John Olliff
John Sheldon Olliff ( born December 1, 1908 in London, † June 29, 1951 ) was an English tennis player and sports writer.
Life
Olliff took in 1928 at the Wimbledon Championships in part. In individual he reached there until 1939 several times the knockout stages. In doubles, he came along with Ronnie Shayes 1939 before the semi-finals where the two Harold Hare and Frank Wilde subject. At the French Championships in 1932 before he came to the last sixteen. At the U.S. Championships, he took part in 1929 and 1930, and reached the quarterfinals last year.
In his career Olliff was able to win five individual titles. In 1928, he won the tournament in Manchester. The following year he defended his title in Manchester and was also at the Irish Championships in Dublin successfully. In 1931, he won the tournament from London's Queen 's Club, and finally in 1938 the grass tournament of Surrey. Most recently, he appeared in 1946 at tournaments. This year, he played for the British Davis Cup team a game in the first round against France. Together with Henry Billington he had to the French double, give consisting of Marcel Bernard and Bernard Destremau beaten.
After his playing career, he worked as a sports journalist for the Daily Telegraph and after the death of Arthur Wallis Myers one of the leading tennis columnist of the UK. He died on 29 June 1951 at the age of only 42 years ago when he suffered a heart attack on the way to the tournament of Wimbledon. His successor at the Telegraph was Lance Tingay.
Works
- The Ground Work of Lawn Tennis. Methuen & Co., London, 1934.
- Olliff on tennis. Eyre and Spottiswoode, London 1948.
- The Romance of Wimbledon. London 1949.
- Lawn Tennis. Pitman & Sons, London, 1950.
- Lawn Tennis for Beginners. W. & G. Foyle, London 1951.