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 a Major (1927-67) 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.
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.
The New England Championships also called the New England Sectional Championships was a men's and women's open tennis tournament staged annually at various locations including Longwood CC from 1886 until 1978.
1900 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
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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. He remains the most recent Irish singles champion at the All England Club.
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The 1900 International Lawn Tennis Challenge was the first edition of what is now known as the Davis Cup.
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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 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.
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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.
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