Grant Golden (August 21, 1929 – December 15, 2018 in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

) was an American amateur

tennis player 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 cove ...

in the 1940s and 1950s. Golden was ranked in the U.S. top 10 in singles in 1953, 1956, and 1957, and was ranked # 2 in the U.S. in doubles in 1953.

Early and personal life

Golden, the son of Sophie and Abe Golden, was Jewish. His wife was Karyl (nee Gesmer) Golden. He was awarded the

Commendation Ribbon The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

with Metal Pendant for Meritorious Service, Far East Command, U.S. Army.

Tennis career

Golden played collegiate tennis from 1948 to 1951 at Northwestern University, where he was

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

singles and doubles champion in 1950, and named an All American. He earned his doubles title with Bill Landin. He won the Illinois State Singles Championship 13 times, and the Western Indoor Singles Championship 10 consecutive times. Golden won the United States National Indoor Doubles championship in 1957 and 1958, and the United States National Clay Court Doubles championship in 1952, 1953, and 1959. At 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 ...

, Golden won three consecutive doubles titles: in 1956 (with Bernard Bartzen), in 1957 (with Bill Quillian), and in 1958 (with Bartzen). He also reached the doubles final in 1951 (with Hugh Stewart) and in 1959 (with

Whitney Reed Whitney Reed (August 20, 1932 – January 9, 2015) was a former U.S. No. 1 tennis player from the United States who was active in the 1950s and 1960s. Reed was ranked No. 1 amateur in the United States in 1961 and was ranked in the U.S. amateur ...

). In singles in Cincinnati, he was a finalist in 1957 (losing to Bartzen); a semifinalist in 1951 (losing to

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 leagu ...

), 1952, and 1956; and a quarterfinalist in 1949. He also reached the round of 16 in 1950 (losing 8–10 in the final set to

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

), and in 1958.

Davis Cup

Golden was 2–1 in Davis Cup play in 1957.

Maccabiah Games

Golden, who was Jewish, competed in the

1953 Maccabiah Games Eight hundred ninety athletes representing 23 countries competed in the 1953 4th Maccabiah Games, held September 20 to 29, in 18 branches of sports. Israeli President Itzhak Ben-Zvi opened the Games at Ramat Gan Stadium in Tel Aviv District, in f ...

in Israel, winning

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

s in men's singles (over South African Davis Cup player

Syd Levy Sydney Levy (17 October 1922 – 22 November 2015) was a South African tennis player. He competed at Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon, the French Championships, the US Open (tennis), U.S. Open, and Davis Cup, and won a silver medal at the Macca ...

), men's doubles with partner

Pablo Eisenberg Pablo Samuel Eisenberg (July 1, 1932 – October 18, 2022) was an American scholar, social justice advocate, and tennis player. He played in Wimbledon five times, making the quarterfinals once, and won a gold medal at the 1953 Maccabiah Games i ...

, and mixed doubles with partner

Anita Kanter Anita Kanter (born 1933) is a former amateur tennis player from the U.S. who played in the 1950s. In singles, Kanter was ranked # 6 in the United States (and # 10 in the world by ''World Tennis'' magazine) in 1952, and # 9 in the US in 1 ...

Halls of Fame

Golden was inducted into the Northwestern University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998. Grant was also inducted into the

USTA The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national governing body for tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, ...

Midwest Section Hall of Fame. He was inducted in 2014 into the Chicago Tennis Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Golden, Grant 1929 births American male tennis players Jewish American sportspeople Jewish tennis players Living people Maccabiah Games medalists in tennis Competitors at the 1953 Maccabiah Games Maccabiah Games gold medalists for the United States Northwestern Wildcats men's tennis players People from Wilmette, Illinois Tennis people from Illinois Pan American Games medalists in tennis Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Tennis players at the 1959 Pan American Games 21st-century American Jews