Buchholz, Earl

Earl Buchholz, Jr. “”Butch”"
Born: September 16, 1940
Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Citizenship: United States
Handed: Right
Inducted: 2005

Other
1990, Inducted into the St. Louis Tennis Hall of Fame
1979-1983, Executive Director Association of Tennis Professionals
1977-1978, Commissioner World Team Tennis
1970, United States Junior Davis Cup Team Coach
1968, Original member of Lamar Hunt’s “Handsome Eight”
1958, First player to win a junior grand slam

Earl “Butch” Buchholz, Jr. has been elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in the Contributor category. Buchholz has played key roles in the evolution of both professional and amateur tennis since 1963 when he became a founding member of the first men’s players association.

He has been a pioneer in developing both men’s and women’s tennis, using his expertise in fundraising, sponsorship and marketing to help create a wider audience for numerous events throughout the world.

He has served tennis in many professional and administrative capacities including Commissioner of World Team Tennis (1977-78), ATP Executive Director (1981-82) and member of the men’s pro council (1981-83), as well as Tournament Director for numerous events, including the prestigious Nasdaq-100 Open in Miami, which Buchholz founded in 1985.

He helped create Altenis, the management company which oversees tournaments in Latin America and secured the continuation of the Orange Bowl International Tennis Tournament, a prominent junior tournament. He was also instrumental in setting up an ATP International Series event played in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

He teamed with Arthur Ashe in 1992 to form the “Good Life Mentoring Program” benefiting hundreds of elementary and middle school children in the greater Miami area.

As a player, Buchholz was the world No. 5 ranked player in 1960, was ranked four times in the US Top 10, played as a touring pro 1961-67 (U.S. Pro Champ 1962) and played Davis Cup 1959-60.

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