Frederick Rudolph "Ted" Schroeder (July 20, 1921 – May 26, 2006) was an American tennis player who won the two most prestigious amateur tennis titles, Wimbledon and the U.S. National. He was the No. 1-ranked American amateur player in 1942; the No. 2 for 4 consecutive years, 1946 through 1949, and the latter year saw Schroeder ranked World No. 1 amateur by Pierre Gillou (president of the Fédération Française de Tennis).[1] He was born in Newark, New Jersey, but developed as a tennis player in Southern California under the guidance of Perry T. Jones.
Schroeder was born in Newark, NJ but moved to Glendale in his childhood where he learned to play tennis.[2] He was discovered by Perry T. Jones who was based at the Los Angeles Tennis Club and mentored several world-class players including Ellsworth Vines, Bobby Riggs and Jack Kramer.[3] Schroeder was an almost exact contemporary of Kramer, having been born only 10 days earlier in 1921, and they began to play against each other as top boy players in the mid-1930s. Schroeder's career is similar to Kramer's in that they both became top players whose careers were then interrupted by World War II. They were also lifelong friends and at least once Schroeder mortgaged his house on short notice in order to be able to lend an unsolicited $25,000 to Kramer. Schroeder, however, attended college for four years, the first two at the University of Southern California (USC), and the last two at Stanford University. After the war Kramer proved himself to be slightly better than Schroeder in the amateur ranks and subsequently turned professional.
'Lucky Ted'edit
When Riggs semi-retired he became the promoter of the professional tour. He and Kramer decided that the only player who could oppose Kramer for a financially successful tour would be Schroeder. The youthful Pancho Gonzales was the reigning American amateur champion, due to his upset win at the U.S. Open Championships in 1948, but during his brief career had been beaten by Schroeder eight matches out of nine. Schroeder, playing during vacation time from his job, won Wimbledon in June 1949, winning some tough matches along the way. Schroeder was two sets down against Gardnar Mulloy in round one and then had five-set wins against Frank Sedgman, Eric Sturgess and Jaroslav Drobny in the quarters, semis and final.[4][5] According to his obituary in the New York Times, he "captivated London as an outgoing, straightforward Yank smoking a corn-cob pipe and earned the nickname 'Lucky Ted' there for his five-set escapes".
Professional hopeedit
Following his Wimbledon victory, Riggs and Kramer offered Schroeder $25,000 to turn pro after he won the up-coming 1949 U.S. Championships and Schroeder accepted. But Gonzales upset their plans by beating the heavily favored Schroeder in a five-set final — it has been called the 11th greatest match of all time.[6] Gonzales lost the 1-hour and 15-minute first set 16–18 but finally managed to prevail in the fifth set.[7] Kramer writes that in spite of his friendship with Schroeder, he has always felt that Schroeder subconsciously "tanked" the match, in order to avoid the rigors of the professional tour. In any event, Gonzales was now the two-time American champion and Kramer and Riggs were obliged to sign him, instead of Schroeder, to a professional contract.
Post-waredit
Schroeder was never much more than a part-time player after the War, being preoccupied with his family and his career as vice president of a commercial refrigeration equipment company, and had never really intended to turn professional. Schroeder said he took his tennis far too emotionally to allow him to treat it as a profession.[8] He remained a successful amateur player for a few more years and then faded from view. He died in La Jolla, California at the age of 84. His son, John, is a professional golfer who has won on the PGA Tour. Had 2 others sons Richard Schroeder and Robert Schroeder.
Abilitiesedit
In his 1979 autobiography, the long-time tennis promoter and great player Jack Kramer included Schroeder in his list of the 21 greatest players of all time.[9] Schroeder, says Kramer, "won with heart and stamina, but lacked in the simple mechanics."
Kramer writes,
As a player, Schroed had weaknesses with his groundstrokes. Long before the rest of us, he was rushing the net because he couldn't rely on his backhand or forehand.... he had the ideal attacking grass game: a terrific overhead and volley (especially the backhand) and that most valuable of all tools, a strong second serve. Also, Schroed was tough physically, at a time of long best-of-five deuce sets, and he was a great fighter.
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For the U S politicians see Frederick A Schroeder and Frederick C Schroeder Frederick Rudolph Ted Schroeder July 20 1921 May 26 2006 was an American tennis player who won the two most prestigious amateur tennis titles Wimbledon and the U S National He was the No 1 ranked American amateur player in 1942 the No 2 for 4 consecutive years 1946 through 1949 and the latter year saw Schroeder ranked World No 1 amateur by Pierre Gillou president of the Federation Francaise de Tennis 1 He was born in Newark New Jersey but developed as a tennis player in Southern California under the guidance of Perry T Jones Ted SchroederFull nameFrederick Rudolph SchroederCountry sports United StatesBorn 1921 07 20 July 20 1921Newark New Jersey U S DiedMay 26 2006 2006 05 26 aged 84 La Jolla California U S PlaysRight handed 1 handed backhand Int Tennis HoF1966 member page SinglesCareer record27 5Highest rankingNo 1 1949 Pierre Gillou 1 Grand Slam singles resultsWimbledonW 1949 US OpenW 1942 DoublesCareer record1 2Grand Slam doubles resultsWimbledonF 1949 US OpenW 1940 1941 1947 Grand Slam mixed doubles resultsWimbledon1R 1971 US OpenW 1942 Team competitionsDavis CupW 1946 1947 1948 1949 Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Lucky Ted 3 Professional hope 4 Post war 5 Abilities 6 Grand Slam finals 6 1 Singles 2 titles 1 runner up 6 2 Men s doubles 3 titles 3 runner ups 6 3 Mixed doubles 1 title 7 References 8 Sources 9 External linksEarly life and career editSchroeder was born in Newark NJ but moved to Glendale in his childhood where he learned to play tennis 2 He was discovered by Perry T Jones who was based at the Los Angeles Tennis Club and mentored several world class players including Ellsworth Vines Bobby Riggs and Jack Kramer 3 Schroeder was an almost exact contemporary of Kramer having been born only 10 days earlier in 1921 and they began to play against each other as top boy players in the mid 1930s Schroeder s career is similar to Kramer s in that they both became top players whose careers were then interrupted by World War II They were also lifelong friends and at least once Schroeder mortgaged his house on short notice in order to be able to lend an unsolicited 25 000 to Kramer Schroeder however attended college for four years the first two at the University of Southern California USC and the last two at Stanford University After the war Kramer proved himself to be slightly better than Schroeder in the amateur ranks and subsequently turned professional Lucky Ted editWhen Riggs semi retired he became the promoter of the professional tour He and Kramer decided that the only player who could oppose Kramer for a financially successful tour would be Schroeder The youthful Pancho Gonzales was the reigning American amateur champion due to his upset win at the U S Open Championships in 1948 but during his brief career had been beaten by Schroeder eight matches out of nine Schroeder playing during vacation time from his job won Wimbledon in June 1949 winning some tough matches along the way Schroeder was two sets down against Gardnar Mulloy in round one and then had five set wins against Frank Sedgman Eric Sturgess and Jaroslav Drobny in the quarters semis and final 4 5 According to his obituary in the New York Times he captivated London as an outgoing straightforward Yank smoking a corn cob pipe and earned the nickname Lucky Ted there for his five set escapes Professional hope editFollowing his Wimbledon victory Riggs and Kramer offered Schroeder 25 000 to turn pro after he won the up coming 1949 U S Championships and Schroeder accepted But Gonzales upset their plans by beating the heavily favored Schroeder in a five set final it has been called the 11th greatest match of all time 6 Gonzales lost the 1 hour and 15 minute first set 16 18 but finally managed to prevail in the fifth set 7 Kramer writes that in spite of his friendship with Schroeder he has always felt that Schroeder subconsciously tanked the match in order to avoid the rigors of the professional tour In any event Gonzales was now the two time American champion and Kramer and Riggs were obliged to sign him instead of Schroeder to a professional contract Post war editSchroeder was never much more than a part time player after the War being preoccupied with his family and his career as vice president of a commercial refrigeration equipment company and had never really intended to turn professional Schroeder said he took his tennis far too emotionally to allow him to treat it as a profession 8 He remained a successful amateur player for a few more years and then faded from view He died in La Jolla California at the age of 84 His son John is a professional golfer who has won on the PGA Tour Had 2 others sons Richard Schroeder and Robert Schroeder Abilities editIn his 1979 autobiography the long time tennis promoter and great player Jack Kramer included Schroeder in his list of the 21 greatest players of all time 9 Schroeder says Kramer won with heart and stamina but lacked in the simple mechanics Kramer writes As a player Schroed had weaknesses with his groundstrokes Long before the rest of us he was rushing the net because he couldn t rely on his backhand or forehand he had the ideal attacking grass game a terrific overhead and volley especially the backhand and that most valuable of all tools a strong second serve Also Schroed was tough physically at a time of long best of five deuce sets and he was a great fighter Schroeder was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport Rhode Island in 1966 Grand Slam finals editSingles 2 titles 1 runner up edit Result Year Championship Surface Opponent ScoreWin 1942 U S Championships Grass nbsp Frank Parker 8 6 7 5 3 6 4 6 6 2Win 1949 Wimbledon Grass nbsp Jaroslav Drobny 3 6 6 0 6 3 4 6 6 4Loss 1949 U S Championships Grass nbsp Pancho Gonzales 18 16 6 2 1 6 2 6 4 6Men s doubles 3 titles 3 runner ups edit Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents ScoreWin 1940 U S Championships Grass nbsp Jack Kramer nbsp Gardnar Mulloy nbsp Henry Prusoff 6 4 8 6 9 7Win 1941 U S Championships Grass nbsp Jack Kramer nbsp Wayne Sabin nbsp Gardnar Mulloy 9 7 6 4 6 2Loss 1942 U S Championships Grass nbsp Sidney Wood nbsp Gardnar Mulloy nbsp Bill Talbert 5 7 7 9 1 6Win 1947 U S Championships Grass nbsp Jack Kramer nbsp Bill Talbert nbsp Bill Sidwell 6 4 7 5 6 3Loss 1948 U S Championships Grass nbsp Frank Parker nbsp Gardnar Mulloy nbsp Bill Talbert 6 1 7 9 3 6 6 3 7 9Loss 1949 Wimbledon Grass nbsp Gardnar Mulloy nbsp Pancho Gonzales nbsp Frank Parker 4 6 4 6 2 6Mixed doubles 1 title edit Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents ScoreWin 1942 U S Championships Grass nbsp Louise Brough nbsp Patricia Canning Todd nbsp Alejo Russell 3 6 6 1 6 4References edit a b World Net List Led By Schroeder The Hartford Courant October 20 1949 Bill Dwyre May 27 2006 Ted Schroeder 84 1940s tennis champ who refused to turn pro Los Angeles Times Ted Schroeder The Telegraph June 3 2006 Richard Evans June 6 2006 Ted Schroeder The Guardian Wimbledon player profile Ted Schroeder AELTC Tennis Magazine on page 330 of The Tennis Book Edited by Michael Bartlett and Bob Gillen Austin Bealmear September 6 1949 Pro Tennis Beckoning to Gonzales After Gallant Win Over Schroeder The Evening Independent AP p 13 via Google News Archive Robin Finn May 27 2006 Ted Schroeder 84 winner of tennis titles in 1940s dies The New York Times Writing in 1979 Kramer considered the best ever to have been either Don Budge for consistent play or Ellsworth Vines at the height of his game The next four best were chronologically Bill Tilden Fred Perry Bobby Riggs and Pancho Gonzales After these six came the second echelon of Rod Laver Lew Hoad Ken Rosewall Gottfried von Cramm Ted Schroeder Jack Crawford Pancho Segura Frank Sedgman Tony Trabert John Newcombe Arthur Ashe Stan Smith Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors He felt unable to rank Henri Cochet and Rene Lacoste accurately but felt they were among the very best Sources editThe Game My 40 Years in Tennis 1979 Jack Kramer with Frank Deford ISBN 0 399 12336 9 Man with a Racket The Autobiography of Pancho Gonzales as Told to Cy Rice 1959 External links editTed Schroeder at the Association of Tennis Professionals nbsp Ted Schroeder at the International Tennis Federation nbsp Ted Schroeder at the Davis Cup nbsp Ted Schroeder at the International Tennis Hall of Fame nbsp Portal nbsp Tennis Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ted Schroeder amp oldid 1108202947, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
