rounds, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University to Faculty and trainees *2010 Keynote speaker Montana State Convention on Mental Illness, Billings, Montana

Works

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Richey, Cliff 1946 births Living people American male tennis players French Championships junior (tennis) champions Sportspeople from San Angelo, Texas Tennis players from Texas Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' singles 20th-century American sportsmen