George E. Richards (April 23, 1921 – March 12, 1992) 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 ...

tournament player from 1940 until 1950. He was born in

Montebello, California Montebello (Italian for "Beautiful Mountain") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located just east of East Los Angeles and southwest of San Gabriel Valley. It is an independent city. east of downtown Los Angeles. It is ...

and died in

Rossmoor, California Rossmoor is a planned census-designated place located in Orange County, California. As of th2020 census the CDP had a total population of 10,625 up from the 2010 census population of 10,244. The gated Leisure World retirement community in the c ...

at age 71. At Montebello High School he played #1 Singles as a sophomore ahead of

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 ...

. They both took lessons from

Dick Skeen Richard Edgar Skeen (March 15, 1906 – June 24, 1990) was an American professional tennis player and teacher. He was runner-up to Fred Perry in the Men's Singles in the 1941 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships, reaching as high as World No. 2 pro ...

, renowned Tennis Coach, according to Jack Kramer's father, David.

Tennis career

He was ranked as high as No. 8 in the United States during his career, achieving that ranking in 1942. In singles, he was a finalist at

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

in 1946 (falling to fellow Californian Nick Carter), a semifinalist at the 1942 U.S. Clay Court Championship, and a quarterfinalist at the 1942 U.S. National Championships. In doubles, he won the 1950 title in Cincinnati with

Ham Richardson Hamilton Farrar Richardson (August 24, 1933 – November 5, 2006)"Former tenni ...

and the 1942 Eastern Clay Court Championship with Charles Mattmann. Also, he was a finalist at the 1942 U.S. Clay Court Championships with Mattmann and the 1942 Pacific Southwest Championship with Frank Parker. He also paired with Parker to reach the semifinals at the 1942 U.S. Nationals. After WWII, George became a Pilot for United Airlines and continued to play tennis at Lakewood Country Club and in some tournaments. He played often with Ken Stuart and formed a partnership with him to recondition old classic cars. He retired from United Airlines in 1986. He was a major investor in IBM stock, and left his family in good financial condition. Jack Kramer and his father, David, who admired George greatly, and car partner, Ken, attended his funeral at Rose Hills Cemetery, Whittier, CA. in 1992. 1920s births 1992 deaths American male tennis players Sportspeople from Montebello, California Tennis people from California Year of birth uncertain Date of death missing {{US-tennis-bio-stub