Craig Biddle

Craig was born into the Biddle family, a prominent Philadelphia family, the youngest son of Edward Biddle and Emma Drexel Biddle. His mother was the daughter of the wealthy Philadelphia financier Anthony Joseph Drexel (1826–1893). His elder brother was Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle Sr. Biddle was educated in private schools and abroad. In 1901, after his 21st birthday, he inherited approximately $1 million from his maternal grandfather's estate (equivalent to $35,176,000 in 2022).[3]

In 1901, he married Laura Whelen of Philadelphia. Until World War I, the couple traveled extensively in Europe, socializing with European nobility and royalty. It was during this time that he began playing tennis frequently.[3]

Biddle and his wife had three children: Craig Jr., George Drexel Biddle, and Laura May Biddle (who married William Rhinelander Stewart, Jr., sister of Anita of Braganza). He and his wife separated in 1917, and she died in 1925. He married a second time to Josephine Peet Wilmerding in 1926 but they divorced in 1945. His third marriage was to Alica Laura Savard, who had been his nurse, as he suffered from severe arthritis. Later in his life he lived at Rocky Brook Farm, Peace Dale, Rhode Island.[3]

In 1920, he reached the final of the mixed doubles competition at the U.S. National Championships (now US Open) together with Molla Bjurstedt Mallory. They lost the final to Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman and Wallace F. Johnson in straight sets.[4] His best singles performance in a Grand Slam tournament was reaching the quarterfinal of the U.S. National Championships in 1917, 1918 and 1921.

In September 1913, Biddle reached the final of the Montreux Autumn Meeting in Switzerland but was defeated by Anthony Wilding in three straight sets. In March 1920 he was runner-up at the Florida Tennis Championships, losing in the final in straight sets to Ichiya Kumagae.[5]

• Craig Biddle at Find a Grave
• Craig Biddle at the Tennis Archives