George Russell MacCall (May 7, 1918 – December 24, 2008) was an American tennis player, tennis promoter and a former US Davis Cup captain. He is the founder of the MacCall Youth Tennis Foundation and a three-time Wimbledon finalist.

Early life and education

MacCall was born and raised in Kearny, New Jersey. He started playing tennis at the age of 10. In 1935, he attended Scarborough Prep School in New York. He transferred to

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal-arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts a ...

in 1937, after graduating from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

, in 1936. MacCall took additional courses at Upsala College, UCLA, and UNLV.

Career

George MacCall was the captain of the U.S. Davis Cup from 1965 to 1967. Later, he promoted tennis by organizing celebrity tennis events featuring

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...

and

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...

and organized tennis matches between

Pancho Gonzales Ricardo Alonso "Pancho" González (May 9, 1928 – July 3, 1995), known sometimes as Richard Gonzales, was an American tennis player. He won 15 major singles titles, including two U.S. National Championships in 1948 and 1949, and 13 Professi ...

and

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 New York and Los Angeles. He also organized the National Tennis League with reputed tennis players Laver, Gonzalez,

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, Rosie Casals, and

Billie Jean King Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943), also known as BJK, is an American former World number 1 ranked female tennis players, world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam titles: 12 in singles, 16 in w ...

to name a few. He sold the league to

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 ...

in 1970. MacCall served as a tennis consultant and later as a sports director at the Sands. In 1992, he was hired by UNLV to construct the Frack and Vicki Fertitta Tennis Complex. He was also the co-chair of the search committee designated to find UNLV's first tennis coach. MacCall served as the first commissioner of

World TeamTennis 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 ...

, featuring the likes 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 ...

Marty Riessen Marty Riessen (born December 4, 1941) is an American former amateur and professional tennis player active from the 1960s to the 1980s. He was ranked as high as No. 11 in the world in singles on the ATP rankings in September 1974, though was rank ...

, and

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 ...

Recognition

George MacCall won the 1959 USTA National Public Parks Open Men's Doubles Championship, the 1960-62 USTA Hard Court Men's 35 and Over Doubles Championship and the 1964 USTA Men's Hard Court 45 and Over Doubles Championship. He was a three-time Wimbledon finalist in the 45 and Over Doubles competition. He was the 2006 inductee- Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame.

Philanthropy

MacCall founded the MacCall Youth Tennis Foundation in 1988. The foundation provides tennis opportunities for children of all income level, arranging professional instructors and equipment for them.6 MacCall has provided free tennis lessons to above 20,000 children in Las Vegas, through the foundation.

Personal life

MacCall was married to Mary Withington and has two daughters, Robin and Polly. His wife died in 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacCall, George 1918 births 2008 deaths Bucknell University alumni University of Virginia alumni American male tennis players World TeamTennis executives Sportspeople from Kearny, New Jersey Tennis players from New Jersey 20th-century American sportsmen