George Pero (April 16, 1916 – March 23, 1988) was an American tennis player in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. He was born in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. Pero played on the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

tennis team that went unbeaten for three years between 1938 and 1940. While Pero was on the team, it lost to only two other colleges (Stanford and the University of California), and Pero himself didn't lose a single match during his sophomore and junior years at Miami. Pero enlisted in the Army Air Corp in the spring of 1942. After World War II, he continued his tennis career, winning the Southern Championships and several state titles including Kentucky, Louisiana and Alabama. During his career, he had wins over future

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 ...

enshrinees Frank Parker,

Sidney Wood Sidney Burr Wood Jr. (November 1, 1911 – January 10, 2009) was an American tennis player who won the 1931 Wimbledon singles title. Wood was ranked in the world's Top 10 five times between 1931 and 1938, and was ranked World No. 6 in 1931 and ...

and Don McNeill, and former NCAA singles champion Gardner Larned. At the tournament now known as the

Cincinnati Masters The Cincinnati Masters or Cincinnati Open (branded as the Western & Southern Open for sponsorship reasons) is an annual outdoor hardcourt tennis event held in Mason, Ohio near Cincinnati. The event started on September 18, 1899, and is the olde ...

, Pero reached the singles final in 1947 before falling to future International Tennis Hall of Fame enshrinee

Bill 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 ...

. Pero also reached doubles finals in Cincinnati before the War and after it. He teamed with Bill Hardie to reach the doubles final in 1937 (they lost to John McDiarmid & Eugene McCauliff) and with Richard Hart to reach the doubles final in 1947 (they lost to Talbert & Morey Lewis). Pero has been inducted into the Miami City Sports Hall of Fame.

References

Mention of the George Pero Memorial Classic
1916 births 1988 deaths American male tennis players Miami Hurricanes men's tennis players Tennis players from Miami {{US-tennis-bio-stub