William Talbert

Bill Talbert was diagnosed with diabetes as a 10-year-old, but it never slowed him down on the tennis court. During a great career at Cincinnati and for years after, he was a stellar singles and doubles player. In 1940, Talbert reached the semifinals of the NCAA singles championships. He and fellow Hall of Famer Gardner Mulloy won the U.S. Nationals doubles title four times, Talbert also won the mixed doubles title four years in a row (1943-46) with partner Margaret Osborne duPont.. Talbert and fellow Hall of Famer Tony Trabert teamed up to win the French in 1950. In singles, Talbert was ranked among the top 10 in the U.S. 13 times between 1941-54, rising to No. 2 in 1944 and ’45. He reached the top 10 in the world rankings in 1949 and ’50. A stalwart on the U.S. Davis Cup team, he played on six squads and helped the Americans win the Cup in 1946, ’48 and ’49. He later served as team captain from 1953-57. Talbert, who was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1967, died in 1999 at age 80.