Myron Jay Franks (born December 23, 1936) is an American former world class tennis player. He was the #1 seeded junior player in 1954 in the US Nationals at

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropoli ...

. He played #1 singles for

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

from 1956 to 1958, and was one of 8 All Americans in college tennis. UCLA won its 5th NCAA Tennis Team Championship in 1956, but was placed on two years probation for football recruiting violations in 1957 and 1958. Franks was ranked # 3 in doubles in the United States in 1956, 1957, and 1959, and was ranked # 7 in singles in 1958. He won a

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 be ...

in doubles at the 1961 Maccabiah Games in Israel with

Dick Savitt Richard Savitt (March 4, 1927 – January 6, 2023) was an American tennis player. In 1951, at the age of 24, he won both the Australian and Wimbledon men's singles championships. Savitt was mostly ranked world No. 2 the same year behind fello ...

Early and personal life

Franks was born in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Be ...

, and is Jewish. Franks started playing tennis at age 12, and continued playing at

Beverly Hills High School Beverly Hills High School (usually abbreviated as Beverly or as BHHS) is the only major public high school in Beverly Hills, California. The other public high school in Beverly Hills, Moreno High School, is a small alternative school located on B ...

, graduating in 1954. He often practiced with

Bill Tilden William Tatem Tilden II (February 10, 1893 – June 5, 1953), nicknamed "Big Bill", was an American tennis player. Tilden was the world No. 1 amateur for six consecutive years, from 1920 to 1925, and was ranked as the world No. 1 professional b ...

and

Pancho Gonzales Ricardo Alonso "Pancho" González (May 9, 1928 – July 3, 1995), known sometimes as Richard Gonzales, was an American tennis player. He won 15 major singles titles, including two U.S. National Singles Championships in 1948 and 1949, and 13 P ...

. He was considered a tennis prodigy from the time he won his first tournament match after only one month of playing, beating a player with three years experience. For 28 years from 1974 until 2001, Franks organized and ran the Annual

Carl Reiner Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020) was an American actor, stand-up comedian, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned seven decades. He was the recipient of many awards and honors, including 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, ...

Charity Celebrity Tennis Tournament in

La Costa, California Carlsbad is a coastal city in the North County region of San Diego County, California, United States. The city is south of downtown Los Angeles and north of downtown San Diego. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 114,746. ...

, with a total of 400 players that included 100 outstanding tennis players to play with celebrities. The tournament rivaled the

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

and

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

Golf tournaments. Franks married Gloria Delson Cahn, former wife of songwriter

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premie ...

, in 1965. They continue to live in

. Before retiring, he was a senior vice president at RBC Wealth Management.

Tennis career

During 1951 in his freshman year at

, he won the National Boys Doubles Championship with Albert Hernandez, Jr., and in his sophomore year he won the National Junior Hard Court Singles Tournament. In his junior year in 1953 he was ranked the # 2 junior in the US and he was a finalist in the National Junior Singles and won the National Junior Doubles with

Jon Douglas Jon Alexander "Jack" Douglas (September 10, 1936 – July 27, 2010) was an amateur American tennis player and college football quarterback. Early life Douglas was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the only child of Dortha and Gordon Douglas. In ...

, and his senior year in 1954, he won the Southern California Junior Singles Championship, was seeded #1 in the Junior Singles at the National Tennis Championships in

, and lost in the 4th round of singles due to a significant illness (

mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adult ...

) as well as in the finals of Doubles with partner, Jon Douglas. He was also a member of the Junior

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 organi ...

team. Franks attended the

University of California-Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(UCLA), where he was coached by J.D. Morgan and played #1 singles for three years on a team consisting of Mike Green, Franklin Johnson (former

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 ...

President), John Cranston,

John Lesch John Lesch (born January 15, 1973) is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he last represented 66B, which included portions of Sai ...

, and Joe Blatchford (former Director of the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F ...

). In 1956, he was the #2 ranked college player in America behind Alex Olmedo. He was runner-up to Olmedo in the Pac-8 Singles Championships, and he lost to him in the NCAA Singles Semifinals, and to Olmedo and Contreras in the Doubles Finals. He won the Southern California Intercollegiate Singles Championship, was a semifinalist in the US National Doubles, and won the Pacific Southwest Doubles. UCLA won its 5th NCAA Team Championship in 1956, but was placed on NCAA probation in 1957 and 1958, due to football recruiting violations. Franks only singles losses in college were to Alex Olmedo. He did beat Olmedo 4 times in 15 matches over his tennis career, starting in 1954, then 1956, 1958, and 1959. He was one of 8 College

All-Americans The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

in 1957 and 1958. He was on the US Davis Cup Team in 1956. After UCLA, Franks served in the US Navy and lived with famous clothing designer and tennis player

Oleg Cassini Oleg Cassini (11 April 1913 – 17 March 2006) was a fashion designer born to an aristocratic Russian family with maternal Italian ancestry. He came to the United States as a young man after starting as a designer in Rome, and quickly got ...

, as part of his Navy Officer military commitment in New York City. In 1958, Franks was ranked #7 in the country. in 1959, he won the Pacific Southwest Doubles Title with Barry MacKay, and the Southern California Men's Singles Championships by defeating Alex Olmedo in the Finals, one month before Olmedo won the

Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is play ...

. In 1961, Franks and

Donald Dell Donald L. Dell (born June 17, 1938) is an American sports attorney, writer, commentator, and former tennis player. Dell was the first sports agent in professional tennis, and represented Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Jimmy Connors, and Ivan Lendl dur ...

were selected by the

US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nat ...

to be the first Americans to play tennis in the Russian National Championships. That same year, he won a

by winning the doubles at the 1961 Maccabiah Games in Israel with

, defeating South Africans Rod Mandelstam and Julie Mayers, and they remain longtime friends; Frank won the silver medal in singles in the competition, losing to Savitt in the finals. He again won the Doubles Gold Medal at the

1965 Maccabiah Games The 7th Maccabiah Games in 1965 saw 1,500 athletes from 29 different countries compete in 21 sports. It was the first Maccabiah Games for Iran, Jamaica, Peru, and Venezuela. The United States delegation won the most gold medals, followed by Israel ...

with Ronny Goldman. In 1957, he and Mike Green reached the Quarterfinals of the 1957 Wimbledon Men's Doubles, losing to

Lew Hoad Lewis Alan Hoad (23 November 1934 – 3 July 1994) was an Australian tennis player whose career ran from 1950 to 1973. Hoad won four Major singles tournaments as an amateur (the Australian Championships, French Championships and two Wimbledo ...

and

Neale Fraser Neale Andrew Fraser (born 3 October 1933) is a former number one amateur male tennis-player from Australia, born in Melbourne, Victoria, the son of a Victorian judge. Fraser is the last man to have completed the triple crown, i.e. having won ...

. He competed at Wimbledon in 1957, 1959, and 1964. In his tennis career he defeated the following tennis champions:

Rod Laver Rodney George Laver (born 9 August 1938) is an Australian former tennis player. Laver was the world number 1 ranked professional in some sources in 1964, in all sources from 1965 to 1969 and in some sources in 1970, spanning four years befor ...

, Alex Olmedo,

Arthur Ashe Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was an American professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam singles titles. He started to play tennis at six years old. He was the first black player selected to the Unit ...

, Gil Shea, Ulf Schmidt,

, Barry MacKay,

Herb Flam Herbert Flam (November 7, 1928 – November 25, 1980) was an American tennis player who in 1957 was ranked by Lance Tingay as the World No. 4 amateur (and World No. 5 by Adrian Quist).

, Mike Green, Warren Woodcock,

Allen Fox Allen E. Fox (born June 25, 1939) is an American former tennis player in the 1960s and 1970s who went on to be a college coach and author. He was ranked as high as U.S. No. 4 in 1962, and was in the top ten in the U.S. five times between 1961 ...

, Charlie Pasarell, Tom Brown, Dennis Ralston,

Ron Holmberg Ronald "Ronnie" E. Holmberg (born January 27, 1938) is a former American tennis player who competed during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He was ranked World No. 7 in 1960 and was ranked in the U.S. Top 10 for nine years. He is currently one of the ...

John Newcombe John David Newcombe AO OBE (born 23 May 1944) is an Australian former professional tennis player. He is one of the few men to have attained a world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles. At the majors, he won seven singles titles, a for ...

, Bob Hewitt,

Fred Stolle Frederick Sydney Stolle, AO (born 8 October 1938) is an Australian former amateur world No. 1 tennis player and commentator. He was born in Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia. He is the father of former Australian Davis Cup player Sandon Sto ...

Vic Seixas Elias Victor Seixas Jr. (; pronounced SAY-shus; born August 30, 1923)

Rafael Osuna Rafael Osuna Herrera (15 September 1938 – 4 June 1969), nicknamed "El Pelón" (The Bald), was a former world No. 1 tennis player, the most successful player in the history of Mexico and an Olympian. He was born in Mexico City, and is best re ...

Mal Anderson Malcolm James Anderson (born 3 March 1935) is a former tennis player from Australia who was active from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s. He won the singles title at the 1957 U.S. National Championships and achieved his highest amateur rankin ...

Billy Knight William R. Knight (born June 9, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player and executive. Playing with the Indiana Pacers in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and later the National Basketball Association (NBA), he w ...

, Billy Talbert, Billy Lenoir, and Sammy Giammalva. He never beat

Ken Rosewall Kenneth Robert Rosewall (born 2 November 1934) is an Australian former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player. He won a record 23 Majors in singles, including eight Grand Slam singles titles and, before the Open Era, a record ...

, or

Roy Emerson Roy Stanley Emerson (born 3 November 1936) is an Australian former tennis player who won 12 Grand Slam singles titles and 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, for a total of 28 Grand Slam titles. He is the only male player to have completed a care ...

. Franks recommended very good friend and top Professional

Pancho Segura Francisco Olegario Segura (June 20, 1921 – November 18, 2017), better known as Pancho "Segoo" Segura, was a leading tennis player of the 1940s and 1950s, both as an amateur and as a professional. He was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, but m ...

, who he met as a ball boy at age 15, to be the Head Professional at the Beverly Hills Tennis Club, and he was hired. Franks was a featured speaker at Segura's Memorial Service at the BHTC on December 17, 2017.

Halls of Fame

In 1990, he was inducted into the

Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, in Beverly Hills, California, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring American Jewish athletes, other sports personalities, and teams from Southern California who have distinguished themselve ...

. He was inducted into the Beverly Hills High School Hall of Fame in 2013. He was nominated for the

Intercollegiate Tennis Association The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) is the governing body and coaches association of college tennis, both an advocate and authority, overseeing men’s and women’s varsity tennis at all levels – NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NC ...

(ITA) Men's Collegiate Hall of Fame on March 5, 2017. On October 19, 2017, he was nominated for the Southern California Tennis Association Hall of Fame, and on August 7, 2018 he was nominated for the UCLA Athletes Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Franks, Mike 1936 births American male tennis players Beverly Hills High School alumni Jewish American sportspeople Jewish tennis players Living people Competitors at the 1961 Maccabiah Games Competitors at the 1965 Maccabiah Games Maccabiah Games gold medalists for the United States Maccabiah Games silver medalists for the United States Maccabiah Games medalists in tennis UCLA Bruins men's tennis players Place of birth missing (living people) Tennis people from California 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

Early and personal life

Tennis career

Halls of Fame

See also

References

External links