Robert “Bob” Duffield Wrenn (September 20, 1873 – November 12, 1925) was an American left-handed

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, four-time U.S. singles championship winner, and one of the first inductees in 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 ...

Early life and education

Wrenn was born in

Highland Park, Illinois Highland Park is a suburban city located in southeastern Lake County, Illinois, United States, about north of downtown Chicago. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 30,176. Highland Park is one of several municipali ...

. Wrenn attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, where he was a prominent

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

on the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

. Wrenn was considered "one of Harvard's greatest all-around athletes," a star player at football, ice hockey, and baseball. Wrenn played a small role in the formation of

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the go ...

in the United States. In the fall of 1892, Wrenn and fellow tennis champion (and doubles partner)

Malcolm Greene Chace Malcolm Greene Chace (March 12, 1875 – July 16, 1955) was an American financier and textile industrialist who was instrumental in bringing electric power to New England. He was a pioneer of the sport of ice hockey in the United States, and was ...

played in an international tennis tournament in

Niagara Falls, New York Niagara Falls is a City (New York), city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a total population of 48,671. It is adjacent to the Niagara River, across from the city of Niagar ...

, where they met some Canadian athletes who invited them to return the next winter to learn about their sport of

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

, which differed from the game of ice polo which was then played in American colleges. Wrenn and Chace gathered some friends from other northeast colleges including Cornell University and returned to Canada over Christmas break 1894-95 for a series of hockey matches. Each of the students returned to their respective campuses to promote the sport of ice hockey. Wrenn later played for the St. Nicholas Hockey Club. Wrenn won his tennis titles in 1893, 1894, 1896 and 1897 (losing out to Fred Hovey in 1895).

Career

In 1898, he served in Cuba with

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

Rough Riders The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...

in the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

. He contracted yellow fever while in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. Wrenn played for the U.S. Davis Cup team in 1903 together with his brother George. In the final against the British Isles at the

Longwood Cricket Club Longwood Cricket Club is a tennis and former cricket club based in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. It is the site of the first Davis Cup competition. History A club for cricket was opened in 1877 at Longwood Estate, a place named a ...

, they were defeated 1–4 and Wrenn lost both his singles matches against Reginald and

Laurence Doherty Hugh Laurence Doherty (8 October 1875 – 21 August 1919) was a British tennis player and the younger brother of tennis player Reginald Doherty. He was a six-time Grand Slam champion and a double Olympic Gold medalist at the Tennis at the 1900 ...

as well as the doubles against the Doherty brothers. Wrenn was vice-president of the

United States Tennis Association The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national governing body for tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tenn ...

from 1902 until 1911 and president from 1912 until 1915. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1955. He was arrested in 1914 when the car he was driving ran over and killed Herbert George Loveday, the choir director of St Mary's Church in Tuxedo Park, New York. Wrenn was exonerated when, according to a May 21, 1914 article in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', "the Grand Jury, finding from testimony that the mechanism of the car had become disarranged, and the steering gear powerless, declined to find an indictment, and the complaint was dismissed." Wrenn was an aviator in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Death

Wrenn died of

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine. It was frequently accompanied ...

in his apartment in the Hotel Madison in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, at age 52.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (4 titles, 1 runner-up)

Doubles (1 title, 1 runner-up)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wrenn, Robert 1873 births 1925 deaths American football quarterbacks American male tennis players Harvard Crimson football players Indiana Hoosiers football coaches Rough Riders All-American college football players Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees United States National champions (tennis) Sportspeople from Highland Park, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois Tennis players from Illinois Harvard Crimson men's tennis players Presidents of the United States Tennis Association St. Nicholas Hockey Club players