George Lott

George Lott

Full name	George Martin Lott
Country (sports)	United States
Born	(1906-10-16)October 16, 1906 Springfield, Illinois, United States
Died	December 3, 1991(1991-12-03) (aged 85) Chicago, Illinois
Turned pro	1934 (amateur tour from 1924)
Retired	1946
Plays	Right-handed (1-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF	1964 (member page)
Singles
Highest ranking	No. 4 (1931, Züricher Sport) [1]
Grand Slam singles results
French Open	QF (1931)
Wimbledon	QF (1929, 1930, 1934)
US Open	F (1931)
Professional majors
US Pro	QF (1938)
Wembley Pro	QF (1935)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
French Open	W (1931)
Wimbledon	W (1931, 1934)
US Open	W (1928, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1934)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Wimbledon	W (1931)
US Open	W (1929, 1931, 1934)
Team competitions
Davis Cup	F (1929, 1930, 1934)

George Martin Lott (October 16, 1906 – December 3, 1991) was an American tennis player and tennis coach who was born in Springfield, Illinois. Lott is mostly remembered as being one of the great doubles players of all time. He won the U.S. title five times with three different partners: John Hennessey in 1928; John Doeg in 1929 and 1930; and Les Stoefen in 1933 and 1934.

At the U.S. championships singles in 1928, Lott beat Christian Boussus and John Doeg then lost to Frank Hunter in the semifinals. ^[2] In 1931, Lott beat defending champion Doeg in the semifinals, then lost to Ellsworth Vines in the final. ^[2]

In five appearances at the Cincinnati Open, Lott amassed a 30-1 singles record and won four singles titles (1924, 1925, 1927 & 1932). His only loss came in the 1926 singles final where he fell to Bill Tilden, 4-6, 6-3, 7-9, 6-4, 6-3.

Lott won the Canadian Covered Court Championships four times. In 1927, he defeated Canadian Willard Crocker in a five-set final; in 1928, he defeated Frank Shields in straight sets in the final; in 1930, he defeated Frederic Mercur in a five-set final; and in 1931, he defeated Berkeley Bell in straight sets in the semifinals and John Van Ryn in a five-set final.

In 1928, he won the Pinehurst Resort title on clay, defeating Shields in the final in a five-set match.

In 1929 and 1930, he was ranked World No. 6 and No. 7 by A Wallis Myers; ^{[3] [4]} No. 6 by Pierre Gillon in 1930; ^[5] and in 1931 was ranked No. 4 by Züricher Sport. ^[1]

In 1934, Lott became a touring professional, giving up his amateur status and the ability to play in Grand Slam tournaments. He signed a professional contract in November 1934 with promoter Bill O'Brien and in January 1935 and started a series of head-to-head matches against Bill Tilden; by March, he trailed Tilden 5–26. ^{[6] [7]}

Lott was the men's tennis coach at [DePaul University from 1969 until his death in Chicago on December 3, 1991. ^{[8] [9]} He had been inducted into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame in 1984. ^[10]

Lott was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1964. ^[11]

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 runner-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1931	U.S. National Championships	Grass	Ellsworth Vines	9–7, 3–6, 7–9, 5–7

Doubles (8 titles, 1 runner-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1928	U.S. National Championships	Grass	John Hennessey	Gerald Patterson Jack Hawkes	6–2, 6–1, 6–2
Win	1929	U.S. National Championships	Grass	John Doeg	Berkeley Bell Lewis White	10–8, 16–14, 6–1
Loss	1930	Wimbledon	Grass	John Doeg	John Van Ryn Wilmer Allison	3–6, 3–6, 2–6
Win	1930	U.S. National Championships	Grass	John Doeg	John Van Ryn Wilmer Allison	8–6, 6–3, 4–6, 13–15, 6–4
Win	1931	French Championships	Clay	John Van Ryn	Vernon Kirby Norman Farquharson	6–4, 6–3, 6–4
Win	1931	Wimbledon	Grass	John Van Ryn	Jacques Brugnon Henri Cochet	6–2, 10–8, 9–11, 3–6, 6–3
Win	1933	U.S. National Championships	Grass	Lester Stoefen	Frank Shields Frank Parker	11–13, 9–7, 9–7, 6–3
Win	1934	Wimbledon	Grass	Lester Stoefen	Jean Borotra Jacques Brugnon	6–2, 6–3, 6–4
Win	1934	U.S. National Championships	Grass	Lester Stoefen	Wilmer Allison John Van Ryn	6–4, 9–7, 3–6, 6–4

Mixed doubles (4 titles, 1 runner-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1929	U.S. National Championships	Grass	Betty Nuthall	Phyllis Covell Bunny Austin	6–3, 6–3
Win	1931	Wimbledon	Grass	Anna McCune Harper	Joan Ridley Ian Collins	6–3, 1–6, 6–1
Win	1931	U.S. National Championships	Grass	Betty Nuthall	Anna McCune Harper Wilmer Allison	6–3, 6–3
Loss	1933	U.S. National Championships	Grass	Sarah Palfrey	Elizabeth Ryan Ellsworth Vines	9–11, 1–6
Win	1934	U.S. National Championships	Grass	Helen Jacobs	Elizabeth Ryan Lester Stoefen	4–6, 13–11, 6–2

Other tennis achievements

• Davis Cup team member – 1928–31, 1933–34
• The first player, and one of only four (Bobby Riggs, Mats Wilander and Roger Federer being the other three), to win the Cincinnati Open four times: 1924, 1925, 1927 and 1932. Also won the doubles title in 1924 (with Jack Harris) and 1925 (with Thomas McGlinn) and was a singles finalist in 1926 and a doubles finalist (with Thomas Johnson) in 1927.

References

1. Béla Kehrling, ed. (October 1, 1931). "Külföldi hírek" [International news](PDF). Tennisz és Golf. III (in Hungarian). 18–19. Budapest, Hungary: Egyesült Kő-, Könyvnyomda, Könyv- és Lapkiadó Rt: 3–9. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
2. Talbert, Bill (1967). Tennis Observed. Boston: Barre Publishers. pp. 106, 109. OCLC   172306.
3. "Tilden Ranks Fourth in London Telegraph Rankings", The Toledo News-Bee, September 19, 1929.
4. Béla Kehrling, ed. (November 20, 1930). "tennis and golf" (PDF). Tennisz és Golf (in Hungarian). II (21). Budapest, Hungary: Bethlen Gábor irod. és Nyomdai RT. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
5. Béla Kehrling, ed. (October 22, 1930). "Külföldi hírek" [International news](PDF). Tennisz és Golf. II (in Hungarian). 19–20. Budapest, Hungary: Bethlen Gábor Irod. és Nyomdai R.T.: 375. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
6. McCauley, Joe (2000). The History of Professional Tennis. Windsor: The Short Run Book Company Limited. pp. 25–26.
7. Howard Barry (January 26, 1935). "Tilden and Lott play tonight on Armory courts". Chicago Daily Tribune.
8. "George Lott, Tennis coach, 85" (obituary), The New York Times, Wednesday, December 4, 1991..
9. "Three-time Wimbledon winner George Lott dead at 85". UPI. December 3, 1991.
10. "Hall of Fame – DePaul University Athletics". Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
11. "Hall of Famers – George Lott". International Tennis Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on June 15, 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2012.

• From Club Court to Center Court by Phillip S. Smith (2008 Edition; ISBN   978-0-9712445-7-3)

External links

• George Lott at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
• George Lott at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• George Lott at the International Tennis Federation
• George Lott at the Davis Cup