John Thorneycroft Hartley (9 January 1849 – 21 August 1935) was a tennis

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 from England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, and the only clergyman to win Wimbledon.

Born in Tong, Shropshire

Tong, Shropshire

Tong is a village in Shropshire in England. It is near junction 3 of the M54 motorway near Albrighton.The village is remarkable mainly for its church, St Bartholomews, outside of which is the supposed grave of Little Nell, a fictional character in Charles Dickens book, The Old Curiosity Shop...

, as the winner of the All Comer's Final, Hartley won the 1879 Gentlemans Singles title by default, after the 1878 Champion, Frank Hadow

Frank Hadow

Patrick Francis Hadow was an English tennis player, who won the Wimbledon championship in 1878....

 failed to defend his title. Hartley retained his title the following year by defeating Herbert Lawford

Herbert Lawford

Herbert Lawford was a tennis player from Great Britain who won the men's singles championship at Wimbledon in 1887, and was runner-up five times....

, 6–3, 6–2, 2–6, 6–3.

Hartley lost in thirty seven minutes in the 1881 Gentleman's Singles final, to William Renshaw

William Renshaw

William "Willie" Charles Renshaw is one of the greatest British male tennis players of all time, and a candidate for the greatest tennis player of all time...

, 0–6, 1–6, 1–6.

Hartley married Alice Margaret Lascelles, a granddaughter of Henry Lascelles, 3rd Earl of Harewood

Henry Lascelles, 3rd Earl of Harewood

Henry Lascelles, 3rd Earl of Harewood DL , known as Viscount Lascelles from 1839 to 1841, was a British peer and Member of Parliament....

, in 1875. They had no children.

In 1926, at the Golden Jubilee championships, Hartley was presented with a Silver medal by Queen Mary

Mary of Teck

Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....

, as one of thirty four surviving champions.

Hartley died at the age of 86 in Knaresborough

Knaresborough

Knaresborough is an old and historic market town, spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located on the River Nidd, four miles east of the centre of Harrogate.-History:...

, Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

.

Wins (2)

Year	Championship	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
1879 1879 Wimbledon Championship The 1879 Wimbledon Championship was a tennis tournament which took place at the All England Club, It was the third time the championship had been held with the first taking place in 1877. The entry for the 1879 all comers' tournament was 45, of whom 36 were newcomers...	Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...	Winner by default, beat Vere St. Leger Goold Vere St. Leger Goold Vere St. Leger Goold was an Irish tennis player. He quickly faded from the game and ended his life in prison convicted of murder and premature death, by suicide.In his early life he apparently had boxing skills as well as tennis skills...	6–2, 6–4, 6–2 in the All Comers' Final
1880 1880 Wimbledon Championship The 1880 Wimbledon Championship was a tennis tournament that took place from July 5 to July 15. There were a total of 60 competitors who entered the tournament a record until the 1904 draw. The admission charge remained at a shilling for the first four days, then raised to half a crown for the...	Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...	Herbert Lawford Herbert Lawford Herbert Lawford was a tennis player from Great Britain who won the men's singles championship at Wimbledon in 1887, and was runner-up five times....	6–3, 6–2, 2–6, 6–3

Runner-ups (1)

Year	Championship	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
1881	Wimbledon	William Renshaw William Renshaw William "Willie" Charles Renshaw is one of the greatest British male tennis players of all time, and a candidate for the greatest tennis player of all time...	6–0, 6–1, 6–1

External links

• The Reverend John Thorneycroft Hartley