Jack Herbert Crawford “Gentlemen Jack”
Born: March 22, 1908
Died: September 10, 1991
Hometown: Albury, N.S.W., Australia
Citizenship: Australia
Handed: Right
Inducted: 1979
Grand Slam Record
Australian Open Singles 1931-33, 1935
Singles finalist 1934, 36, 40
Doubles 1929-30, 32, 35
Doubles finalist 1931,33,36, 40
Mixed 1931-33
Mixed finalist 1929, 30
Wimbledon Singles 1933
Singles finalist 1934
Doubles 1935
Mixed 1930
Mixed finalist 1928
U.S. Singles finalist 1933
Doubles finalist 1939
French Singles 1933
Singles finalist 1934
Doubles 1935
Doubles finalist 1934
Mixed 1933
Tournament Record
Davis Cup Team Member 1928, 30, 32-37
Italian Doubles 1935
Few players so completely won the gallery as did John Herbert Crawford, called by one commentator the “most popular Wimbledon winner in history.”
Indeed, Crawford, a right-hander, was an exemplary sportsman, as well as a handsome figure on the court (6-foot-1, 168) in his long, white flannels and long-sleeved shirt. And he moved easily, gracefully, over the turf with his flat-topped racket, a model of early vintage. He was in the World Top Ten six times, 1932-37, No. 1 in 1933.
Crawford, born March 22, 1908, in Albury, Australia, was a masterful player from the back of the court, driving the ball with length and pinpoint control, with seemingly little strain. He played the classical game of solid, fluent strokes, and he played it so well that he came within one set of completing a Grand Slam five years before Don Budge accomplished the feat of winning the four major championships in one year.
Crawford’s bid came in 1933, a year after he won 16 tournaments, starting with a victory over Keith Gledhill, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2, in the Australian final. Next Crawford won the French Championship, beating Henri Cochet, 8-6, 6-1, 6-3, for the title. At Wimbledon came a legendary final against Ellsworth Vines that Crawford won, 4-6, 11-9, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.
Crawford, a 5-to-1 short-ender with London bookies, twice held from 0-40 in the critical second set, and came to the wire breaking Vines at love with four winners, abruptly surging to the net in the last two games. Al Laney wrote: “For superlative play on both sides, the blending of stroke and strategy, the unrelenting speed of serve and considered counterstroke, I cannot remember another to place above it.”
So a reluctant, fatigued Crawford moved on to Forest Hills and the U.S. Championships with an opportunity to complete the ultimate sweep. After defeating Frank Shields in the semifinals, Crawford faced Fred Perry as the last obstacle in his path. Crawford lost the first set, but then won the next two and was one set away from a Slam. But his strength faded, owing in part to the asthma and insomnia he had at the time. Perry went on to victory in the next two sets, dashing Crawford’s hopes, 6-3, 11-13, 4-6, 6-0, 6-1.
Still, the gallery loved this man– “Gentleman Jack,” they called him–from Down Under. He won the championship of his country four times, and he did it all his way, seemingly never hurried, his every move appearing effortless, his serve belonging in a picture book. Jack Crawford was one of the greats of his time while playing tennis in the style of a gentleman of the old school.
Like most Aussies he got immense pleasure from Davis Cup, selected first in 1928, and was proud of being a member of the victorious 1939 team although he didn’t play. In 1936 Jack led the team to a 3-2 upset of the U.S. in Philadelphia as he beat Wilmer Allison in the decider, 4-6, 6-3, 46, 6-2, 6-2. A victory over Germany, with him winning both singles, put the first Down Under entry into the Cup round since 1924, but Britain resisted, 3-2, as Jack was beaten by long-time rival, Perry, in the fifth match, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3.
When he beat Perry to win the 1935 Australian, Jack was taking part in an eighth straight major final (he didn’t enter the U.S. in 1934), extraordinary consistency. Rod Laver would equal it when he got to the Wimbledon final in 1968 (Wimbledon, U.S. finalist, 1961, a Grand Slam in 1962, plus French of 1968, following his banishment as a pro). Bill Tilden was in 10 straight (1918-26), but his forays included only U.S. and Wimbledon. Crawford’s seventh Aussie singles final, a record later tied by Roy Emerson, was lost in 1940 to Adrian Quist, but, at 32, he did knock off defending champ John Bromwich in the semis.
He took delight in winning three straight Aussie mixed titles with his wife, Marjorie Cox Crawford (1931-33). They were a unique wedded couple in appearing in major finals simultaneously in 1931, he winning, she losing the Australian.
He entered the Hall of Fame in 1979, and died September 10, 1991, in Sydney.
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