Allen Fox

Allen E. Fox
Country  United States
Residence San Luis Obispo, California
Born June 25, 1939
Los Angeles, California
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1]
Turned pro 1955 (amateur tour)
Retired 1971
College University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)
Official website AllenFoxTennis.net
Singles
Grand Slam Singles results
French Open 2R (1965, 1968)
Wimbledon QF (1965)
US Open 4R (1960, 1961)
Last updated on: January 2, 2013.

Dr. Allen E. Fox (born June 25, 1939) is a former tennis player in the 1960s and 1970s who went on to be a college coach and author. He was ranked as high as U.S. No. 4, in 1962. Between 1961 and 1968, he ranked among the U.S. Top 10 men five times.

Tennis career

Fox attended Beverly Hills High School, and played tennis for the school.[2]

In 1960, he teamed up with Larry Nagler to capture the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) doubles title for the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).[3] In 1961, as team captain, Fox won the NCAA singles title.[4][3] During his college career, Fox lost only two dual matches. "One was to Rafael Osuna and the other was to Chuck McKinley," he said.[5] He was a three-time All-American (1959–61),[3] and also earned All-UCLA and All-University of California Athlete of the Year honors, which are presented to the Best Scholar-Athlete.[3] Fox helped lead UCLA to NCAA team championships in 1960 and 1961.[3]

He was one of Arthur Ashe's closest friends during Ashe's freshman year, when Fox was a senior.[6] Fox is Jewish.[7][8] As Ashe put it, "In those days, to be Jewish in the top ranks of tennis was to encounter a certain amount of prejudice." Fox graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in physics in 1961, and later earned a Ph.D. there in psychology.

When he graduated, Fox was the 4th-ranked singles player in the United States.[3][9] He won the singles title at Cincinnati in 1961. He won also the 1962 US National Hard Court title.[3][9] That year, he reached the singles final in Cincinnati, falling to Marty Riessen. In 1965 he reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.[9]

He won the Canadian Nationals in 1966. That year Fox also won the (40th annual) Mercedes-Benz Cup, formerly known as the Pacific Southwest Championships, when he was a graduate student, beating the then-current champions of all four majors – Manuel Santana aka "Manolo" Santana, Fred Stolle, Tony Roche, and Roy Emerson in the finals.[7][10] Fox rode his motorcycle each day from UCLA to the Los Angeles Tennis Club.

In his career, Fox defeated many of the world's top-ranked players, including Arthur Ashe, Jimmy Connors, Stan Smith, and John Newcombe.[9]

Maccabiah Games

Fox won a gold medal at the 1965 Maccabiah Games.[11] He is one of a number Jewish tennis players who won gold medals at the Maccabiah Games, including Julie Heldman, Dick Savitt, and Steve Krulevitz.[12][13] Four years later, he was back at the 1969 Maccabiah Games as the top seed, and again won the gold medal.[14][15]

Davis Cup

He was named to the U.S. Davis Cup team in 1961, 1962, and 1966.[3] He played 2 singles matches, winning both of them without giving up more than 2 games in any of the 6 sets that he played.[16]

Halls of Fame

Fox was elected to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Hall of Fame as a player and a coach in 1988.[9] In 1991, he was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[17]

He was inducted into the Southern California Tennis Association Hall of Fame in 2002. Fox was also inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005.[3][18]

Coaching

Fox coached the Pepperdine University men’s tennis team, at the highest level-Division 1, for 17 years.[9] His teams, which included Brad Gilbert, reached the NCAA finals twice, the semifinals three times, and the quarterfinals six times. In his career, he coached his teams to a 368–108 won-lost record between 1979 and 1995; the .778 winning percentage is the best in Pepperdine tennis history.[19] He was named to the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Hall of Fame and, aside from Gilbert, coached players such as Robbie Weiss (NCAA singles winner), Kelly Jones (NCAA doubles winner and world No. 1 doubles player), and Martin Laurendeau (Captain of the Canadian Davis Cup Team).

Writing and videos

After working as a broadcaster, Fox became a writer and a lecturer. Fox has authored several books, including Think to Win: The Strategic Dimension of Tennis (1993), If I'm The Better Player, Why Can't I Win?, and his most recent book The Winner's Mind: A Competitor's Guide to Sports and Business Success.[3] He is also a former editor of Tennis Magazine.

Allen has also made videos, entitled Allen Fox's Ultimate Tennis Lessons and Allen Fox's Ultimate Tennis Drills.

Personal

Fox lives in San Luis Obispo, California, with his wife Nancy and his two sons, Charlie and Evan.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Alan Fox". ATP World Tour. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Hollywood Preps Score Net Upsets". June 21, 1956. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 "MTNGUIDE06" (PDF). Retrieved March 4, 2011.
  4. ↑ Day by day in Jewish sports history. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Allen Fox". USTA Southern California. June 25, 2002. Archived from the original on December 19, 2007. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
  6. ↑ http://www.jewsinamerica.com/pages/9/page9.html?refresh=1112008812242
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Day by day in Jewish sports history. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  8. ↑ Allen Fox. Think to win: the strategic dimension of tennis. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 "UCLA To Induct Eight New Athletics Hall of Fame Members". Uclabruins.com. September 21, 2005. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  10. ↑ The match: Althea Gibson and Angela Buxton: how two outsiders—one Black, the other Jewish—forged a friendship and made sports history. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  11. ↑ Leon, Jack (July 19, 1989). "Harold Zimman: U.S. Tennis Stars' Absence Didn't Dim Bar Mitzva Maccabiah Tourney". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  12. ↑ Jewish sports legends: the International Jewish Hall of Fame. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  13. ↑ Krulevitz Returns To Guide Squad. The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  14. ↑ "Spitzes Thrill Games Crowd". The Press-Courier. July 29, 1969. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Fox Maccabiah Net Champion". Los Angeles Times. August 6, 1969. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  16. ↑ "Players". daviscup.com. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
  17. ↑ ".". Daily News of Los Angeles. November 16, 1991. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  18. ↑
  19. ↑

External links