| Sidney Wood | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 1, 1911 Black Rock, Connecticut, United States |
| Died | January 10, 2009 (aged 97) Palm Beach, Florida |
| Occupation | Tennis player |
Sidney Wood (November 1, 1911 – January 10, 2009) was an American tennis player.
Wood was born in Black Rock, Connecticut. He won the Arizona State Men’s Tournament on his 14th birthday, which qualified him for the French Championship and led to him earning a spot at Wimbledon [1] He attended The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, where he created the tradition of "J-ball." In the 1927 Wimbledon Championships, Wood became the youngest competitor in the Men's Singles at 15 years 231 days and the Men's Doubles at 15 years 234 days.[2] He was the third youngest winner of the Wimbledon Championships, which he won in 1931 at the age of 19 after Frank Shields retired with an ankle injury; he is the only uncontested winner of a Wimbledon final.[3] He also reached the finals of the Mixed Doubles of the French Championships in 1932, the Davis Cup in 1934, and the U.S. National Championships Men's Singles in 1935. He was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 1964. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living Hall of Famer.[4]
Wood's uncle Watson Washburn was a Davis Cup team member. He credited his uncle with introducing him to tennis.[1]
Wood was the father of David, Colin, Sidney III and W. Godfrey Wood. Sidney Wood III, a Yale tennis player, died at the age of 22 in an early morning car accident in a car driven by a tennis teammate on a North Carolina highway in 1961;[5]
Wood is survived by his other three sons. Colin Wood is the subject in Diane Arbus' famous 1962 photograph Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park.[6]
David Wood lives in New York and works for a law firm.
W. Godfrey Wood lives in Maine and still holds the collegiate season record for lowest goals against average (1.21 GAA, in 1962), as a goalie for Harvard's hockey team. His save percentage of .945 ranks second in all time NCAA standings (only .001 behind .946). He also started the Hartford Whalers and the Portland Pirates.