James Cecil Parke (26 July 1881 – 27 February 1946) was an Irish

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player, tennis player, golfer, solicitor and

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veteran. He became an Olympic silver medallist,

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual ...

champion,

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Mixed Doubles winner and Australasian Championships winner in both Singles and Doubles. He has often been referred to as Ireland's greatest ever sportsman.

Early life

James Parke was born in the town of Clones located in

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...

, Ireland. He was one of eight children to Emily (née Pringle) and William Parke. When he was nine years old, Parke played for his hometown's chess team. He attended the Portora Royal School in

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 14,086 at the 2011 censu ...

and after graduation he attended Trinity college to study law. Having been a part of the Irish golf team in 1906, Parke was also considered a top-class track and field sprinter and a

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er.

Rugby career

From 1901 to 1908, Parke played on the rugby teams of Monkstown, Dublin University. He also played on the provincial level for

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

. Between 1903 and 1909, he also played in twenty games for the Irish national team. Parke captained Ireland on three occasions. He helped Ireland win two of their three 1906 Home Nations matches, resulting in a shared championship with Wales. In his final international cap, Parke kicked a penalty and a conversion to help seal a 19–8 victory in Ireland's first match against France.

Tennis career

As a tennis player, Parke was a baseliner whose best shot was a running down-the-line forehand. Through his career, Parke achieved a number of feats. Having already became the European singles champion in 1907, Parke later won a silver medal in the 1908 Olympics in men's doubles, the Australian men's singles and doubles tennis titles in 1912, and the Wimbledon mixed doubles title in 1914. He won eight Irish Lawn Tennis Singles titles, four doubles and two mixed titles. Parke was ranked world No. 4 in both 1913 and 1920 by A. Wallis Myers of

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

.United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). ''Official Encyclopedia of Tennis'' (First Edition), p. 422. He was described as having the strongest claim to the "championships of the world" by P.A. Vaile for the 1914 season. Having already played in the

(then known as the International Lawn Tennis Challenge), he defeated Norman Brookes and Rodney Heath in the Challenge Round on 28–30 November 1912, helping the British Isles capture the Cup in one of his greatest accomplishments. The following year he beat Maurice McLoughlin and

Richard Norris Williams Richard Norris Williams II (January 29, 1891 – June 2, 1968), generally known as R. Norris Williams, was an American tennis player and passenger aboard . He survived the Sinking of the Titanic, sinking of the ''Titanic''. He won the U.S. Nati ...

in the Challenge Round on 25–28 July 1913. However, the British Isles lost the meeting against the USA. Parke wore a four-leaved shamrock during every match he played.

Military

At the outset of World War 1, Parke enlisted in the Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) with the rank of captain (1914), before switching to the Essex regiment where he was promoted to Major in 1917. He was wounded twice, at Gallipoli and on the Western front.

Personal life

Parke married Sybil Smith in 1918 and moved to her hometown of

Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community (Wales), community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 UK census, the community � ...

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in 1920 where he joined Chamberlain and Johnson law practice. He died in Llandudno in 1946 following a heart attack.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 title

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Mixed doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parke, James Cecil 1881 births 1946 deaths Australasian Championships (tennis) champions British male tennis players Dublin University Football Club players Ireland international rugby union players Ireland national rugby union team captains Irish male golfers Irish male tennis players Irish rugby union players Leinster Rugby players Monkstown Football Club players Olympic tennis players for Great Britain Tennis players at the 1908 Summer Olympics Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Olympic medalists in tennis Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics World number 1 ranked male tennis players Rugby union players from County Monaghan Rugby union centres People from Clones, County Monaghan Military personnel from County Monaghan 20th-century Irish sportsmen