Holcombe Ward

Holcombe Ward began playing tennis in the 1800s, winning the Intercollegiate doubles title for Harvard in 1899 with fellow Hall of Famer Dwight Davis, and later served as President of the USTA from 1937-47. He did plenty in between, as well. After college, Ward won the U.S. Nationals singles title in 1904, beating fellow Hall of Famer William Clothier 9-7 in the third set, and he won six U.S. doubles titles: three in a row from 1899-01 (with Davis) and from 1904-06 (with another Hall of Famer, Beals Wright). Ward, Davis and fellow Hall of Famer Malcolm Whitman also comprised “the Harvard Three” that formed the first U.S. Davis Cup team. Ward Also reached the finals of the Wimbledon doubles in 1901 and the semifinals in 1905. Ward, who died in 1967 at age 88, was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1956.