Fred Perry
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Frederick John Perry (May 18, 1909 - February 2, 1995) was an English tennis player and three-time Wimbledon champion. Born in Stockport, Cheshire, England, his father was elected to the British House of Commons as a Labour Party member.
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Early successes
Perry was a table tennis world champion before taking up tennis at the relatively late age of 18. He had exceptional speed from his table tennis days and played with the Continental grip, attacking the ball low and on the rise. He was the first player to win all four Grand Slam singles titles, though not in same year. He was also the first player to win those four titles consecutively, although once again not in the same year. He is the last English-born player to win the Wimbledon title, winning it three times in a row and becoming an English icon.
Fred_perry_statue_wimbledon.jpg
In 1933 Perry helped lead his team to victory over France in the Davis Cup, which earned Great Britain the Davis Cup for the first time in 21 years.
Sporting legacy
Perry is considered one of the greatest male players to have ever played the game. Kings of the Court, a video-tape documentary made in 1997 in conjunction with the International Tennis Hall of Fame, named Perry one of the 10 greatest players of all time. But this documentary only considered those players who played before the Open era of tennis that began in 1968, with the exception of Rod Laver, who spanned both eras, so that all of the more recent great players are missing. It is quite possible, though, that Perry was one of the 20 greatest players in history.
Inside the Church Road gate at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, London, a statue of Fred Perry was erected in 1984 to mark the 50th anniversary of his first singles championship. In his birthplace, a special 14 mile (23 km) walking route, Fred Perry Way, was built by the city of Stockport and officially opened in September 2002.
Fred Perry clothing brand
The Fred Perry brand of clothing (named after the player) became popular with skinheads, mods, and other youth sub-cultures. The brand is best known for the laurel logo on the left breast of polo-style shirts. It was, however, popular with non-skinhead types long before the skinhead movement existed. In the mid-1950s and through the early 1960s many considered the Fred Perry brand male tennis shirts the best available. The laurel logo on the shirt was stitched into the fabric, rather than being merely being ironed on, as the Cochet crocodile was on competing shirts.
Perry was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island in 1975. He died in Melbourne, Australia.
Grand Slam Titles
Singles
- Australian Open (1934)
- French Open (1935)
- Wimbledon (1934, 1935, 1936)
- US Open (1933, 1936)
Doubles
- Australian Open (1934)
- French Open (1936)
Mixed Doubles
- French Open (1932)
- Wimbledon (1935, 1936)
- US Open (1932)