John Powless
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John Dale Powless (August 24, 1932 – May 20, 2021) was an American basketball and tennis player and coach at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...
and a player on the international senior tennis circuit.


Tennis career

Powless was born and raised in
Flora, Illinois Flora is a city in Clay County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,803 at the 2020 census. History Flora was founded by Samuel White. White was born September 10, 1831, in Warren County, Ohio. He and his family came to Clay County in ...
, and played on the Flora High School basketball, tennis and football teams, where he won the State tournament in tennis his senior year, the only person to have done so below Decatur, a record still held to this day. He received a Basketball Scholarship to the University of Michigan with an agreement to play tennis. After one semester he left and went to
Murray State University Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky, in the Southern United States. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper-level an ...
and graduated in 1956. He played basketball and tennis and still ranks among the school's all-time greats in both sports. He was one of five charter members in Murray State's Hall of Fame, which was originated in 1957. He returned to Michigan and earned a master's degree. As a 6'5" sophomore forward in 1955, he led his team to the Kentucky Invitational title. As a tennis player, Powless never lost a tennis match in three years of varsity competition and was the
Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with ...
singles champion all three seasons. He also shared the conference doubles championship all three years and later served six years as captain and coach of the United States Junior Davis Cup team. Powless lost in the first round of the
1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...
,
1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...
,
1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...
, and 1963 U.S. National Championships, but reached the second round in
1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...
and
1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...
. His finest season was 1960 with three tournament wins. He defeated Billy Lenoir, a later
Cincinnati Masters The Cincinnati Open (also known as the Cincinnati Masters) is an annual professional tennis event held in Cincinnati, United States. Due to previous sponsorship, it has also been known as: the Thriftway ATP Championships, the Great American I ...
champion, in the final of the 1960 ILTF Southern Championships in Atlanta in three straight sets. He won the 1960 Anniston, Alabama event, defeating Lester Sack and Harry Hoffman Jr. in the semifinal and final.


Other sports career

After graduation, Powless coached at the high school level at
Paducah, Kentucky Paducah ( ) is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in the Upland South, and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. The most populous city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located in the Southeastern Unit ...
for a year and joined Bud Kennedy as an assistant basketball coach at
Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...
the following year. In 1960, he became freshman coach at the
University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...
and compiled a 36-9 three-year record and a 15–0 record during the 1962–63 season. Working with head coach
Ed Jucker Edwin Louis Jucker (July 8, 1916 – February 2, 2002) was an American basketball and baseball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head basketball coach at the United States Merchant Marine Academy from 1945 to 1948, Re ...
and assistant (and later head) coach
Tay Baker Taylor "Tay" Baker is a retired American basketball coach. He played basketball at Hamilton High School in Hamilton, Ohio, graduating in 1945. He played college basketball at the University of Cincinnati beginning as a freshman in 1947; howeve ...
, Powless helped the Bearcats post a 78–6 record over three years. During the three years that Powless was at
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
, the Bearcats won two NCAA titles by defeating
Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...
in 1961 and 1962 and finished second to
Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...
in 1963. Powless came to Wisconsin as an assistant under John Erickson in May 1963 and also was Wisconsin's head tennis coach for five seasons, compiling a 52–39 dual meet record. On April 27, 1968, Powless became head basketball coach on the same day that
Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
head coach
Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (October 25, 1940 – November 1, 2023) was an American men's college basketball coach (basketball), coach. Nicknamed "the General", he won 902 NCAA Division I men's basketball games, a record at the time of his retire ...
declined the offer. During his eight years at Wisconsin, he compiled a record of 88–108. His best team was his 1973–74 team, which posted a record of 16–8 and had future
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
center
Kim Hughes Kimberley John Hughes (born 26 January 1954) is a former cricketer who played for Western Australia, Natal and Australia. He captained Australia in 28 Test matches between 1979 and 1984 before captaining a rebel Australian team in a tour of ...
on its roster. He resigned on February 11, 1976 during a Badgers' 14‐game losing streak and was replaced by Bill Cofield one month later on March 16.


Later tennis career

After his career at Wisconsin, Powless owned and operated the John Powless Tennis Center in
Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...
. He was a basketball and tennis TV analyst and played tennis on the international senior circuit. He also won numerous national and international tennis competitions, including a 1999 U.S. Senior Open singles title. During the peak of his tennis playing ability in the 1950s he and his father attempted and succeeded in conquering the national clay court Father and Son championships (U.S.) following through to win five consecutive national clay court Father and Son doubles titles. Concurring that he achieved this in the 1950s by winning the Father and Son National Title five consecutive years with his father K.O. Cecil Powless. John started his career in ITF by earning a number one ranking in singles and doubles for men age 55 and older. The record for consecutive number of years held in age divisions of ITF is held by John, thus placing him as possibly contending for the spot of the greatest tennis player of all time if one uses this ranking method. He has also held a #1 ranking ''in two age divisions at the same time'', several times in his ITF career. John was ranked as the world's number one singles player for 80 and over. Previous to this, in 75 and over, he held on to his #1 ranking despite the fact that he had had both knees replaced; one in 2007 and the other in 2008. John Powless was featured in a 2016 tennis documentary Gold Balls, directed by Kate Dandel, and a 2023 documentary about super senior tennis players: ''Silver Servers'' directed by
Dan Lobb Daniel Jonathon Lobb (born 7 January 1972) is a British retired tennis player and television presenter, best known for co-presenting the ITV Breakfast programme '' Daybreak'' from 2010 until 2012. Between 2015 and 2016, he co-presented ''Cowbo ...
.


Awards

In addition to induction into the Murray State University Hall of Fame (1957), Powless is a member of the University of Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame (2002) as well as the State of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame (2009). He was a 2000 inductee into the USTA/Midwest Tennis Hall of Fame. He was an honorary member of 22 different nations’ tennis associations and was named U.S. “Senior Tennis Player of the Millennium” in 1999. He was elected to the
Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame The Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame honors distinguished members of Wisconsin's sports history. The Hall of Fame hosts several annual events, including an induction ceremony to honor new members, nomination luncheons, speaker series breakfasts an ...
in 2009. The Professional Tennis Registry's Senior Player of the Decade award.(2010, Hilton Head, S.C.) Team USA Captain Emeritus (for the Gordon Trophy, 2013) Dubla Cup Champion 1981 (Seniors 'Davis Cup'- U.S.A. team member, Buenos Aires, Argentina)


Head coaching record


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powless, John 1932 births 2021 deaths American male tennis players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Illinois Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball coaches Florida State Seminoles men's basketball coaches Murray State Racers men's basketball players Murray State Racers men's tennis players People from Flora, Illinois Power forwards Small forwards Tennis players from Illinois Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball coaches Wisconsin Badgers men's tennis coaches Tennis coaches from Illinois 20th-century American sportsmen