Samuel Match (January 3, 1923 – January 23, 2010) was an American

tennis player Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

. He was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Match was ranked among the top ten amateur players in the United States in 1948, 1949, and 1950 in both singles and doubles play. ''Lawn Tennis and Badminton'' magazine ranked him as the 12th-best professional player for the year 1955.

Early life

Match was born in

, California, and was Jewish. He attended Los Angeles High School.

Career

He was the California state junior champion at age 18. He was a radio operator for three years in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

while in

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

, and played and lost to Bobby Riggs in the finals of the Army-Navy Championships in 1945. In 1947, playing doubles for

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

, Match along with his doubles partner Bob Curtis beat Herbert Flam and Gene Garrett of UCLA 6–4, 8–10, 3–6, 6–2, 7–5 to win the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

doubles title. Match twice defeated US No. 1, Pancho Gonzales. The first time was 1948 at Newport, Rhode Island, and the second time was in 1949 at River Oaks in Houston. He was a terrific player with classic

groundstroke In racket sports a groundstroke, or ground stroke, refers to a forehand or backhand shot that is executed after the ball has bounced on the court. The term is commonly used in the sports of tennis and pickleball, and is counter to a volley sh ...

s. As an amateur, Match won at La Jolla, California, on February 16, 1948; at Philadelphia in 1948; and at the Utah State Open in 1948 and 1949. In 1949, playing for the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

, Jack Tuero of Tulane beat Match in five sets in the finals of the NCAA tournament. Match and Art Larsen lost the doubles championship in the finals. Match was the runner-up in La Jolla (March 19, 1950), the California State in San Francisco (May 21, 1950), the Colorado State in Denver (June 9, 1950), and in Salt Lake City (July 2, 1950). Match's first appearance in a professional tournament was at the California State Pro in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

(August 11–16, 1953).

Accolades

Match was inducted into the University of San Francisco Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1991, Match was inducted into the Rice Athletic Hall of Fame. Match was inducted in 2000 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 Jews, American Jewish athletes, other sports personalities, and teams from Southern California who have distingui ...

. In 2005, he was honored as one of the University of San Francisco's 75 greatest athletic legends.

References

External links

Jews in Sports bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Match, Sam 1923 births 2010 deaths American male tennis players Jewish American tennis players Tennis players from Los Angeles Rice Owls men's tennis players San Francisco Dons men's tennis players 21st-century American Jews Professional tennis players before the Open Era Jews from California 20th-century American sportsmen

Early life

Career

Accolades

See also

References

External links