Dick Skeen
Encyclopedia
Dick Skeen was a U.S. professional tennis
player. He was runner up to Fred Perry
in the Men's Singles in the 1941 Professional Tennis Championships, and was ranked No. 2, behind Perry.
Dick Skeen was born in Dallas, Texas
in 1906 and died in Medford, Oregon
in 1994 at age 88. He wrote a tennis book at the request of Dale Jensen, entitled Tennis Champions are Made, not Born in 1976. He taught three World Champions (Jack Kramer, Louise Brough
, and Pauline Betz
) and forty National Champions, including Billy Talbert, Gussie Moran
, Kathy Harter, Carole Caldwell, Dave Ranney, Julius Heldman, Ted Olewine, Eleanor Purdy, Jimmy Wade
, George Richards, Connie Jaster, and Barbara Winslow. Many of his players furthered their careers at the Los Angeles Tennis Club (LATC) under the guidance of Perry T. Jones, President of the Southern California Tennis Association. Skeen was ranked No. 1 in the National Senior Sixty-five and over in 1972, after a 28 year layoff (1973 USTA Year Book).
In 1918, Dick arrived in Southern California with his family and learned to play tennis on three courts in Hollywood. In 1931, he turned professional and began his tennis teaching career in Pasadena. He became a ledendary tennis teacher, according to Bill Tilden
. Dick was known for his classic stroke production and his emphasis on the backhand chop
, not the slice. He taught at the Los Angeles Tennis Club, The Riveria Tennis Club, The Balboa Bay Club, designed the Newport Beach Tennis Club, founded the Blossom Hill Racquet Club in Los Gatos, and taught tennis in Medford, Oregon. While at the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach in 1960, he met and taught Dale Jensen. Then began a lifelong Tennis and business relationship with him until he died.
While on the Professional Tour from 1935 until 1943, Dick played and defeated these top world-class players: Bill Tilden
, Don Budge
, Ellsworth Vines
, Fred Perry
, Bobby Riggs
, Karel Kozeluh
, Vinnie Richards, Frank Kovacs
, Welby Van Horn
, Bruce Barnes
, Wayne Sabin, and Les Stoeffen. He believed that Frank Kovacs
had the best backhand he played against.
Dick Skeen also was a tennis teacher to many Hollywood Movie Stars, including Errol Flynn, Bing Crosby, Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, Fred Astaire, Kirk Douglas, Ginger Rogers, Doris Day, Joseph Cotton, Merle Oberon, Johnny Weissmuller, Norma Shearer, Hugh O'Brian, Dolores del Rio, Robert Stack, Efrem Zimbalist,Jr., and Cornel Wilde.
REFERENCES:
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player. He was runner up to Fred Perry
Fred Perry
Frederick John Perry was a championship-winning English tennis and table tennis player who won 10 Majors including eight Grand Slams and two Pro Slams. Perry won three consecutive Wimbledon Championships between 1934 and 1936 and was World No. 1 four years in a row...
in the Men's Singles in the 1941 Professional Tennis Championships, and was ranked No. 2, behind Perry.
Dick Skeen was born in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
in 1906 and died in Medford, Oregon
Medford, Oregon
Medford is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 US Census, the city had a total population of 74,907 and a metropolitan area population of 207,010, making the Medford MSA the 4th largest metro area in Oregon...
in 1994 at age 88. He wrote a tennis book at the request of Dale Jensen, entitled Tennis Champions are Made, not Born in 1976. He taught three World Champions (Jack Kramer, Louise Brough
Louise Brough
Althea Louise Brough Clapp was a World No. 1 American female tennis player.-Biography:She was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma but moved to Beverly Hills, California when she was four years old. She was taught by Dick Skeen and had a classic forehand and backhand and a paralyzing American twist...
, and Pauline Betz
Pauline Betz
Pauline May Betz Addie was an American professional tennis player.She won five Grand Slam singles titles and was the runner-up on three other occasions. Jack Kramer has called her the second best female tennis player he ever saw, behind Helen Wills Moody.-Early life:Betz attended Los Angeles High...
) and forty National Champions, including Billy Talbert, Gussie Moran
Gussie Moran
Gertrude "Gussie" Agusta Moran is a retired American female tennis player who was active in the 1950s...
, Kathy Harter, Carole Caldwell, Dave Ranney, Julius Heldman, Ted Olewine, Eleanor Purdy, Jimmy Wade
Jimmy Wade
Jimmy Wade was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader.Wade began leading groups in the Chicago area about 1916. He played in California and Seattle, Washington with Lucille Hegamin, and then moved with her to New York City, where they played together until 1922...
, George Richards, Connie Jaster, and Barbara Winslow. Many of his players furthered their careers at the Los Angeles Tennis Club (LATC) under the guidance of Perry T. Jones, President of the Southern California Tennis Association. Skeen was ranked No. 1 in the National Senior Sixty-five and over in 1972, after a 28 year layoff (1973 USTA Year Book).
In 1918, Dick arrived in Southern California with his family and learned to play tennis on three courts in Hollywood. In 1931, he turned professional and began his tennis teaching career in Pasadena. He became a ledendary tennis teacher, according to Bill Tilden
Bill Tilden
William Tatem Tilden II , nicknamed "Big Bill," is often considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time. An American tennis player who was the World No. 1 player for seven years, he won 14 Majors including ten Grand Slams and four Pro Slams. Bill Tilden dominated the world of...
. Dick was known for his classic stroke production and his emphasis on the backhand chop
Chop
Chop, CHOP, Chops, or CHOPS may refer to:-Music:*Embouchure, in music, a synonym for chops*CHOPS, Asian-American hip-hop producer, rapper and member of rap group Mountain Brothers*Chops , 2006...
, not the slice. He taught at the Los Angeles Tennis Club, The Riveria Tennis Club, The Balboa Bay Club, designed the Newport Beach Tennis Club, founded the Blossom Hill Racquet Club in Los Gatos, and taught tennis in Medford, Oregon. While at the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach in 1960, he met and taught Dale Jensen. Then began a lifelong Tennis and business relationship with him until he died.
While on the Professional Tour from 1935 until 1943, Dick played and defeated these top world-class players: Bill Tilden
Bill Tilden
William Tatem Tilden II , nicknamed "Big Bill," is often considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time. An American tennis player who was the World No. 1 player for seven years, he won 14 Majors including ten Grand Slams and four Pro Slams. Bill Tilden dominated the world of...
, Don Budge
Don Budge
John Donald Budge was an American tennis champion who was a World No. 1 player for five years, first as an amateur and then as a professional...
, Ellsworth Vines
Ellsworth Vines
Henry Ellsworth Vines, Jr. was an American tennis champion of the 1930s, the World No. 1 player or the co-No. 1 for four years in 1932, 1935, 1936 and 1937.-Biography:...
, Fred Perry
Fred Perry
Frederick John Perry was a championship-winning English tennis and table tennis player who won 10 Majors including eight Grand Slams and two Pro Slams. Perry won three consecutive Wimbledon Championships between 1934 and 1936 and was World No. 1 four years in a row...
, Bobby Riggs
Bobby Riggs
Robert Larimore "Bobby" Riggs was a 1930s–40s tennis player who was the World No. 1 or the co-World No. 1 player for three years, first as an amateur in 1941, then as a professional in 1946 and 1947...
, Karel Kozeluh
Karel Koželuh
Karel Koželuh was a top Czech tennis, soccer, and ice hockey player of the 1920s and 1930s. Koželuh never played in the major tournaments of amateur tennis but was an all-around athlete at the very highest level....
, Vinnie Richards, Frank Kovacs
Frank Kovacs
Frank Kovacs was an American tennis player in the mid-century; he was known as the "Clown Prince of Tennis" for his on-court antics but was a good enough player to be each year from 1940 to 1951 one of the best five in the world. He stood 6 ft 4 inches tall and had a backhand as good as...
, Welby Van Horn
Welby Van Horn
Welby Van Horn is a retired American professional tennis player who later went on to have a career as a major tennis coach.As a 19-year-old player, Van Horn reached the finals of the 1939 U.S. Nationals only to lose to Bobby Riggs in just 56 minutes...
, Bruce Barnes
Bruce Barnes (tennis)
Bruce Parkhouse Barnes was a high-ranking American tennis player of the 1930s.Barnes was born in Dallas, Texas. As a professional, he won the 1933 world men's doubles championship with Bill Tilden, and lost the finals of the 1937 United States Professional Championship to Karel Koželuh and the...
, Wayne Sabin, and Les Stoeffen. He believed that Frank Kovacs
Frank Kovacs
Frank Kovacs was an American tennis player in the mid-century; he was known as the "Clown Prince of Tennis" for his on-court antics but was a good enough player to be each year from 1940 to 1951 one of the best five in the world. He stood 6 ft 4 inches tall and had a backhand as good as...
had the best backhand he played against.
Dick Skeen also was a tennis teacher to many Hollywood Movie Stars, including Errol Flynn, Bing Crosby, Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, Fred Astaire, Kirk Douglas, Ginger Rogers, Doris Day, Joseph Cotton, Merle Oberon, Johnny Weissmuller, Norma Shearer, Hugh O'Brian, Dolores del Rio, Robert Stack, Efrem Zimbalist,Jr., and Cornel Wilde.
REFERENCES:
- Jack Kramer, The Game, My 40 Years in Tennis (1979)
- Bill Tilden, How to Play Better Tennis (1950)
- Dick Skeen, Tennis Players are Made, not Born (1976)
- Los Angeles Tennis Club