Howard David Schoenfield (November 15, 1957 – July 8, 2020) was an American professional

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.

Early life

Schoenfield was born in

Fort Hood Fort Hood is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. Named after Confederate General John Bell Hood, it is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about from each, within the U.S. state of Texas. The post is the headquarter ...

, Texas, on November 15, 1957, one of three sons of Leslie, a doctor for U.S. Army at Fort Hood Hospital, and Nancy Schoenfield. Soon after his birth the family moved to Rochester, Minnesota, as his father had gotten a job at the Mayo Clinic. A promising junior tennis player, Schoenfield was evaluated by Jack Kramer in Los Angeles, which encouraged the family to move to Beverly Hills when Howard was 14. He developed a marijuana habit while in California and smoked as much as four times a day. In 1974, his mother Nancy committed suicide by gunshot. The following year, he won the junior title at the 1975 US Open, but suffered a breakdown and was sent to a mental hospital, where he remained in for several months. He returned to tennis in 1976. During his junior career, he won a total of eight national titles, matched only by

John McEnroe John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was known for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and his confrontational on-court beha ...

Professional career

Schoenfield's most notable performance on the professional circuit was when he won the

Tulsa Grand Prix Tennis Tournament The Tulsa Grand Prix Tennis Tournament was a men's tennis tournament played in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the United States. The event was played as part of the Grand Prix circuit from 1978 through 1980. The event was sponsored as Bank of Oklahoma Tennis ...

. En route to the final he defeated Bob Lutz and won the title over Trey Waltke. Following his first round loss at the 1980 Surrey Grass Court Championships, Schoenfield was reported by umpire Bill Kempffer for "unsportsmanlike behavior". The umpire alleged that Schoenfield had not been trying. During the match, which he lost to Chris Lewis 1–6, 1–6, Schoenfield hit an underarm serve into the bottom of the net and on another occasion didn't make an attempt to return serve. He made the main draw of the

1980 Wimbledon Championships The 1980 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament ran from 23 June until 5 July. It was the 94 ...

. At a Grand Prix tournament two months later, the Canadian International Tennis Championships, Schoenfield was ruled "unfit to play" and disqualified four games into his opening round match against John James. Grand Prix supervisor Dick Robertson stepped in when Schoenfield trailed 0–4 in the first set and ruled that his play was not up to professional standards. Schoenfield later claimed that an official had accused him of having taken drugs, an allegation that he denied. He was fined his entire match fee.

Health problems and death

In 1981, Schoenfield was admitted to a halfway house near Jacksonville, Florida. He was diagnosed with

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...

. Schoenfield died from complications of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

in July 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Florida On March 1, 2020, the U.S. state of Florida officially reported its first two COVID-19 cases, in Manatee County, Florida, Manatee and Hillsborough County, Florida, Hillsborough counties. On April 1 Governor of Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis de ...

. He was 62.

Grand Prix career finals

Singles: 1 (1–0)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schoenfield, Howard 1957 births 2020 deaths American male tennis players Tennis players from California US Open (tennis) junior champions People with schizophrenia Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' singles Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida