player – Tennisarchives.com

General First nameWilliam Jackson
LastnameClothier Sr.
GenderMale
CountryUnited States of America
Date of birth1881-09-27
Place of birthSharon Hill, PE, United States of America
Date of death1962-09-04
Place of deathPhiladelphia, United States of America

About

Adapted slightly from Wikipedia, at: William Clothier (tennis) - Wikipedia

In 1902, playing for Harvard University, William J. Clothier won the men’s singles and, with Edgar W. Leonard, the men’s doubles titles at the Intercollegiate Tennis Championships. While at Harvard, Clothier also played hockey and football. Clothier also played amateur ice hockey from 1900 to 1904 with the Quaker City Hockey Club in Philadelphia and the Harvard Crimson intercollegiate team in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Clothier’s greatest achievement on the tennis court came at the U.S. Championships in 1906 when he won the men’s singles, defeating the holder Beals Wright, in the challenge round, 6-3, 6-0, 6-4. Clothier did not defend the title the following year, but in 1909 he notably reached the challenge round match again. He lost the first two sets against the defending champion, Bill Larned, but won the next two before Larned eventually triumphed, 6-1, 6-2, 5-7, 1-6, 6-1.

Clothier was a member of the winning U.S. Davis Cup teams in both 1905 and 1909. In the latter year Clothier won both of his singles matches in the all-comers’ final as the USA defeated the British Isles 5-0 at the Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia. However, the USA were beaten 5-0 in the challenge round by Australasia; this tie took place in November 1909 at the Double Bay Grounds in Sydney, Australia, and Clothier was not a member of the U.S. team.

In their book “On Lawn Tennis”, first published in 1903, Reginald and Lawrence described William J. Clothier’s playing style as follows:

“Clothier has copied Whitman, but is not so good. His twist service is much the same as Whitman's, and he always follows it up to the net, He volleys well and is especially severe overhead. His volleying is considerably superior to his ground strokes.”

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