Herbert Flam

Herbert Flam (November 7, 1928 – November 25, 1980) was an American tennis player who, in 1957 was ranked by Lance Tingay as the World No. 4 amateur (and World No. 5 by Adrian Quist).[1][2]

This article is about the tennis player. For other people named Flam, see Flam (disambiguation).
Herbert Flam
Country (sports) United States
Born(1928-11-07)November 7, 1928
New York City, United States
DiedNovember 25, 1980(1980-11-25) (aged 52)
Turned pro1945 (amateur tour)
Retired1963
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record382-131
Career titles20
Highest rankingNo. 4 (1957, Lance Tingay)[1]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenSF (1956)
French OpenF (1957)
WimbledonSF (1951, 1952)
US OpenF (1950)
Team competitions
Davis CupW (1956, 1957)

Biography

Flam was born in New York City, and was Jewish.[3][4][5] He reached his first Grand Slam final at the U.S. championships in 1950, beating Bill Talbert and Gardnar Mulloy before losing to Art Larsen.[6] That year he was ranked Number 2 in the United States.[7]

In 1951 he won the Ojai Tennis Tournament in men's singles.[8] At Wimbledon 1951 Flam beat Frank Sedgman before losing to Dick Savitt in the semifinals.[9] That year he was ranked Number 4 in the US.[7]

In 1952 at Wimbledon, Flam beat Mulloy and Vic Seixas before losing in the semis to Jaroslav Drobny.[9] That year he was ranked Number 5 in the US.[7] In the 1956 Australian Championships, Flam beat Ashley Cooper before losing in the semifinals to Ken Rosewall.[10][11] In September 1956 Flam won the singles title at the Pacific Southwest Championships, defeating Rosewall in the final in five sets.[12] That year he was ranked Number 2 in the US.[7]

At the 1957 French championships Flam beat Mervyn Rose in a five-set semifinal before losing in straight sets to Sven Davidson in the final.[13] At the U. S. championships, Flam beat Seixas before losing to Cooper in the semi-finals.[13] That year he was ranked Number 2 in the US, behind Seixas.[7]

Flam was inducted into the International Tennis Association Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987,[14] into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1990,[15] into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1992, and into the University of California at Los Angeles Hall of Fame in 2006.[16] In 2017, he was inducted into the Southern California Tennis Association Hall of Fame.[17]

Grand Slam finals

Singles (twice runner-up)
Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss1957French ChampionshipsClaySweden Sven Davidson3–6, 4–6, 4–6
Loss1950U.S. National ChampionshipsGrassUnited States Art Larsen3–6, 6–4, 7–5, 4–6, 3–6

See also

References
  1. United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 427.
  2. "Times Have Changed, Says Adrian Quist", The Sydney Morning Herald, 27 October 1957.
  3. Great Jews in Sports. J. David Publishers. 2000. ISBN 9780824604332.
  4. Jewish Sports Stars: Athletic Heroes Past and Present. Kar-Ben Publishing ™. January 2014. ISBN 9781512490312.
  5. Encyclopedia of Jews in Sports. Bloch Publishing Company. 1965.
  6. G.P. Hughes, ed. (1951). Dunlop Lawn Tennis Annual and Almanack 1951. London: Ed. J. Burrow & Co. Ltd. pp. 181–182, 184.
  7. "Maintenance Page". www.usta.com.
  8. http://ojaitourney.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Past_Champions-070513.pdf
  9. "Wimbledon player archive – Herbie Flam". AELTC.
  10. Collins, Bud (2016). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (3rd ed.). New York: New Chapter Press. p. 385. ISBN 978-1-937559-38-0.
  11. "Championship tennis". The Argus (Melbourne). 30 January 1956. p. 14 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. G.P. Hughes, ed. (1957). Dunlop Lawn Tennis Annual 1957. London: Ed. J. Burrow & Co. Ltd. p. 262.
  13. G.P. Hughes, ed. (1958). Dunlop Lawn Tennis Annual 1958. London: Ed. J. Burrow & Co. Ltd. pp. 201–203, 247–250.
  14. "ITA Men's Hall of Fame".
  15. "Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Home". scjewishsportshof.com.
  16. Herb Flam Inducted Into UCLA Athletics Hall Of Fame
  17. "Sampras Webster Headed to SCTA Hall of Fame". UCLA.
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