Kreigh Collins (January 1875 – November 16, 1909) 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 ...

player from

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

at the turn of the 20th century. He was ranked U.S. No. 5 in singles in 1899, 1900, 1903 and 1904.

Tennis career

In 1903, he reached the doubles final with L. Harry Waidner at the U.S. National Championships (now known as the U.S. Open) which they lost to the English brothers

Reginald Reginald is a masculine given name in the English language. Etymology and history The meaning of Reginald is “King". The name is derived from the Latin ''Reginaldus'', which has been influenced by the Latin word ''regina'', meaning "queen". Th ...

and

Laurence Doherty Hugh Laurence "Laurie" Doherty (8 October 1875 – 21 August 1919) was a British tennis player and the younger brother of tennis player Reginald Doherty. He was a six-time Grand Slam champion and a double Olympic Gold medalist at the 1900 Sum ...

in three close sets, 11–9, 12–10, 6–4. The following year, 1904, Collins again reached the doubles finals, this time partnered with

Raymond Little Raymond Demorest Little (January 5, 1880 – July 29, 1932) was an American tennis player. He was ranked in the U.S. Top 10 eleven times between 1900 and 1912, his highest ranking coming in 1907 when he was ranked No. 4. He played on the United ...

and lost in five sets to

Holcombe Ward Holcombe Ward (November 23, 1878 – January 23, 1967) was an American tennis player who was active during the last years of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th. He won the U.S. National Championships singles title in 1904 and add ...

and

Beals Wright Beals Coleman Wright (December 19, 1879 – August 23, 1961) was an American tennis player who was active at the end of the 1890s and early 1900s. He won the singles title at the 1905 U.S. National Championships. Wright was a two-time Olympic g ...

. In singles, he reached the semifinals twice, in 1899 and 1905, and the quarterfinals in 1902. At the tournament now known 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 ...

, the oldest tournament in the U.S. played in its original city, Collins won the singles title in 1903 and reached singles finals in 1901, 1902 and 1905. He also was a doubles finalist in 1901 and 1903 (both times with L. Harry Waidner), and a mixed doubles finalist in 1901 (with

Carrie Neely Carrie Neely (January 24, 1876 – November 29, 1938) was an American tennis player from the beginning of the 20th century. Biography Carrie Neely was educated at the Dearborn Seminary, Chicago. Tennis career In 1907, she reached the women's s ...

). He also won eight singles titles and four doubles titles at the Western Tennis Championship. Collins has been inducted into the USTA/Midwest Hall of Fame.

Personal life

He married Ruth Howells Coffin in 1898. In 1906, he went with the United States

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

team to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, but did not compete due to trouble with his eyesight. By the next year, his poor eyesight had forced him completely out of competitive tennis. Collins died on 16 November 1909, after being struck by an electric street car in

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

Grand Slam finals

Doubles (2 runner-ups)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Kreigh 19th-century American people 19th-century male tennis players American male tennis players Pedestrian road incident deaths Road incident deaths in Illinois Tennis players from Chicago 1909 deaths 1875 births Date of birth missing