player – Tennisarchives.com

General First nameBernard Peter (Bernie)
LastnameSchwengers
GenderMale
CountryCanada
Date of birth1880-05-26
Place of birthSurrey, England
Date of death1947-12-06
Place of deathVictoria, British Columbia, Canada

About

Bernard Peter Schwengers was born in London, England, in May 1880, the son of Peter Joseph Antoine Schwengers (c. 1843-98), an accountant who was originally from Germany, and Alice Mary Schwengers (née Lucey; 1849-1928), who was from London. Bernard had four siblings: Peter William Conrad, Katharine Bertha, Clara Maud and Ada Alice. When Bernard was still a child, the family emigrated to Canada, settling in Victoria, British Columbia.

Although principally remembered as a lawn tennis player, Bernard Schwengers was an all-round athlete who excelled at several sports. Where lawn tennis was concerned, he tended to restritct himself to taking part in tournaments held on the west coast of North America, such as the British Columbia Championships. However, in 1911 and 1912, he notably won the men’s singles title at the Canadian International Championships.

In 1913, Canada entered the Davis Cup competition for the first time with a team composed of Schwengers, John F. Foulkes, Robert Powell and Henry Mayes. In the quarter-finals, played in late June at the Queen’s Club in London, Canada beat South Africa by 4 rubbers to 1. Schwengers and Powell won the doubles, while Schwengers beat Reginald Le Sueur in the fourth and final singles rubber.

In the semi-finals, played at the Pleasure Gardens in Folkestone in the second week of July, Canada defeated Belgium by 4 rubbers to 0 (the fourth singles rubber was not played). Schwengers won both singles rubbers in which he played as well as the doubles, again with Powell.

The all-comers’ final was played at Wimbledon in late July and pitted Canada against the USA. The Americans won the first two singles rubbers and the doubles on the second day to give themselves an unassailable lead; the remaining two singles rubbers were not played. Richard N. Williams beat Schwengers in the first singles rubber, while Harold Hackett and Maurice McLoughlin beat Schwengers and Powell in the doubles. In the three rounds that Canada played in the Davis Cup in 1913, Powell and Schwengers were always chosen for the singles and also as the doubles team.

Canada entered the Davis Cup for the second time in 1914, but with much less success. In the quarter-finals (which were also the first round), held in late July at the Ontwentsia Club in Lake Forest, Illinois, Australasia (then made up of Australia and New Zealand) beat Canada by 5 rubbers to 0. Schwengers was beaten in the singles rubbers by Norman Brookes and Anthony Wilding, while Brookes and Wilding beat Schwengers and Robert Powell in the doubles rubber.

Schwengers did not return to lawn tennis competition after World War One. An accountant and merchant, he was for many years store manager at the hardware dealers McLennan, McFeely and Prior on Government Street in Victoria.

On 23 October 1907, in Victoria, Bernard Schwengers married Kate Constance Jay (1887-1965), a native of that same Canadian city. They had four children together, one son and three daughters, but divorced in 1921, with Bernard being the petitioner. He died in Victoria in December 1946 at the age of 66.
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From: https://web.archive.org/web/20110831170129/http://www.gvshof.ca/inductees/bernie-schwengers.aspx

Bernard Schwengers was a marvellous all-around athlete. He was a standout in soccer, a champion rower for the James Bay Athletic Association (JBAA) and set the British Columbia 100 yard sprint record in 1898. A star pitcher, catcher and second baseman for the Victoria team in the old Pacific Northwest International Baseball League, Schwengers turned down an $8,000 yearly contract to play second base for the St. Louis Browns in 1902.

Schwengers, the consummate gentleman athlete of his day, was a true amateur and didn’t believe in pro sports. He believed in playing only for the love of the game. As late as 1943, Schwengers was winning the Pacific Northwest Seniors Golf Championship. Schwengers is a member of the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame.

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