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.
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.
A club for cricket was opened in 1877 at Longwood Estate, a place named after the house Napoleon Bonaparte stayed at while exiled to Saint Helena. [1] Located on the outskirts of Boston on land donated by the Sears family, [2] cricketers and baseball players put Longwood on the sports map. Specifically, Harry Wright, first player-manager of the Boston Red Stockings, played cricket for the United States, as did his brother George Wright. George Wright combined with tennis pro Charlie Chambers in league games throughout New England and played at Longwood against Lord Harris' XI in 1891. George Wright was the co-proprietor of Wright and Ditman, purveyor of fine sports goods. Wright brought the first tennis gear to Boston on his return from a baseball-cricket tour of England in 1874. Wright also taught tennis to Harvard students and toured with them in California in 1890. It was George Wright who deserves the credit for Longwood's broad-based sporting tradition, having excelled in baseball and cricket as a paid professional and at tennis as a promoter of the game. [3] A lawn tennis court was laid in 1878, two years after the organization of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club at Lord's Cricket Ground in London. On January 5, 1888, Longwood member and US cricket team captain C.L. Bixby led the team to a win over the West Indies cricket team at the Bourda ground in Georgetown, Guyana. [4] Richard D. Sears, who won seven United States Championships, would soon become a club member as well. [1]
The club's first tennis tournament was held in 1882. The following year saw the first Longwood Bowl tournament, attracting top American players. It would continue to be held annually until 1942. The Eastern Championship for doubles tennis was held in 1890. Cricket was last played at Longwood in 1933 before a one-off game was held in October 2008 between the Faded Blues CC and St. Columba's Cricket Club from Newport, Rhode Island.
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In 1900 Dwight Davis, then a fourth-year student at nearby Harvard University, arranged for a British team to visit Longwood and compete for what became the first Davis Cup, branded the International Lawn Tennis Challenge. The Davis-captained Americans won the inaugural contest 3–0.
In total, 15 Davis Cup ties have been settled at Longwood. The British Isles defeated the Americans 4–1 in the 1903 final. The 1908 semi-final saw the Americans reverse their fortunes and prevail by the same score. The next eight ties played at Longwood did not involve the American team. 1914 saw Australia defeat Britain 3–0 in a semi-final. 1922 through 1925 saw a tie played a year with Australasia defeating France 4–1 in a quarterfinal encounter in 1922, Australia beating France by the same score in a 1923 semi-final and in 1924, but by a 3–2 scoreline, and Australia defeating Japan 4–1 in 1925. After France swept Japan 5–0 in a 1927 semi-final, the Davis Cup would not return to Longwood for 11 years, with Australia defeating Nazi Germany 5–0 in the 1938 semi-final. A further decade would elapse before in 1948 Australia won another semi, this time over Czechoslovakia, 3–1. In 1957, the U.S. team returned to Brookline to defeat Brazil 5–0 in a 3rd round tie. Two years later saw Australia dispatch with India 4–1 in the penultimate round.
Another 40 years would pass before in 1999, Australia, led by Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt defeated the U.S., led by Pete Sampras, 4–1 in a quarterfinal tie played on hard courts. This was the last time a top-flight professional tennis match was played at Longwood.
The U.S. Pro Tennis Championships professional tennis tournament was contested annually at Longwood from 1964 to 1999, when it was discontinued, with the exception of 1995, when the tournament was rained out and 1996, when it was not scheduled.
1900 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from over 140 competing countries. It is described by the organisers as the "World Cup of Tennis", and the winners are referred to as the World Champions. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Great Britain and the United States. By 2023, 155 nations entered teams into the competition.
George Wright was an American shortstop in professional baseball. He played for the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first fully professional team, when he was the game's best player. He then played for the Boston Red Stockings, helping the team win six league championships from 1871 to 1878. His older brother Harry Wright managed both Red Stockings teams and made George his cornerstone. George was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937. After arriving in Boston, he also entered the sporting goods business. There he continued in the industry, assisting in the development of golf.
Richard Dudley Sears was an American tennis player, who won the US National Championships singles in its first seven years, from 1881 to 1887, and the doubles for six years from 1882 to 1887, after which he retired from tennis.
Harold Segerson Mahony was a Scottish-born Irish tennis player who is best known for winning the singles title at the Wimbledon Championships in 1896. His career lasted from 1888 until his death in 1905. Mahony was born in Scotland but lived in Ireland for the majority of his life; his family were Irish including both of his parents, the family home was in County Kerry, Southwestern Ireland. He was the last Scottish born man to win Wimbledon until the victory of Andy Murray at the 2013 championships.
William 'Bill' Jackson Clothier was an American tennis player.
James Dwight was an American tennis player who was known as the "Founding Father of American Tennis".
The 1900 International Lawn Tennis Challenge was the first edition of what is now known as the Davis Cup.
The 1903 International Lawn Tennis Challenge was the third edition of what is now known as the Davis Cup. The British Isles team returned to the United States to contest the Cup. The tie was played at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston, Massachusetts. The British won 4-1, bringing the Cup to Britain for the first time.
The 1905 International Lawn Tennis Challenge was the fifth edition of what is now known as the Davis Cup. As defending champions, the British Isles team played host to the competition. The World Group ties were played at Queen's Club in London, England from 13–19 July, and the final was played on 21–24 July. Britain retained the Cup for their third championship.
The Great Britain Davis Cup team has represented the United Kingdom internationally since 1900 in the Davis Cup. Organised by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), it is one of the 50 members of International Tennis Federation's European association.
The 1907 International Lawn Tennis Challenge was the seventh edition of what is now known as the Davis Cup. As defending champions, the British Isles team played host to the competition. After several years of more varied competition, only Australasia and the United States would challenge for the cup. Australasia won both ties, and became the third nation to win the cup. The ties were played at Worple Road in Wimbledon, London, England from 13–24 July.
The 1908 International Lawn Tennis Challenge was the eighth edition of what is now known as the Davis Cup. For the first time, ties were held in different countries and at different times, rather than all the matches being played in the same venue, as before. It also marked the first time that a tie was played in Australia.
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The 1911 International Lawn Tennis Challenge was the tenth edition of what is now known as the Davis Cup, named after the American tennis player Dwight F. Davis. After no country decided to challenge Australasia in 1910, only the British Isles and the United States would challenge for the Cup, for the third straight edition. Also for the third straight edition, the Americans would beat the British to earn the right to play for the Cup, and for the third straight edition, the Aussies would beat the Americans for the title.
The 1914 International Lawn Tennis Challenge was the 13th edition of what is now known as the Davis Cup. The bulk of the competition returned to the United States for the first time since 1903. The United States fell to Australasia in the final, which was played at the West Side Tennis Club in New York on 13–15 August.
The Toronto Lawn Tennis Club is a private social and athletic club in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1876, it has a long history of tennis competition. It is located at 44 Price Street, in the affluent Rosedale neighbourhood of Toronto.
Irving Christian Wright (1882–1953) was an American male tennis player who was active in the early 20th century.
The Longwood Bowl was a men's and women's tennis tournament first played at the Longwood Cricket Club courts at Brookline, Massachusetts, United States from 1882 to 1949.