Stan Smith

An NCAA and Wimbledon singles champion, and half of one of the greatest doubles teams in tennis history, Stan Smith reached the top of the sport in his career. And his name and legacy live on in an iconic Adidas sneaker that bears his name and is more popular now than it was when it was first named for Smith in 1978. Smith led USC to three straight NCAA team titles from 1966-68, won the singles title in 1968 and twice won the doubles (1967-68) with fellow Hall of Famer Bob Lutz. Smith won 1971 U.S. Open, and captured the Wimbledon singles title in 1972 after losing in five sets in the final the year before. Smith reached 13 Grand Slam doubles finals and won five (all with Lutz). Smith won nine of his 37 career singles titles in 1972, the year he reached No. 1 in the world. He won eight more titles the following year. In 1994, Smith was part of the inaugural class of the USC Athletics Hall of Fame, and in 2009, Smith and Lutz were inducted into the Southern California Tennis Association Hall of Fame. Smith was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987. The Adidas Stan Smith shoe started life in 1965 as the “Robert Haillet,” named for a prominent French player at the time, but it was renamed after Smith 13 years later. Tens of millions of pairs of the simple, elegant sneakers have been sold since.