Dan Maskell
Born: April 11, 1908
Died: December 10, 1992
Hometown: London, United Kingdom
Citizenship: United Kingdom
Inducted: 1996
Tournament Record
British Pro Singles 1928-1950 (16 times)
Davis Cup Coach 1933, 1936
Contributions
Voice of Wimbledon
To his legion of admirers Dan Maskell was the voice of Wimbledon from his first broadcast for BBC-TV in 1951 to his last in 1991. Dan’s mellow and mellifluous tones, always thoughtful, always reverent, never wasteful, would illuminate the matches he covered with masterly understatement. Dan’s reflections–perhaps a subtle change of tactics or a revealing grimace that told a story–added to the enjoyment of his viewers without being intrusive. “Oh, I say!” was a trademark, a meaningful exclamation that told much in three words.
Before his television career began, Dan spent two years with BBC-radio at Wimbledon working as the summarizer with Max Robertson. He was the ideal choice because his whole life had been spent in the game. He didn’t miss a single day of play at Wimbledon from 1929 to 1991, and had seen every final from 1924.
Maskell was born April 11, 1908, in the London neighborhood of Fulham, just a pitch-and-putt from Queen’s Club. He was the seventh of eight children, the fourth boy. As he grew up, Dan was captivated by the glamor of the famous club with its affluent members, many of them prominent in the worlds of entertainment, politics and sport.
First as a ballboy, then as a coach–never having a chance to play as an amateur–Dan was on the Queen’s staff from 1923 to 1929 when he moved to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club at Wimbledon to become their first-ever teaching professional. For 16 years Maskell, and excellent player, was the professional champion of Britain. In 1931 he competed in the U.S. Pro Championships at Forest Hills, losing in the quarters to fourth-seeded Howard Kinsey, the 1926 Wimbledon finalist.
In 1933 Dan was surprised to be selected to accompany the British Davis Cup team to Paris for the semifinal against the U.S. This was unprecedented in those amateur days. Professionals never aided teams, which seems curious today when most leading players have personal coaches. Victories over the U.S. and then Cup-holding France began a four-year British reign, with Maskell a fundamental part of that success: practicing with the players, advising, helping keep morale high.
It was partly this team experience that prepared Dan to make an important contribution to his country during World War II. As the Royal Air Force’s first rehabilitation officer, charged with the task of helping wounded airmen recover full health and fitness, he revealed qualities of devotion and innovation that were recognized by the Crown with the award of an OBE (Order of British Empire) in 1945.
Following the war Dan resumed his duties at the All England Club for nine years. In 1955 he ended his coaching duties there to become the Lawn Tennis Association’s training manager. He was in charge of the training of coaches and promoting the game nationwide. He also coached Prince Charles and Princess Anne. In 1982 he received his second award from the Crown, a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) for services to tennis, including broadcasting, and also an honorary MA degree from Loughborough University, where he was based during the war.
He died December 10, 1992, at 82, leaving warm memories of one of the most recognizable and respected voices to come over British airwaves.
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