Frank Parker

Frank Andrew Parker (born Franciszek Andrzej Pajkowski, January 31, 1916 – July 24, 1997), was a world No. 1 American male tennis player of Polish immigrant parents who was active in the 1930s and 1940s. He won four Grand Slam singles titles as well as three doubles titles. He was coached by Mercer Beasley.

Early life

Parker was born on January 31, 1916 in Milwaukee as Franciszek Andrzej Pajkowski and had three brothers and a sister. He learnt to play tennis at age 10, hitting discarded tennis balls at the Milwaukee Town Club. There he was discovered by the club coach Mercer Beasley who noticed his quickness and accuracy. Aged 12, he won his first national title, the boys' indoor championship played at the Seventh Regiment Armory in New York. At age 15, Paikowski become the national boys' champion in singles, defeating Gene Mako in the final, and a year later, at age 16, he won the national junior singles title as well as the singles title at the Canadian National Championships. In 1933, when he was 17, he won the singles title at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, defeating Gene Mako in the final in straight sets.

Career

Parker is one of the few Americans to win both the French Championships (1948, 1949) and the U.S. Championships (1944, 1945).

Parker became the singles champion at Cincinnati, then called the Tri–State Tennis Tournament in 1941 and was a four-time singles finalist (1932, 1933, 1938, 1939). He won the Canadian title in 1938. He was ranked World No. 1 in 1948 by John Olliff of The Daily Telegraph.

Writing about Parker in his 1949 autobiography, Bobby Riggs, who had played Parker many times, says "Parker is a tough man to get past. Equipped with a wonderful all-court game, he plays intently and with classic form. His footwork is marvelous. You never see Frankie hitting the ball from an awkward position." Jack Kramer, however, writing in his own autobiography, says "...even as a boy [Parker] had this wonderful slightly overspin forehand drive. Clean and hard. Then for some reason, Frankie's coach, Mercer Beasley, decided to change this stroke into a chop. It was obscene." It also impaired his game, particularly in preventing him from getting to the net, and Parker dropped in the rankings. A few years later, however, he worked hard to regain his original forehand, and according to Kramer, did indeed greatly improve his stroke. But it was never again as good as it had once been. Parker was known for having a "deadpan" persona on court.

Parker took part in the 1968 US Open at the age of 52, becoming the oldest player to compete in the US Open men's singles. He also had the longest span in Grand Slam men's singles history (36 years from his first appearance at the U.S. Championships in 1932 to his last appearance in 1968).

Between 1937 and 1948, Parker took part in seven Davis Cup ties with the US team and won the Davis Cup in 1937 and 1948. He compiled a Davis Cup record of 12 wins and two losses.

In October 1949, Parker signed a one-year contract with Bobby Riggs to become a professional tennis player.

Parker was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1960.

Parker was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island in 1966 and into the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.

Personal life

On March 17, 1938, Parker married Audrey Beasley who previously divorced Parker's coach Mercer Beasley. She became his adviser and tailored his tennis wardrobe. His wife died in 1971, and in 1979, Parker retired from his position of salesman for a corrugated box company.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (4 titles, 2 runner-ups)

Doubles (3 titles, 2 runner-ups)