John
Ricksen
Male
United States of America
1931-11-20
Oakland, Alameda County, California, United States of America
John Ricksen and his twin brother Rupe were superb two-sport stars at Cal during the early 1950s. Both were NCAA quarterfinalists in NCAA singles, Rupe in 1951 and John in 1953. In doubles, the Ricksens were NCAA semifinalists in 1951 and were quarterfinalists in 1952 and 1953. They won the 1952 Doubles Heart of America tournament and the 1953 Eastern Intercollegiate title. John was a first-team all-conference player in basketball in 1953. The two were finalists in the 35 hard-court championships following graduation in the mid-1960s. Both also started three years on the Cal basketball team and were co-captains on Cal's 1953 team that won the PCC title. They were co-recipients of the Jake Gimbel Award (excellence in athletics and academics) in ’53. Both also stayed on at Cal as freshman coaches in 1954. Both have been extremely active in the Bear Backers and other alumni groups. Served on Cal's Executive Committee for the Haas Pavilion Capitol campaign. John is a past president of the Bear Boosters for women's athletics. Both have also served as Alumni Council members. Both were co-recipients of the Bear of the Year award by Intercollegiate Athletics in 1997.
1953 - 1953
0
5
3
Round 1
Tom Brown 1 *
John Ricksen
10-8
6-1
Round 2
John Ricksen 1 *
Bill Bonham
7-5
6-3
Round 3
John Ricksen 1 *
James W. (Jimmy) Read
1-6
6-4
9-7
Round 4
John Ricksen 1 *
Jacques Grigry
6-4
6-4
Quarterfinals
Ham Richardson 1 *
John Ricksen
6-1
6-2