Frank David Guernsey Jr. (January 19, 1917 – March 20, 2008) was an American tennis player. He was a finalist at the 1946 US Open in the Men's Doubles where along with Don McNeill he lost 3–6, 6–4, 2–6, 6–3, 20–18 to

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

and

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 ...

. Frank Guernsey was born on 19 January 1917, in Orlando, Florida, to Frank Drummond Guernsey and Anita McChesney Guernsey. In 1938 and 1939 Guernsey won the

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 ...

singles title playing for

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universities ...

. In 1939 he won the singles title at the River Oaks Invitational Tournament, a reasonably prestigious tournament at the time. In 1941 he and Don McNeil won the National Indoor Doubles Championship, defeating Jack Kramer and

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 ...

in the final. Also in 1941, he partnered with Bobby Riggs to win the River Oaks Doubles Championship, beating Jack Kramer and Ted Schroeder in the final. He was enlisted in the Rice University Hall of Fame in 1941. In 1946 he and Don McNeil successfully defended their National Indoor Doubles Championship, this time defeating

Pancho Segura Francisco Olegario Segura (June 20, 1921 – November 18, 2017), better known as Pancho "Segoo" Segura, was a leading tennis player of the 1940s and 1950s, both as an amateur and as a professional. He was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, but m ...

and Alejo Russell in the final. In April 1941 Guernsey signed up for the

United States Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(USAAF) and was sent to California for fighter pilot training. In 1942 he was dispatched to Alaska and took part in the Aleutian Campaign. In 1943 he trained Air Force pilots in Florida. In 1944 Guernsey was transferred to the

8th Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces ...

in England where he flew support missions for bombing campaigns and was credited with shooting down two German enemy planes. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross and

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

with five

oak leaf cluster An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a speci ...

s. During his service he flew

P-39 The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by the ...

P-40 The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...

, and

P-47 The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bomber ...

fighter planes. In 1989 he was inducted into the Men's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame.

Grand Slam finals

Doubles (1 runner-up)

References

External links

Rice University Hall of Fame photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guernsey, Frank American male tennis players Sportspeople from Orlando, Florida United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II 1917 births 2008 deaths United States Army Air Forces officers Tennis people from Florida Rice Owls men's tennis players