William Franklin Talbert (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 1999) was an American

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 and administrator.

Tennis career

He was ranked in the U.S. top 10 13 times between 1941 and 1954, and was ranked World No. 3 in 1949 by John Olliff of ''The Daily Telegraph''. He won nine Grand Slam doubles titles, and also reached the men's doubles finals of the U.S. National Championship nine times, mainly with

Gardnar Mulloy Gardnar Putnam "Gar" Mulloy (November 22, 1913 – November 14, 2016) was a U.S. No. 1 tennis player primarily known for playing in doubles matches with partner Billy Talbert. He was born in Washington, D.C. and turned 100 in November 2013. Du ...

, his favorite partner. He also was a Davis Cup player and one of the more successful Davis Cup captains in U.S. history. Talbert was a Type 1

diabetic Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

, one of the few known to be in sports at a highly competitive level, and for many years was held up as an example of how this disease could be surmounted. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Talbert still holds records at the Cincinnati Masters in his hometown. His records are for most doubles titles (six), most total finals appearances (14), and most singles finals appearances (seven). He won three singles titles (in 1943, 1945 and 1947), and his six doubles titles came in 1943, 1944, 1945, 1947, 1951 and 1954. Talbert reached the final of the U.S. Championships in 1944 and 1945 (losing both finals to Frank Parker). He also reached the semifinals of the

French championships The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

in 1950, losing to

Budge Patty Edward John Patty (February 11, 1924 – October 4, 2021), better known as Budge Patty, was an American world no. 1 tennis player whose career spanned a period of 15 years after World War II. He won two Grand Slam singles titles in 1950. He wa ...

13–11 in the fifth set). Talbert also won the singles title at the U.S. Clay Court Championship in 1945 and was a finalist in 1946 and 1943. Before starting on the international tour, he played for the University of Cincinnati and won an Ohio State singles title in 1936 while at Cincinnati's Hughes High School. Talbert was enshrined 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 1967 and was in the first class, along with his former protégé

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 leag ...

, enshrined into the Cincinnati Tennis Hall of Fame in 2002. After his playing career, he wrote tennis books, including the best seller ''The Game of Doubles in Tennis'' with Bruce Old in 1977, served as a tennis commentator for

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

, and was the tournament director of the US Open.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (2 runners-up)

Doubles (5 titles, 5 runners-up)

Mixed Doubles (4 titles, 3 runners-up)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Talbert, Bill American male tennis players United States National champions (tennis) French Championships (tennis) champions International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Tennis commentators Tennis people from Ohio American color commentators Tennis players from Cincinnati 1918 births 1999 deaths Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles People with type 1 diabetes