Gray, David

David Gray
Born: December 31, 1927
Died: September 06, 1983
Hometown: Kingswinford, United Kingdom
Citizenship: United Kingdom
Inducted: 1985

Contributions
Correspondent “The Guardian” 1956-1976

ITF Diplomatic General Secretary 1976-1983

Men’s International Professional Tennis Council Secretary

David Gray was such a fine chronicler of the game for two decades with the exceptional English newspaper, “The Guardian” that many regretted his departure from journalism in 1976 to become an official of the ITF. A well-educated and witty man, he showed his grasp of tennis, its figures, matches, history and politics in his literate daily reports from across the world. But he served the game well even without byline, as the ITF’s diplomatic general secretary from 1976 until his untimely death of cancer in 1983. He was also secretary of the Men’s International Professional Tennis Council.

As a journalist, he strongly advocated the abolition of phony amateurism and the adoption of open tennis in 1968. Gray was influential in reorganizing the Davis Cup, returning tennis to the Olympics in 1988 and broadening the game’s base, especially by encouraging its development on the African continent. Among the large and competitive British press contingent he was a standout, and he brought to the game’s administration a keen overall view and perception, much wider than that of most tennis officials.

A graduate of Birmingham University, he worked his way up to the “Guardian” through the “Wolverhampton Express and Star”, the “Northern Daily Telegraph” and the “News Chronicle”. He could, and did, write anything and everything well, a political reporter and theater critic before getting the tennis assignment. Hall of Famer Ted Tinling wrote of him: “David’s political experiences gave him a ready taste for the personal intrigues and machinations that form the perennial backdrop to our ballet of forehands and backhands out front.” A collection of his writings, “Shades of Gray”, was published in 1988 by Willow Books (William Collins & Sons).

He was born December 31, 1927, in Kingswinford, England, and died September 6, 1983, in London. He was named to the Hall of Fame in 1985.

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