Grant Golden (August 21, 1929 – December 15, 2018 in
Chicago, Illinois) was an American amateur
tennis player 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 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 singles and doubles champion in 1950, and named an
All American
The designation All American often refers to the hyphenated term All-American, a noun or adjective denoting players selected for an All-America sports team. Of an individual, all-American may mean that the person (often male) expresses the qualiti ...
.
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
Bernard "Tut" Bartzen (November 25, 1927 - July 10, 2019) was an American former tennis player in the mid-20th century, who later became a winning college tennis coach.
Biography
Born in 1927 in Austin, Texas, Bartzen moved with his family to Sa ...
), 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).
In singles in Cincinnati, he was a finalist in 1957 (losing to Bartzen); a semifinalist in 1951 (losing to
Tony Trabert), 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
), 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), men's doubles with partner
Pablo Eisenberg, and mixed doubles with partner
Anita Kanter.
Halls of Fame
Golden was inducted into the Northwestern University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.
Grant was also inducted into the
USTA Midwest Section Hall of Fame.
He was inducted in 2014 into the Chicago Tennis Hall of Fame.
See also
*
List of select Jewish tennis players
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Golden, Grant
1929 births
2018 deaths
American male tennis players
Jewish American tennis players
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 players from Chicago
Tennis players at the 1959 Pan American Games
Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games
Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in tennis
21st-century American Jews
Jews from Illinois