Joseph Sill Clark Sr. (November 30, 1861 – April 14, 1956) was an American tennis player. Clark won the

1885 U.S. National Championship List of champions of the 1885 U.S. National Championships (now known as the US Open). The tournament was held from 18 August to 22 August on the outdoor grass courts at the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island. It was the 5th U.S. National Cham ...

in doubles with partner

Dick Sears Richard Dudley Sears (October 26, 1861 – April 8, 1943) was an American tennis player, who won the US National Championships singles in its first seven years, from 1881 to 1887, and the doubles for six years from 1882 to 1887, after which he ...

. He was also the inaugural singles and doubles national collegiate champion, in 1883. When he died in 1956, he was Philadelphia's oldest practicing attorney.

Biography

Clark was born in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 30, 1861, to a family of bankers and financiers. His father,

Edward White Clark Edward White Clark (January 20, 1828 – April 9, 1904) was the head of E. W. Clark & Company, a prominent financial firm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Biography He was born on January 20, 1828, to Enoch White Clark, a member of the Clark ban ...

, was a partner in the family firm, E. W. Clark & Co. Clark's brother,

Clarence Munroe Clark Clarence Munroe Clark (August 27, 1859 – June 29, 1937) was an American financier who helped develop electric light, power, and streetcar companies, as well as a noted tennis player. Biography Born in the Germantown section of Philadelphia ...

, would also become a tennis player of note. As a student at Harvard University, Joseph Clark won the U.S. intercollegiate singles and doubles titles in its inaugural staging, in the spring of 1883. In the singles, he defeated fellow Crimson player

. Clark graduated Harvard in 1883 and later earned a law degree. He and his brother,

Percy Hamilton Clark Percy Hamilton Clark (August 7, 1873 – August 12, 1965) was an American cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler. He began playing cricket in 1885 and soon found himself at the top of the game in the USA duri ...

, opened a law practice at 321 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. The practice centered on the "

street railway A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

, electric light, and power businesses" operated by E. W. Clark & Co. In 1885, he took the U.S. National lawn tennis doubles title, and also became champion of Canada, the first American to be so. Clark was also a semi-finalist at the U.S. National Championships lawn tennis singles in

1885 Events January–March * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 4 – ...

1886 Events January–March * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5– 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson's novella ''Strange ...

, and

1887 Events January–March * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Har ...

. In 1886 he won the

Wentworth Invitation The Wentworth Open Tournament also known as the Wentworth Invitation, and for sponsorship reasons the Wright and Ditson Open Tournament (1885-1888), was a men's tennis tournament played at the Outing Lawn Tennis Club, Hotel Wentworth, New Castle, N ...

. He captured the unofficial 1887 and 1887 U.S. National mixed doubles championships with L. Stokes and Marian Wright ( fr), respectively He served as president of the

United States National Lawn Tennis Association 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, ...

from 1889 until 1891. On November 26, 1896, Clark married Kate Richardson Avery (1868-1951), whose family owned Avery Island in Louisiana. She was the daughter of Dudley Avery (1810-1879), who was the brother-in-law of Tabasco sauce inventor Edmund McIlhenny (1815-1890). Their children included two sons: future Philadelphia mayor and U.S. Senator Joseph Sill Clark Jr. and Avery B. Clark. They had at least three grandchildren: Joseph Jr.'s children Joseph S. Clark III and Noel (née Clark) Miller, and Avery's daughter Kate Avery Clark. In 1955, Clark was inaugurated into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Clark died April 14, 1956, in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

References

External links

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Photo
of "Kate's Hall" at 8440 St. Martins Lane in Chestnut Hill, designed in 1902-1903 by Clarence C. Zantzinger for Joseph Sill Clark Sr. {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Joseph Sill, Sr. 1861 births 1956 deaths 19th-century American people 19th-century male tennis players American male tennis players Harvard Crimson men's tennis players Tennis players from Philadelphia Clark banking family International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees United States National champions (tennis) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles