Reuben Andrus Holden III (March 14, 1890, in
Cincinnati,
Ohio - February 27, 1967), was a tennis player during the early part of the 20th century.
Career
Holden played on the
Yale University tennis team, a tennis powerhouse in those years along with
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
,
Princeton and the
University of Pennsylvania. In 1910, at the age of 20, Holden won the National Intercollegiate title for Yale, defeating R. Thayer of Pennsylvania in the first round, Cullen Thomas of Princeton in the second, S. F. Raleigh of Princeton in semis and
Arthur Sweetser of Harvard in the final. All matches were best of five, and Holden lost one set during the entire tournament. Holden was a member of the Yale class of 1911 and the
Wolf's Head senior society.
[Yale Banner and Pot Pourri, Class of 1911, New Haven, CT, pg. 115.]
The week before the NCAA singles final, Sweetser reached the doubles final at the international tournament in Holden's hometown: the tournament now known as 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 ...
. Holden reached six doubles finals in Cincinnati, winning two titles—in 1912 and then again 10 years later in 1922. His last doubles final came in 1932, when Holden was age 42.
He also had success when he found himself alone on the court. He was a singles finalist in Cincinnati in the all-comers round in 1912, and reached four singles semifinals: 1908, 1910, 1912, and 1913. He lost the 1913 semifinal to
William McEllroy, the eventual champion.
Personal life
Holden married Grace Bushnell Morgan (born January 22, 1891, in
Cincinnati) and had two sons, John Morgan Holden (1922–1995) and Reuben Andrus Holden IV (1918–1995).
In 1934, just two years after he reached his last doubles final in Cincinnati, tragedy struck the Holden home. The holiday liner
SS ''Morro Castle'', bound for home after a trip to Havana with 549 passengers and crew aboard, was engulfed in flames while off the coast of New Jersey. The passenger list that night included Mr. Holden, his two sons Reuben IV and John, and his wife, Grace. Grace was among the 137 who died in the fire. Reuben IV graduated from Yale in 1940 and John, also from Yale, in 1944. Both sons were members of the
Skull and Bones senior society.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holden, Reuben A. III
American male tennis players
Tennis players from Cincinnati
Yale Bulldogs men's tennis players
1890 births
1967 deaths