Cliff Richey

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Cliff Richey

Cliff Richey in 1972
Full name George Clifford Richey Jr.
Country USA
Residence San Angelo, Texas, USA
Born (1946-12-31) December 31, 1946
San Angelo, Texas, USA
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Turned pro 1964
Retired 1979
Plays Right-handed (1-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record 354–186
Career titles 28
Highest ranking No. 6 (1970, Martini-Rossi panel)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open QF (1967)
French Open SF (1970)
Wimbledon QF (1971)
US Open SF (1970, 1972)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals RR (1971)
Doubles
Career record 62–100
Career titles 1
Grand Slam Doubles results
French Open QF (1971)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
French Open QF (1969)
US Open QF (1970)

George Clifford 'Cliff' Richey Jr. (born December 31, 1946) is an American former amateur and professional tennis player who was active in the 1960s and 1970s.

In 1963 Richey became the American junior tennis champion and in 1964 he won the boy's singles title at the French Championships.[1][2]

Richey was a member of the American team which won the 1969 Davis Cup against Romania but did not actively participate. He was an active member of the team that won the 1970 Davis Cup, winning both his singles matches in the final against West Germany, and was voted the most valuable player.[3] In September 1971 Richey quit the Davis Cup team before the final against Romania citing his disagreement with the USLTA over the choice of surface and the lack of consultation with players.[4]

Richey was the winner of the first Grand Prix tennis circuit, organized in 1970, finishing ahead of Arthur Ashe and Ken Rosewall.[5] His career-high singles ranking was World No. 6, achieved in 1970, and No. 1 in the U.S for that same year. The No. 1 ranking was decided by the outcome of the semifinal match at the Pacific Coast Championships against his direct competitor Stan Smith and ultimately came down to just a single point when both players had a match-point at 4-all in the sudden death tiebreak of the final set.[6][7][8]

Richey reached the semifinal of a Grand Slam tournament on three occasions. His first semifinal appearance was at the 1970 French Open where he lost to Yugoslav Željko Franulović in a five-set match after leading two-sets-to-one and 5–1 in the fourth set and having failed to convert two match points.[9] At the 1970 US Open later that year Richey again reached the semifinal which he lost in straight sets to Australian Tony Roche. His final semifinal appearance came two years later at the 1972 US Open where he defeated Rod Laver in the fourth round but was beaten in the semis in straight sets by compatriot Arthur Ashe.[10]

During the first years of the Open Era, which started in 1968, Richey chose to be an independent professional but in April 1972 he became a contract professional when he signed a four-year contract with Lamar Hunt to join the World Championship Tennis tour.[11][12]

He is the brother of Nancy Richey, a Hall of Fame tennis player who won two Grand Slam singles tournaments.[13]

Career highlights

  • Number one ranked professional tennis player in the United States (1970)[6]
  • Most Valuable Player on the victorious Davis Cup national team (1970)
  • 2 time Davis Cup Champion (1969, 1970)
  • Won the first World Point Title (Pepsi-Cola Grand Prix) (1970)[5]
  • 45 tournament titles over the span of a 26-year career (1964–92) including:
    • Canadian Open (1969)[14]
    • South African Open (1972)
    • U.S.Indoors (1968)
    • U.S.Claycourts (1966, 1970)
    • South American Championships (1966, 1967)
    • Western Open (1965, 1966, 1969)
    • Legends Senior Tour Championships (1983)
    • CBS Tennis Classic (1974)
  • U.S. Open semifinalist (1970, 1972)
  • French Open Semifinalist (1970)
  • Founding member, Association of Tennis Professionals (1972)

Singles titles (28)

No. Date Championship Surface Opponent Score
1. July 5, 1965 Western Open Milwaukee Clay United States Marty Riessen 5–7, 6–4, 6–3, 6–3
2. June 6, 1966 West of England Tennis Championships Grass Canada Mike Belkin 6–1, 6–3
3. July 11, 1966 U.S. Clay Court Championships Clay United States Frank Froehling 13–11, 6–1, 6–3
4. October 30, 1966 South American Championships Clay Brazil Thomaz Koch 6–3, 6–2, 2–6, 6–0
5. April 17, 1967 River Plate International Championships Clay United States Clark Graebner 3–6, 6–4, 7–5
6. October 30, 1967 South American Championships Clay Brazil José Edison Mandarino 7–5, 6–8, 6–3, 6–3
7. February 12, 1968 U.S. National Indoor Championships Clay United States Clark Graebner 6–4, 6–4, 6–4
8. April 16, 1968 River Oaks Invitational Houston Clay Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Boro Jovanović 6–4, 6–1, 6–0
9. December 23, 1968 Sugar Bowl tennis Classic New Orleans Hard United States Ron Holmberg 6–4, 6–4, 4–6, 8–6
10. February 24, 1969 Curacao International Championships Clay United Kingdom Mark Cox 6–4, 6–3, 6–3
11. March 17, 1969 Thunderbird Invitational Phoenix Spain Manuel Santana 6–4, 6–4
12. July 14, 1969 Cincinnati Open Clay Australia Allan Stone 6–1, 6–2
13. August 9, 1969 Canadian Open Clay United States Butch Buchholz 6–4, 5–7, 6–4, 6–0
14. August 15, 1969 Pennsylvania Grass Court Championship Grass Australia Robert Carmichael 6–4, 7–9, 6–2, 6–4
15. December 22, 1969 Sugar Bowl Tennis Classic New Orleans Hard United States Jim Osborne 6–4, 6–4, 6–2
16. January 19, 1970 Austin Smith Tennis Championship Hard United States Clark Graebner 6–3, 7–5
17. February 23, 1970 Macon International Tennis Tournament Hard United States Arthur Ashe 6–3, 3–6, 8–6
18. April 13, 1970 Charlotte International Tennis Tournament Australia Robert Carmichael 6–4, 6–4
19. April 27, 1970 Atlanta Invitational Tennis Tournament United States Frank Froehling 6–2, 6–2
20. July 13, 1970 Washington Star International Hard United States Arthur Ashe 7–5, 6–2, 6–1
21. August 2, 1970 U.S. Clay Court Championships Clay United States Stan Smith 6–2, 10–8, 3–6, 6–1
22. April 26, 1971 River Oaks Invitational Houston Clay United States Clark Graebner 6–1, 6–2, 6–2
23. January 24, 1972 London Indoor Hard United States Clark Graebner 7–5, 6–7, 7–5, 6–0
24. April 10, 1972 South African Open Hard Spain Manuel Orantes 6–4, 7–5, 3–6, 6–4
25. July 10, 1972 Bretton Woods Hard United States Jeff Borowiak 6–1, 6–0
26. January 14, 1974 WCT Lakeway CBS Classic Australia John Alexander 7–6, 6–1
27. September 13, 1976 Bermuda Tennis Classic Clay United States Gene Mayer 7–6, 6–2
28. April 3, 1978 South African Tennis Meet Hard Switzerland Colin Dowdeswell 6–2, 6–4

Personal life

GOLF HIGHLIGHTS

  • Founding member, Celebrity Players' Tour (1997)[15]
  • Played celebrity golf tour for 15 years (1992–2007)
  • Won tour events in Jamaica (2004) and Baltimore (2006)
  • Scratch golfer(74.5 career stroke average; career best round 63)

MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS FUNDRAISING/ACTIVISM

  • Cliff organized tennis and golf tournaments to benefit charities:
  • Angelo Catholic School (1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990)
  • James Phillips Williams Memorial [Dyslexia] Foundation (1991, 1992, 1993)
  • Mental Health/Mental Retardation (1999)
  • United Way (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009)
  • Nominated for Frank M. Adams Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service (2000)

PUBLIC LECTURES AND PRESENTATIONS

  • Keynote presentation, Texas state convention for executive directors of MHMR (2000)
  • Community legislative forums (1999, 2000)
  • Invited lectures to college campuses and psychology classes (2006, 2007, 2008)
  • Keynote address, MHMR banquet (Palestine, TX, 2000)
  • 2010 Mental Health America/TX Boots, Bells, and Hearts award
  • 2010 Texas Council of MHMR's Annual Conference, Keynote Speaker, Woodlands TX.
  • 2010 NAMI National Convention, Breakfast Presentation
  • Fourteen city speaking/book tour with new book Acing Depression: A Tennis Champion's Toughest Match, 2010
  • 2010 Lecture at the Grand Rounds, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University to Faculty and trainees
  • 2010 Keynote speaker Montana State Convention on Mental Illness, Billings, Montana

Works

References

  1. ↑ "Junior and Boys Tennis Champs are Crowned". The Owosso Argus-Press. August 2, 1963. Retrieved September 24, 2012. 
  2. ↑ "Velotti Wins Boys Championship". The New York Times. June 6, 2010. Retrieved September 24, 2012. 
  3. ↑ Grimsley, Will (September 9, 1970). "Four Americans in Tennis Quarter-final". The Day. Retrieved March 17, 2011. 
  4. ↑ "Bitter Richey Quits Davis Cup Squad". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. September 22, 1971. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 John Barrett, ed. (1971). World of Tennis 1971. London: Queen Anne Press. pp. 133–135. ISBN 978-0362000917. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Bud Collins (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed. ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. pp. 706, 707. ISBN 978-0942257700. 
  7. ↑ United States Tennis Association (1979). Bill Shannon, ed. Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (Rev. and updated 1st ed. ed.). New York: Harper & Row. p. 427. ISBN 0060144785. 
  8. ↑ Richey, Cliff; Hilaire Richey Kallendorf (2010). Acing Depression : A Tennis Champion's Toughest Match. New York: New Chapter Press. pp. 1–4. ISBN 978-0942257663. 
  9. ↑ "The Analysis of the Choke". World Tennis Magazine. June 4, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2012. 
  10. ↑ Bud Collins (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed. ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. p. 462. ISBN 978-0942257700. 
  11. ↑ "Cliff Richey Says he May Earn Less but prefers to be his own Boss in Tennis". Gettysburg Times. February 18, 1971. Retrieved September 25, 2012. 
  12. ↑ "Richey Goes Over To Hunt's Group With 4-Year Pact". The New York Times. April 12, 1972. Retrieved September 25, 2012. 
  13. ↑ "Sports briefs". The Leader-Post. July 11, 1966. p. 24. Retrieved March 17, 2011. 
  14. ↑ "RICHEY CAPTURES CANADA NET FINAL; Conquers Buchholz in 4 Sets". New York Times. August 11, 1969. Retrieved March 17, 2011. 
  15. ↑ McCarton Ackerman (June 12, 2012). "The Alcoholism of a Tennis Great". TheFix. 

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