Arthur David "Art" or "Tappy" Larsen (April 17, 1925 – December 7, 2012) was an American No. 1 male

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player best remembered for his victory at the U.S. Championships in 1950 and for his eccentricities. He won the "Times" national sports award for the outstanding tennis player of 1950. Larsen was inducted into the

International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indo ...

in 1969.

Biography

Jack Kramer John Albert Kramer (August 1, 1921 – September 12, 2009) was an American tennis player of the 1940s and 1950s. He won three Grand Slam tournaments (the U.S. Championships in 1946 and 1947, Wimbledon in 1947). He led the U.S. Davis Cup tennis ...

, tennis player and long-time promoter, stated in his 1979 autobiography that "Larsen was fascinating to watch. He had concentrated on tennis as mental therapy after serving long stretches in the front lines during (

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

). He was called Tappy because he went around touching everything for good luck, and sometimes he would chat with an imaginary bird that sat on his shoulder. This was good theatre, but it could never have made Larsen a candidate for a

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

tour." John Olliff of ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked Larsen as World No. 3 in 1950. A member of the

Olympic Club The Olympic Club is an sports club, athletic club and private social club in San Francisco, San Francisco, California. First named the "San Francisco Olympic Club", it is the oldest sports club, athletic club in the United States. Established o ...

in San Francisco, he previously attended the University of San Francisco, where he was a member of the 1949

NCAA Men's Tennis Championship The NCAA Men's Tennis Championships are annual tournaments held in the spring to crown team, singles, and doubles champions in American college tennis. The first intercollegiate championship was held in 1883, 23 years before the founding of the NCA ...

team. He was 5 feet 10 inches and 150 pounds and was known for his partying before and during his tournament appearances. It frequently was written that Larsen would arrive for an important match directly from an all-night party with no benefit of sleep. He was the first man to win the American amateur championships on the four court surfaces that existed at the time, grass, clay, hardcourt, and indoor. Since then, only

Tony Trabert Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

has equaled his feat. Larsen's tennis career ended abruptly in November 1956 after a motor scooter accident in

Castro Valley Castro Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) in Alameda County, California, United States. At the 2010 census, it was the fifth most populous unincorporated area in California and the twenty-third most populous in the United States. The popula ...

, California. He partially was paralyzed and lost sight in one eye. He was the no. 8 ranked American amateur at the time. Larsen died on December 7, 2012 at the age of 87.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

Singles

References

Sources

* ''The Game, My 40 Years in Tennis'' (1979), Jack Kramer with Frank Deford ()

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Larsen, Arthur 1925 births 2012 deaths American male tennis players Sportspeople from Hayward, California San Francisco Dons men's tennis players International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Tennis people from California Tennis players at the 1955 Pan American Games United States National champions (tennis) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in tennis Medalists at the 1955 Pan American Games