James H. Van Alen

Jimmy Van Alen won distinction in both lawn tennis and court tennis, the ancient forerunner of the modern game. In court tennis, he won multiple national championships. Van Alen, who founded the International Tennis Hall of Fame, is perhaps best known for coming up with the tiebreaker. Van Alen came up with the tiebreaker as a way to end marathon matches in 1958, and it made its Grand Slam debut at the 1970 U.S. Open. Van Alen, who was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1965, died in 1991.