player – Tennisarchives.com

General First nameHans Albert Ernst Paul
LastnameMoldenhauer
GenderMale
CountryGermany
Date of birth1901-04-10
Place of birthPankow, Berlin, Germany
Date of death1929-12-29
Place of deathBerlin, Germany

About

Hans Moldenhauer was born in the Pankow district of Berlin in 1901, the son of Friedrich August Martin Moldenhauer, a factory owner, and Anna Elise Clara Moldenhauer. Hans Moldenhauer attended the Andreas Realgymnasium [a secondary school with a focus on mathematics and science] in Berlin before going on to technical college. He subsequently worked in his father’s factory, eventually rising to the level of manager and helping the company to prosper.

From his earliest childhood Moldenhauer liked to take part in all kinds of sports, including tennis, football, rowing, hockey, athletics, boxing and golf. However, he gradually began to devote himself more and more to tennis and, after joining one or two clubs in Berlin, eventually became a member of the Lawn-Tennis-Turnier-Club in the German capital. This club was popularly known as the Rot-Weiss-Club due to its representative colours of red and white.

Some of Moldenhauer’s greatest successes came at the International German Championships tournament, where he won the men’s singles title in 1926 and 1927, and in the Davis Cup, where he formed a very strong partnership with Daniel Prenn. Hans Moldenhauer was only 28 when he was killed in a car crash in Berlin in December 1929. His loss was mourned not just by his family and his many friends, but also by fellow tennis players and fans and other observers of the sport around the world.
--

From the Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, 30 December 1929:

Tennis Champion Hans Moldenhauer Killed in Car Accident

Hans Moldenhauer, the well-known tennis player from Berlin, who was injured in a serious car accident late on Saturday night, died in Achenbach Hospital in Berlin-Wilmersdorf late on Sunday afternoon without regaining consciousness.

The following is currently known about the accident. After training indoors in the Marstall, Moldenhauer spent Saturday evening with friends at the Rot-Weiss-Club. At about 1am on Sunday morning he set off for home in the company of Fräulein Flehinghaus, the artist Hans Leu and Major von Monthi. Moldenhauer was driving his own car and, when approaching Luna Park, attempted to overtake the car in front of his, which was being driven by Helmuth Gilka, the brother-in-law of Fräulein Flehinghaus, when he saw an oncoming tram, which was travelling at speed.

Despite his braking quickly, Moldenhauer’s car spun sideways and was hit side-on by the tram. The manager of the Rot-Weiss-Club, Mr von Monthi, was only slightly injured, but Fräulein Flehinghaus and Mr Heu suffered serious cuts and broken bones. Moldenhauer was trapped in the wreckage of his car and could only be freed by members of the fire brigade after quite some time.

Dr Conrad Kupsch, a passenger in Mr Gilka’s car, immediately went to the aid of the injured. He ascertained that Hans Moldenhauer had suffered a serious skull fracture and injuries to his arms and legs. The other three injured passengers were taken to Achenbach Hospital. Hans Moldenhauer passed away there on Sunday evening without regaining consciousness. Serious bleeding on the brain was the main cause of death.
--

From the Berliner Börsen-Zeitung newspaper, 5 January 1930:

Hans Moldenhauer’s Final Journey

A huge crowd of mourners gathered yesterday at the small cemetery near the forest in Stahnsdorf in Brandenburg to pay their last respects to tennis champion Hans Moldenhauer, who died in a car accident on 29 December. The coffin, decorated in the colours of the Rot-Weiss-Club, was invisible under many wreaths.

After an introductory organ and violin performance and the sermon of Pastor Borchert, Dr Wilhelm Schomburgk took the floor as the representative of the German Tennis Association and commemorated the deceased in warm words, declaring that his achievements would remain unforgettable in the history of German tennis. Dr Friedrich Carl von Siemens, president of the Rot-Weiss-Club, spoke on behalf of the club’s members and, lastly, Moldenhauer’s friend Daniel Prenn said goodbye to his “Hans” in a voice choked with tears.

The coffin, followed by the relatives, left the chapel to the sound of the organ. Then came Dr Heinz Landmann and Dr Hermann Rau, with a wreath of white roses, followed by Prenn, Dr Heinrich Kleinschroth, Dr Conrad Kupsch, Anatol Tomilin, Martin Zander, Roderich Menzel, Werner Stapenhorst, P.G. Hoffmann, Günther Rahn and Frau Paula von Reznicek. They were joined by officers from the Berlin Police Sports Club with a wreath in their green and white club colours, members of the Grün-Gold-Tennis-Club in Pankow, of which Moldenhauer was once a member, and representatives of the English, French and Japanese embassies and the Polish legation.

Wreaths were also sent by almost all of the German tennis clubs as well as the Berlin Tennis Association, the former Crown Prince, Eitel Friedrich, the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, the French Tennis Association, the Four Musketeers (Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet, René Lacoste and Jacques Brugnon), Otto Froitzheim (who was unable to attend due to professional commitments), Oscar Kreuzer, Roman Najuch and Cilly Aussem, to name just the most prominent.

Once again we were made aware of the great extent of our loss. In a joyful sport, death is doubly shattering. Just recently, Hans Moldenhauer was seen beating Dr Kupsch in a tennis match held during the inauguration of a new police hall. It was to be his last victory. We met him at numerous tennis balls, smiling and happy, unaware of his approaching fate. And just last Sunday he was supposed to play a match in the Sportpalast in Berlin together with his friend Prenn, before leaving for the Riviera shortly thereafter. In the middle of his work, in the middle of a thousand vain plans, he was met by death.

Hans Moldenhauer was only 28 years old. In the middle of the war, at the age of 14, he discovered tennis. His rise to the top began in 1922. He became well-known at the Blau-Weiss-Club in Berlin. In 1923, he moved to the Schlittschuh-Club and formed an exceptionally strong team together with Dr Landmann and Georg Demasius. In 1925, Moldenhauer moved to the Rot-Weiss-Club, and that is where his ascent really began. In a very short time Najuch made him into a top-class player.

It would take too much space to list only Moldenhauer’s most important successes. But let us mention the Davis Cup matches as a result of which Moldenhauer became world-famous. In 1927, he was still the substitute for the tie against South Africa, but it was he who gained the only point for Germany. From the following year onwards he, together with Prenn, was a permanent fixture in the Davis Cup team. But he was still in the shadow of his friend Prenn. Germany lost its position in the Davis Cup in 1927 following an undeserved 1-4 defeat against South Africa.

In 1929, Moldenhauer was Germany’s strongest player. Prenn was ill and the team travelled to Hamburg short on substitutes. But Moldenhauer played better than he ever had before and, in two murderous encounters, defeated the Italians Umberto de Morpurgo and Giorgio de Stefani. In Prague he also ensured that Germany would ultimately win the tie by beating in three sets the German-Bohemian player Roderich Menzel, who at that time was in excellent form. Against Great Britain he won the most important match against Bunny Austin, before then honourably losing to the Americans Bill Tilden and Frank Hunter.

Prenn and Moldenhauer were inseparable. They were Germany’s singles and doubles players. Who could forget the image of Prenn caring for Moldenhauer like a nurse when the later was suffering badly from cramp, wiping his face, giving him courage and words of advice, and how they were the first to congratulate each other without any sign of envy?

Moldenhauer needed this encouragement because he had a dangerous weakness – his nerves! In the Davis Cup competition in 1929, Moldenhauer had to gain an important point against Colin Gregory in the European Zone tie against Great Britain. Prenn was in the changing room, preparing himself for the most difficult match of his life against Austin, when Moldenhauer lost to Gregory almost without putting up a fight. On another occasion, when Dr Landmann was unable to reach in Prague in time due to his aeroplane breaking down, this fact had to be kept secret from Moldenhauer before he played against Menzel. People knew what he was like.

In terms of his game, he was the best the German player. No one else was able to play so fluently, so athletically and beautifully, so purposefully and so effortlessly. If only he had not suffered from nerves… And yet Moldenhauer had already acquired a global reputation. Tilden ranked him number 7 in the world. Moldenhauer was supposed to travel to America following a noteworthy invitation, one which only very few German players had received. Moldenhauer had made a strong impression overseas. He was capable of many things, was modest and a role model when it came to fairness. As the many wreaths prove, all foreign players and observers are affected by his passing.

Yesterday Hans Moldenhauer went to his final resting place. We will never see his like again. The loss is a heavy one for us and for tennis in Germany.

Media

Leave a Reply Cancel reply