Spencer Gore (sportsman)

Spencer William Gore ( born March 10, 1850 in London, † April 19, 1906 in Ramsgate, Kent ) was an English tennis and cricket player, who won the first edition of the tournament of Wimbledon 1877.

Life

Gore, brother of the Bishop of Birmingham, was born in 1850 in Wimbledon, London. Actually, a cricket and racquets player, he took in 1877 to the first Wimbledon Championships in part. In the final, he sat down with 6:1, 6:2 and 6:4 against William Cecil Marshall by where he surprised his playing at baseline opponents with volleys. For his victory, he received twelve guineas and a silver cup.

At the Wimbledon tournament in 1878, he lost the final against Frank Hadow with 5:7, 1:6 and 7:9 and finished after his tennis career. Spencer did not believe in the future of the new Sports ( Lawn Tennis ), he wrote in 1880: "That anyone Who Has really played well at cricket, (real) tennis rackets or even want to ever seriously give his attention to lawn tennis [ ... ] is extremely doubtful for in all probability the monotony of the game [ ... ] would choke him off [ ... ] ".

Gore took from 1874 to 1879 to a total of five first-class cricket matches in part. He died at the age of 56 years in the seaside resort of Ramsgate on the English Channel coast.

Swell

• Gillmeister, H.: Cultural history of tennis. Willhelm Fink Verlag, Munich, 1990. ISBN 3-7705-2618- X.
• J. Parsons, Wancke H.: The Tennis Book. Carlton Books, London, 2010. ISBN 978-1-78097-012-7.