John Hartley (tennis)

Rev. John Thorneycroft Hartley (9 January 1849 – 21 August 1935) was a tennis player from England, and the only clergyman to win Wimbledon.

John Hartley
Full nameJohn Thorneycroft Hartley
Country (sports)United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Born(1849-01-09)9 January 1849
Tong, England
Died21 August 1935(1935-08-21) (aged 86)
Knaresborough, England
Turned pro1879 (amateur)
Retired1888
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record18–5
Career titles3
Grand Slam singles results
WimbledonW (1879, 1880)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
Wimbledon1R (1884)
Wimbledon Lawn tennis final 15 July 1879

Hartley won the 1879 Gentlemen's Singles title against Irish champion, Vere St. Leger Goold in three sets on 15 July,[1] retaining his title the following year, 1880, by defeating Herbert Lawford in the Challenge Round, 6–3, 6–2, 2–6, 6–3.

Hartley lost in 37 minutes in the 1881 Gentlemen's Singles final, to William Renshaw, 0–6, 1–6, 1–6. This was the shortest final on record and it was reported that Hartley was suffering from an attack of 'English cholera'.[2] Hartley did not compete in the 1882 championships and made a final return at the 1883 championships, losing in the second round to Herbert Wilberforce in four sets.

In 1926, at the Golden Jubilee championships, Hartley was presented with a silver medal by Queen Mary, as one of 34 surviving champions.

Early life

Hartley was born in 1849, second son of John Hartley (died 1884) and his wife Emma, daughter of ironmaster George Benjamin Thorneycroft of Wolverhampton. His parents were both of south Staffordshire industrial business families, his father's family owned the glass making firm of Hartley Chance & Company of Smethwick, while the Thorneycrofts founded Shrubbery Ironworks in Wolverhampton, in which his father became a partner. He grew up at Tong Castle in Shropshire, which his father leased from the Earl of Bradford in 1856.[3]

In 1867, Hartley matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford. He graduated B.A. in 1870, and M.A. in 1874.[4]

Hartley married Alice Margaret Lascelles Murray, daughter of William Murray, 4th Earl of Mansfield and a granddaughter of Henry Lascelles, 3rd Earl of Harewood, in 1875. They had no children.

Career outside sport

Hartley was a clergyman with the Church of England, and he was ordained deacon in 1872 and priest in 1873 by the bishop of Winchester and served from 1872 to 1874 as curate of Christ Church, Southwark in south London. Hartley became the vicar of Burneston, Yorkshire,[4] from 1874 to 1919 Rural Dean of East Catterick from 1891 to 1917 and Honorary Canon of Ripon from 1905.[5][6] He died at the age of 86 in Knaresborough, Yorkshire, and he is buried at Burneston.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (2 titles, 1 runner-up)
Result Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win1879WimbledonGrassIreland Vere St. Leger Goold6–2, 6–4, 6–1
Win1880WimbledonGrassUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Herbert Lawford6–3, 6–2, 2–6, 6–3
Loss1881WimbledonGrassUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland William Renshaw0–6, 1–6, 1–6

Other finals

Singles (1 titles, 1 runner-up)
Result Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win1886Chapel Allerton LTC TournamentGrassUnited Kingdom William Henry Mahon2–6, 6–2, 4–6, 6–3, 6–0
Loss1888Victorian ChampionshipsAsphaltAustralia Arthur G. H. Colquhoun3–6, 4–6, 3–6
Church of St Lambert Burneston, John Hartley's grave underneath the east window

References
  1. "Clipped from the Times". The Times. 16 July 1879. p. 10.
  2. Tingay, Lance (1977). 100 Years of Wimbledon. Enfield [Eng.]: Guinness Superlatives. p. 25. ISBN 0900424710.
  3. "Wimbledon champion had God on his side". Shropshire Star. 22 July 2020. p. 16.Report by Toby Neal, revealing a descendant's family research.
  4. Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Hartley, John Thorneycroft" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
  5. Richmondshire Churches, H. B. McCall, Eliot Stock, London, 1910
  6. Crockford's Clerical Directory, 1935. Oxford University Press. p. 576.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.