Clifford Samuel Sutter (August 31, 1910 – May 24, 2000) 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.
Personal life
Clifford Sutter was born in
, Louisiana, to Fred W. Sutter, who died December 17, 1943 and resided at 5526 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans.
Fred W. Sutter was a bakery owner who, with the help of neighbors with whom he wished to play tennis, built his own grass tennis court on two vacant lots adjacent to Sutter's property on Loyola (formerly Franklin) Avenue in New Orleans, and Fred W. Sutter's sons Eddie, Cliff and Ernie grew up from early childhood playing on that court. Cliff Sutter became the only male New Orleanian to play the main draw singles at Wimbledon, in 1933, where he beat Germany's Baron
Gottfried von Cramm
Gottfried Alexander Maximilian Walter Kurt Freiherr von Cramm (; 7 July 1909 – 8 November 1976) was a German tennis champion who won the French Open twice and reached the final of a Grand Slam on five other occasions. He was ranked number 2 in ...
(who would later win the French Championship twice, 1934 & '36, reach the Wimbledon final twice, 1935 & '36, and the U.S. final once, 1937). Cliff's younger brother Ernie, who like Cliff won the Intercollegiate singles twice in the 1930s, was severely wounded while serving in the U.S. Army in
North Africa in 1943 during WWII, curtailing his tennis career. Ernie became a top lawyer with Shell Oil Co. after the war and eventually made a tennis comeback, winning the U.S. Veterans' Doubles Championship at the
Longwood Cricket Club
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.
History
A club for cricket was opened in 1877 at Longwood Estate, a place named afte ...
in Boston with his brother Cliff in 1961.
Tennis career
Sutter played his collegiate tennis at Tulane University, where he won the NCAA singles championship in 1930 and 1932. In 1931, he won the singles championship and was a doubles finalist at the
Tri-State Tennis Tournament (current Cincinnati Masters), defeating
Bruce Barnes in the singles final. He also won the doubles title in Cincinnati in 1930 with his long-time tennis partner Maurice "Dukey" Bayon.
New York Times website
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At the U.S. National Championships, Sutter reached the semifinals in 1932
Events January
* January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel.
* January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...
, which he lost in five sets to world no. 1 and eventual champion Ellsworth Vines
Henry Ellsworth Vines Jr. (September 28, 1911 – March 17, 1994) was an American tennis champion of the 1930s, the World No. 1 player or the co-No. 1 in 1932, 1934, 1935, 1936 and 1937, able to win Pro Slam titles on three different surfaces. ...
. He reached the quarterfinals in 1930, 1933 and 1934.
Sutter was ranked world no. 5 for 1932 by A. Wallis Myers
Arthur Wallis Myers (24 July 1878 – 17 June 1939) was an English tennis correspondent, editor, author and player. He was one of the leading tennis journalists of the first half of the 20th century.
Family life
Myers was son of the Rev. John ...
of ''The Daily Telegraph''.Bobby Riggs
Robert Larimore Riggs (February 25, 1918 – October 25, 1995) was an American tennis champion who was the World No. 1 amateur in 1939 and World No. 1 professional in 1946 and 1947. He played his first professional tennis match on December ...
on clay in the River Oaks tournament in Houston, shortly before Riggs won Wimbledon in 1939.
In 1991, Sutter was inducted into the USTA Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutter, Cliff
1910 births
2000 deaths
American male tennis players
Sportspeople from New Orleans
Tennis people from Louisiana
Tulane Green Wave men's tennis players