Francis "Frank" Townsend Hunter (June 28, 1894 – December 2, 1981) 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 who won an Olympic

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 ...

Early and personal life

Hunter graduated from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in 1916, where he was a member of the

Quill and Dagger Quill and Dagger is a senior honor society at Cornell University. It is often recognized as one of the most prominent societies of its type, along with Skull and Bones and Scroll and Key at Yale University. In 1929, ''The New York Times'' stated ...

society and the ice hockey team. Hunter was the second husband of the actress

Lisette Verea Lisette Verea (August 27, 1914 – August 27, 2003) was a Romanian-born cabaret singer and actress, known for her appearance in the Marx Brothers film ''A Night in Casablanca'' (1946). Early life Lisette Verea was born in Bucharest, the daughter ...

in 1954."Mrs. Lisette Ruegg Wed to F. T. Hunter"
''New York Times'' (June 22, 1954): 23.

Tennis career

Hunter was a singles finalist at Wimbledon in 1923 (where he beat

Gordon Lowe Sir Francis Gordon Lowe, 2nd Baronet (21 June 1884 – 17 May 1972) was a British male tennis player. Lowe is best remembered for winning the Australasian Championships in 1915 (where he beat champion Horace Rice in the final). and for winni ...

, then lost to

Bill Johnston Bill or Billy Johnston may refer to: * Bill Johnston (cricketer) (1922–2007), Australian cricketer * Bill Johnston (golfer) (1925–2021), American golfer and golf course architect * Bill Johnston (tennis) William Marquitz "Little Bill" John ...

). Hunter won a

at the

1924 Paris Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...

, in the men's doubles event with partner

Vincent Richards Vincent Richards (March 20, 1903 – September 28, 1959) was an American tennis player. He was active in the early decades of the 20th century, particularly known as being a superlative volleyer. He was ranked World No. 2 as an amateur in 1924 b ...

. He reached the U.S. championships singles final in 1928 (where he beat Jack Crawford and

George Lott George Martin Lott (October 16, 1906 – December 3, 1991) was an American tennis player and tennis coach who was born in Springfield, Illinois, United States. Lott is mostly remembered as being one of the greatest doubles players of all time. H ...

, then lost to

Henri Cochet Henri Jean Cochet (; 14 December 1901 – 1 April 1987) was a French tennis player. He was a world No. 1 ranked player, and a member of the famous " Four Musketeers" from France who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Born in ...

in five sets). Bundesarchiv Bild 102-08102, Berlin, Davis-Pokal

He reached his third Grand Slam singles final at the U.S. championships in 1929 (where he beat R. Norris Williams, losing in five sets to

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 ...

). He was ranked World No. 4 in 1929 by A. Wallis Myers of ''The Daily Telegraph'' and World No. 5 in another Myers list in September the same year."Tilden Ranks Fourth in London Telegraph Rankings"
''The Toledo News-Bee'', September 19, 1929. Hunter turned professional in mid January 1931 joining

. He reached the final of the U.S. Pro championships in 1933 (losing to

). As well as playing on the pro tour, Hunter was also a promoter, including promoting the first Perry-Vines tour in 1937 with S. Howard Voshell.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 3 runners-up

Doubles: 3 titles

Mixed doubles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runners-up)

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Francis 1894 births 1981 deaths American male tennis players Cornell Big Red men's tennis players Olympic gold medalists for the United States in tennis Sportspeople from New York City Sportspeople from New Rochelle, New York International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Tennis people from New York (state) Tennis players at the 1924 Summer Olympics United States National champions (tennis) Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics Professional tennis players before the Open Era Cornell Big Red men's ice hockey players Professional tennis promoters