Sarah Hammond Palfrey Danzig (née Palfrey; September 18, 1912 – February 27, 1996) 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 whose adult amateur career spanned 19 years, from June 1926 until September 1945. She won two singles, nine women's doubles, and four mixed doubles titles at the U.S. National Championships.

Career

Palfrey and her siblings, including

John Palfrey John Gorham Palfrey VII (born 1972) is an American educator, scholar, and law professor. His areas of focus include emerging media, Internet censorship, Internet freedom, online Transparency (social), transparency and accountability, and child sa ...

, Polly Palfrey Woodrow and Mianne Palfrey, competed in tennis at the national level. She was 32 years old, married to

Elwood Cooke Elwood Thomas Cooke (July 5, 1913 – April 16, 2004) was an amateur American tennis player in the 1930s and 1940s. Tennis career Elwood Cooke started playing tennis before his junior year at Benson Polytechnic High School. He played for the sc ...

, and a mother in 1945 when she won her second singles title at the U.S. National Championships.

Pauline Betz Pauline May Betz Addie (née Betz, August 6, 1919 – May 31, 2011) was an American professional tennis player. She won five Grand Slam singles titles and was the runner-up on three other occasions. Jack Kramer called her the second best femal ...

was her opponent in the final. Since she lost to Cooke in the 1941 final, Betz had won three consecutive titles and 19 consecutive matches at these championships. In 1945, Cooke lost the first set and squandered her 5–2 lead in the second set before recovering to win it 8–6. In the third set, Betz got close to winning yet another title when she served for a 5–3 lead. Cooke, however, broke her serve and then won the next two games to win the tournament. She became only the second mother to win this title, with

Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman Hazel Virginia Hotchkiss Wightman, CBE (née Hotchkiss; December 20, 1886 – December 5, 1974) was an American tennis player and founder of the Wightman Cup, an annual team competition for British and American women. She dominated American wo ...

being the first. Cooke is one of the few women, if not the sole woman, to appear on a top-level male championship honor roll. Because of the manpower crisis during World War II, she and husband Elwood were permitted to enter the men's doubles at the 1945 Tri-State Championships in Cincinnati. They lost in the final to Hal Surface and

Bill Talbert William Franklin Talbert (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 1999) was an American tennis player and administrator. Tennis career He was ranked in the U.S. top 10 from 1941 to 1954, and he was ranked World No. 3 in 1949 by John Olliff of ''The D ...

. Palfrey won 16 Grand Slam championships in women's doubles (11) and mixed doubles (5). She teamed with

Betty Nuthall Betty May Nuthall Shoemaker (née Nuthall; 23 May 1911 – 8 November 1983) was an English tennis player. Known for her powerful forehand, according to Wallis Myers of ''The Daily Telegraph'' and the ''Daily Mail'', Nuthall was ranked in the wor ...

to win the 1930 U. S. National Championships and with

Helen Jacobs Helen Hull Jacobs (August 6, 1908 – June 2, 1997) was an American tennis player who won nine Grand Slam titles. In 1936 she was ranked No. 1 in singles by A. Wallis Myers. Early life Jacobs was born in Globe, Arizona, and was Jewish. Her pa ...

to win the 1932, 1934, and 1935 championships. Palfrey and

Alice Marble Alice Irene Marble (September 28, 1913 – December 13, 1990) was an American tennis player who won 18 Grand Slam championships between 1936 and 1940: five in singles, six in women's doubles, and seven in mixed doubles. She was ranked world No. ...

won the U. S. National Championships from 1937 through 1940. At the

Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly called Wimbledon, is a tennis tournament organised by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in collaboration with the Lawn Tennis Association annually in Wimbledon, London. It is chronologically the ...

, Palfrey and Marble won the 1938 and 1939 women's doubles titles. Palfrey's last U.S. women's doubles championship was in 1941 with Margaret Osborne. In mixed doubles, Palfrey teamed with four different partners to win the U.S. National Championships:

Fred Perry Frederick John Perry (18 May 1909 – 2 February 1995) was a British tennis and table tennis player and former World number 1 male tennis player rankings, world No. 1 from England who won 10 Majors, including eight Grand Slam (tennis), ...

(1932),

Enrique Maier Enrique 'Bubi' Maier (December 31, 1910 – August 22, 1981) was a male Spanish tennis player who was mainly active in the 1930s. Biography Maier became Wimbledon champion in the mixed doubles in 1932 when, partnered with Elizabeth Ryan, they ...

(1935),

Don Budge John Donald Budge (June 13, 1915 – January 26, 2000) was an American tennis player. He is most famous as the first tennis player — male or female — to win all four Grand Slam tournaments in one year and complete the Grand Slam. Budge was ...

(1937), and

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 ...

(1941). Palfrey also won the mixed doubles title at the 1939 French International Championships, teaming with future husband Elwood Cooke. Palfrey and Marble were undefeated in doubles from 1937 until Marble turned professional at the end of 1940. In 1947, Cooke and Betz went on a "barnstorming" tour of mostly one-night stands in the U.S. and Europe, with each earning about US$10,000. They had been stripped of their amateur status by the

United States Lawn 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 ...

(USLTA) in early 1947 because Elwood Cooke had written letters to several tournament organizers about creating a professional tour.OBITUARY : Sarah Danzig
/ref> According to

A. Wallis Myers Arthur Wallis Myers (24 July 1878 – 17 June 1939) was an English tennis correspondent, editor, author and player. He was one of the leading tennis journalists of the first half of the 20th century. Family life Myers was son of the Rev. Joh ...

of ''The Daily Telegraph'' and John Olliff of the ''Daily Mail'', Palfrey was one of the 10 highest ranked women in the world from 1933 through 1936 and in 1938 and 1939. Her career high was fourth in 1934. (No world rankings were issued from 1940 through 1945.) Palfrey was included in 13 year-end top 10 rankings issued by the USLTA: 1929–1931, 1933–1941, and 1945. She was the top-ranked U.S. player in 1941 and 1945. Palfrey and Marble lobbied the USLTA to remove the color bar and allow

Althea Gibson Althea Neale Gibson (August 25, 1927September 28, 2003) was an American tennis player and professional golfer, and one of the first Black athletes to cross the color line of international tennis. In 1956, she became the first African America ...

to play at heretofore whites-only tournaments beginning in 1950. "She alfreywas calmly persuasive, had clout as an ex-champ, and got Althea into the U. S. ationalChampionships in 1950," said

Gladys Heldman Gladys Medalie Heldman (May 13, 1922 – June 22, 2003) was an American tennis player, promoter, manager and magazine publisher. She was the founder of '' World Tennis'' magazine. As a manager, she supported and represented Billie Jean King and ...

, founder of the women's professional tennis tour in 1970. Palfrey once said, "Tennis is the best game there is. It combines mental and physical qualities and is the sport for a lifetime. And there are many living examples at the age of 80 to prove it. So it is enough for us to know that tennis will remain, under whatever conditions, whether amateur or pro, the finest game there is for us, for our children, and our children's children." Palfrey 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 1963. Palfrey and

Marty Glickman Martin Irving Glickman (August 14, 1917 – January 3, 2001) was an American radio announcer who was famous for his broadcasts of the New York Knicks basketball games and the football games of the New York Giants and the New York Jets. Glickman ...

covered the home games of the 1946-47

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

on WHN radio. Glickman handled play-by-play duties while Palfrey provided the color commentary. ''The New York Times'' stated "in what is said to be the first time that an outstanding woman sports figure has been assigned to such a chore, Sarah Palfrey Cooke, tennis champion, will provide the 'color' accounts of the games."

Personal life

She had two children and was married three times: to Marshal Fabyan, Elwood Cooke, and

Jerome Alan Danzig Jerome Alan Danzig (February 7, 1913 – July 15, 2001) was an American reporter, news producer, and top adviser to New York Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller. Biography Danzig was born on February 7, 1913, in Manhattan, the son of Helen (née Wol ...

. She married Fabyan on October 6, 1934, but divorced him in Reno, Nevada on July 20, 1940. She married Cooke on October 2, 1940, and their daughter was born in December 1942. She divorced him on April 29, 1949, on grounds of cruelty. She married Danzig on April 27, 1951, and remained married to him until her death of lung cancer in 1996. Their son was born in December 1952. Her brother

, also an excellent tennis player and an expert on atomic energy, married Belle "Clochette" Roosevelt Palfrey, a granddaughter of

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 ...

and a daughter of

Kermit Roosevelt Kermit Roosevelt Sr. Military Cross, MC (October 10, 1889 – June 4, 1943) was an American businessman, soldier, explorer, and writer. A son of Theodore Roosevelt, the List of Presidents of the United States, 26th President of the United State ...

. She also had four sisters, Joanna, Lee, Mianne and

Polly Polly is a given name, most often feminine, which originated as a variant of Molly (name), Molly (a diminutive of Mary (name), Mary). Polly may also be a short form of names such as Polina (given name), Polina, Polona (given name), Polona, Pauline ...

, who were all fine tennis players.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)

Doubles (11 titles, 3 runner-ups)

Mixed doubles (5 titles, 5 runner-ups)

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

R = tournament restricted to French nationals and held under

German occupation German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Palfrey Cooke, Sarah American female tennis players Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) French Championships (tennis) champions People from Sharon, Massachusetts International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Tennis players from Massachusetts United States National champions (tennis) Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) 1912 births 1996 deaths Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Professional tennis players before the Open Era Members of the Junior League 20th-century American sportswomen