Joseph Raphael Hunt (February 17, 1919 – February 2, 1945) was an American

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 of the late 1930s and early 1940s from

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. He was the number one ranked American in 1943 and won the US singles championship in his final match. He died off the coast of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in an airplane crash during World War II. To date he is the only man to win the U.S. boys' (15 and under), junior (18 and under), collegiate, and men's singles championship.

Tennis career

A graduate of Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, Hunt played college tennis at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

as a freshman, and he went undefeated in singles and doubles play while in college during 1938, including the

Ojai Tennis Tournament The Ojai Tennis Tournament, often shortened to The Ojai, is an annual tennis tournament in Ventura County, California, headquartered at Libbey Park in downtown Ojai, about north of Los Angeles. The event, first held in 1896, is the oldest and l ...

. Hunt was very athletic, and he played football for a while. After enlisting, he attended the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

and joined the Navy football team as a running back during the 1940 season. He was given the game ball for the 1940

Army–Navy Game The Army–Navy Game is an American college football college rivalry, rivalry game between the Army Black Knights football, Army Black Knights of the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York, and the Navy Midshipmen football ...

. Hunt made the semifinals at the 1939 and 1940 United States singles championships. During the 1940 quarterfinals against

Frank Kovacs Frank Kovacs (December 4, 1919 – February 1990) was an American amateur and professional tennis player in the mid-20th century. He won the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships singles title in 1941. He won the World Professional Champions ...

, he staged a sit-down strike during the match after he complained to the referee about Kovacs' antics and was unhappy with the referee's lack of response. Early in their third set, Kovacs began engaging in prolonged antics with the stadium gallery. When the umpire would not stop Kovacs or quiet the crowd, Hunt sat down on his baseline and did not acknowledge several of Kovacs' serves, allowing them to fly by. Kovacs then sat down on his baseline, and the two players sat for up to five minutes while the crowd alternately jeered and cheered. When order was finally restored, Hunt went on to win the match in straight sets. Hunt represented the United States in the

1939 International Lawn Tennis Challenge The 1939 International Lawn Tennis Challenge was the 34th edition of what is now known as the Davis Cup. 20 teams entered the Europe Zone, while 7 entered the America Zone. Australia Davis Cup team, Australia defeated Cuba Davis Cup team, Cuba i ...

(now

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 ...

) challenge round against Australia. He played the doubles match partnering

Jack Kramer John Albert Kramer (August 1, 1921 – September 12, 2009) was an American tennis player of the 1940s and 1950s, and a pioneer promoter who helped drive the sport towards professionalism at the elite level. Kramer also ushered in the serve-an ...

which they lost to

John Bromwich John Edward Bromwich (14 November 1918 – 21 October 1999) was an Australian tennis player who, along with fellow countryman Vivian McGrath, was one of the first great players to use a two-handed backhand. He was a natural left-hander, though ...

and

Adrian Quist Adrian Karl Quist (23 January 191317 November 1991) was an Australian tennis player. Biography Adrian Quist was born in Medindie, South Australia. His father was Karl Quist, who had been a noted interstate cricketer, and owned a sporting goo ...

. Hunt married Jacque Carolyn Virgil in 1942. In September 1943, he won the United States singles championship at

Forest Hills Forest Hills or Forrest Hills may refer to: Places United States * Forest Hills (Tampa), Florida * Forest Hills, Illinois, a neighborhood in Western Springs * Forest Hills, Kentucky * Forest Hills, Boston, Massachusetts ** Forest Hills Cemetery ...

while lying on the ground. On match point, Hunt collapsed with leg

cramps A cramp is a sudden, involuntary, painful skeletal muscle contraction or overshortening associated with electrical activity. While generally temporary and non-damaging, they can cause significant pain and a paralysis-like immobility of the affe ...

while his opponent,

, who due to food poisoning had lost 19 pounds during tournament, hit a return that barely went long. Had it been in, most observers at the time felt that Kramer would have eventually won the match against Hunt. Hunt was unable to obtain leave from the Navy in 1944 in order to defend his title. He was the U.S. no. 1 in 1943 and world no. 10 in 1939 by

Gordon Lowe Sir Francis Gordon Lowe, 2nd Baronet (21 June 1884 – 17 May 1972) was a British male tennis player. Lowe is best remembered for winning the Australasian Championships in 1915 (where he beat champion Horace Rice in the final). and for winni ...

.United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). ''Official Encyclopedia of Tennis'' (First Edition), p. 412, 425. Hunt 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 1966.

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, ...

, who had lost to Kramer in the semifinals, described Hunt as "a strong guy, big serve and volley, and took to grass, coming from the Southern California concrete". In a 2014 interview Segura added: "He was a very good-looking man with a body like

Charles Atlas Charles Atlas (born Angelo Siciliano; October 30, 1892December 24, 1972) was an American bodybuilder best remembered as the developer of a bodybuilding method and its associated exercise program which spawned a landmark advertising campaign ...

. He drew women to his matches. He would have been good for tennis. He was a credit to the game."

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (1 title)

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

Military service and death

Hunt was a graduate from the

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. List of naval academies See also

* Military academy {{Authority control Naval academies, Naval lists ...

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

. He became a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

during World War II and served a year on a destroyer in the Pacific and a year in the Atlantic. On February 2, 1945, close to his 26th birthday, Hunt was killed on a routine gunnery training mission off

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach is a coastal Resort town, resort city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. Located on the East Coast of the United States, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Deltona� ...

when the fighter airplane that he was piloting, a

Grumman The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a 20th century American producer of military and civilian aircraft. Founded on December 6, 1929, by Leroy Grumman and his business partners, it merged in 19 ...

Hellcat, went into a spin at an altitude of 10,000 feet from which he failed to recover.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Joseph Raphael 1919 births 1945 deaths Accidental deaths in Florida American male tennis players United States Navy personnel killed in World War II Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Tennis players from California United States National champions (tennis) United States Navy officers Fairfax High School (Los Angeles) alumni Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1945 USC Trojans men's tennis players 20th-century American sportsmen