Isidore Frederick (I.F.) Hellmuth (1854–1944) was the first champion of what became the Canadian National Tennis Championship, now known as the Canadian Open or the Rogers Cup. He was also a three-time runner-up as well as one-time doubles champion.

Life and career

Born in

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( , ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François River, Saint-François and Magog River, Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territ ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

in 1854, he was the son of

Isaac Hellmuth Isaac Hellmuth (December 14, 1819 – 28 May 1901), second Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Huron, was the founder of Huron University College and the University of Western Ontario, one of Canada's leading universities. He was also founder of H ...

, who became Bishop of Huron. After an early education at

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

, he studied at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

and trained for the English bar at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

. Returning to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, he became a barrister at

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. He was a Life Bencher of the

Law Society of Upper Canada The Law Society of Ontario (LSO; ) is the law society responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1797 as the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC; ), its name was changed by statu ...

. In 1880, he married Harriet Emily Gamble (b. 1847), granddaughter of

Henry John Boulton Henry John Boulton, (1790 – June 18, 1870) was a lawyer and political figure in Upper Canada and the Province of Canada, as well as Chief Justice of Newfoundland. Boulton began his legal career under the tutelage of John Beverly Robins ...

. One of his junior partners, John Meredith (who was to die in WWI), son of Sir

William Ralph Meredith Sir William Ralph Meredith, (March 31, 1840 – August 21, 1923) was a Canadian lawyer, politician and judge. He served as Leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, Ontario Conservatives from 1878 to 1894, Chancellor of the Univers ...

, married his daughter, Miriam (b:16 Feb 1881). Their daughter Diana (b. Feb 1910) was married to Marcel Provost (who was also killed in WWII in France in 1945http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=sharonmh&id=I18314 ) then Edward Curtis. In 1874, Hellmuth may have built a court at 148 Front Street, which was the future site of the

Toronto Lawn Tennis Club The Toronto Lawn Tennis Club is a private social and athletic club in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The club is the oldest active and surviving lawn tennis club in the world. Founded in 1876, it has a long history of tennis competition. It is located ...

that was founded in 1876. Though not an original member, Hellmuth joined the club soon after returning to Canada around 1879. He was runner-up at an unofficial United States national tennis championship in 1880, before winning the inaugural tournament played in 1881 at the

, by defeating W.H. Young, also of Canada, 6–2, 6–2. The following year, Hellmuth lost the final to compatriot Harry D. Gamble, 2–6, 3–6, 2–6. After a two-year hiatus, Hellmuth lost in consecutive finals in 1885 and 1886, the first to American J.S. Clark 3–6, 6–3, 1–6, 2–6 and the second to his compatriot and childhood friend, C.S. Hyman, in the first of his four consecutive championships, 4–6, 4–6, 6–1, 6–4, 4–6. That year Hellmuth and Hyman also teamed to capture the doubles title. Hellmuth also founded the

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 ...

Lawn Tennis Club in 1881. He was an inaugural inductee into the

Tennis Canada Tennis Canada is the national governing body of tennis within Canada. It works together with the provincial associations to organize tournaments and rules. They also oversee the Canada Davis Cup team and the Canada Fed Cup team. Tennis Canada w ...

Hall of Fame, in 1991. He died in 1944, at his home, Allandale House, Toronto.

Sources

Tennis Canada Hall of Fame inductee profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hellmuth, Isidore Frederick 1854 births 1944 deaths 19th-century Canadian sportspeople 19th-century male tennis players Canadian male tennis players Tennis players from Toronto Sportspeople from Sherbrooke Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Canadian people of Polish-Jewish descent