Malcolm Laird (Laird)
Watt
Male
Canada
1913-05-21
Montréal, Québec, Canada
2001-05-03
Montréal, Québec, Canada
Laird and Robert Watt competed together in the father-and-son doubles championship and won the USLTA title three times (1933, 1934 and 1937). Robert is also in the Canadian Tennis Hall of Fame.
Laird Watt competed at several tournaments at home and overseas. He reached the quarter-finals of the Canadian Open men?s singles twice, the first time in 1937 and the second time a year later. He was runner-up twice in the men?s doubles (1937 and 1938) with partner Bob Murray and won the mixed doubles crown in 1937 partnering E. Dearman.
He competed in both the US Open and Wimbledon several times in the 1930s. He lost in the first round of the US Open in 1933 to George Lott in four sets. He competed again in the 1934 US Open and reached the second round, but fell to Vernon Kirby. The following year, in 1935, he reached even further as he competed in the third round, but lost in straight sets to Roderich Menzel 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. Watt also competed at Wimbledon in 1935 and 1936.
Watt was on the Davis Cup team for three years (1934, 1935 and 1946) and in 1946 he was playing captain. However, Canada did not enter a team in 1936-38 nor was Davis Cup played during the war years. He came back in 1947, only this time as the non-playing captain, but the Canadian team fell to Australia.
Watt was the top ranked Canadian player in 1938 and 1939 and was in the top 10 national rankings in four other years between 1932 and 1937.
After he retired from tennis, he followed in his fathers footsteps by becoming the President of the Canadian Lawn Tennis Association from 1962 to 1963.
From the internet: Laird Watt was born in Montréal and graduated from McGill University in 1934. He went on to become a governor of the university in 1970, was president of the McGill Graduates Society and received an honorary doctor of law degree in 1993.
1931 - 1940
8
85
53
1940 - Montreal Cup (Amateur)
1939 - Province of Quebec Championships (Open)
1939 - Prince Edward Island Championships (Amateur)
1938 - Province of Quebec Championships (Open)
1933 - Province of Quebec Championships (Open)
1932 - Ontario Championships (Open)
1932 - Prince Edward Island Championships (Amateur)
1931 - Southern Ontario (Amateur)
Quarterfinals
Laird Watt 1 *
Louis (Lewis) MacAdam Duff
6-1
8-6
Semifinals
Philip J. Pearson 1 *
Laird Watt
6-4
8-6
0-6
6-1
Semifinals
Laird Watt 1 *
Roger Durivage
6-4
6-0
6-4
Final
Laird Watt 1 *
Louis (Lewis) MacAdam Duff
6-4
6-0
6-0
Semifinals
Laird Watt 1 *
Hugh R. Little
3-6
6-3
0-6
6-1
10-8
Final
Donald Stuart McDiarmid 1 *
Laird Watt
6-3
6-1
6-0
Quarterfinals
Laird Watt 1 *
Roland Longtin
4
sets
Semifinals
Laird Watt 1 *
Bruce Hall
6-3
6-1
8-6
Final
Laird Watt 1 *
Ellis Lester Tarshis
6-4
7-5
6-4
Unknown
Laird Watt 1 *
Jess Baldwin
4
sets?
Final
Laird Watt 1 *
Donald Stuart McDiarmid
6-3
6-4
6-2
Round 2
Laird Watt 1 *
Bill Noyes
?
Round 3
Laird Watt 1 *
M.C. Hopper
6-1
6-2
Quarterfinals
Wilmer Allison 1 *
Laird Watt
6-1
6-3
6-4
Round 1
Laird Watt 1 *
Gregory S. Mangin
6-1
3-6
6-2
Round 2
Frank Kovacs 1 *
Laird Watt
6-3
6-2
Round 4
John McDiarmid 1 *
Laird Watt
6-3
6-3
Quarterfinals
Laird Watt 1 *
Garnet H. Raper
6-4
6-3
6-4
Semifinals
Donald Stuart McDiarmid 1 *
Laird Watt
10-8
6-0
4-6
6-1
Quarterfinals
Laird Watt 1 *
F. Robinson
6-1
6-1
Semifinals
Laird Watt 1 *
Ross Alfred Wilson
6-2
5-7
8-6
Final
Frank Joseph Bowden 1 *
Laird Watt
3-6
6-1
6-1
6-1
Unknown
Laird Watt 1 *
Edgar J. (Ed) Lanthier
?
Semifinals
Laird Watt 1 *
Roland Longtin
6-3
6-0
6-4
Final
Laird Watt 1 *
Gordon Charles Robinson
6-3
6-4
2-6
6-4
Round 1
Laird Watt 1 *
Willilam H. Earle
6-2,2-6,6-3,6-1
Round 2
Jiro Yamagishi 1 *
Laird Watt
6-2,6-1,6-3
Round 3
Laird Watt 1 *
John Foreman
6-4
8-6
Quarterfinals
Walter Senior 1 *
Laird Watt
8-6
6-0
6-3
Quarterfinals
Laird Watt 1 *
Garnet H. Raper
6-1
6-4
6-2
Semifinals
Laird Watt 1 *
Donald Stuart McDiarmid
3-6
6-2
6-3
6-2
Final
Ross Alfred Wilson 1 *
Laird Watt
1-6
4-6
6-1
12-10
6-4
Semifinals
Ross Alfred Wilson 1 *
Laird Watt
5-7
9-11
7-5
6-0
6-2
Final
Ross Alfred Wilson 1 *
Laird Watt
1-6
4-6
6-1
12-10
6-4
Round 1
Donald Butler 1 *
Laird Watt
7-5
6-2
6-3
Round 2
Pierre Pellizza 1 *
Laird Watt
1-6,6-2,6-3,6-3
Round 2
Laird Watt 1 *
R.C. Durham
6-0
6-1
Round 3
Laird Watt 1 *
Henry H. Daniels
6-3
6-0
Quarterfinals
Bryan Grant 1 *
Laird Watt
6-2
6-3
Round 1
Pierre Henri Landry 1 *
Laird Watt
8-6
1-6
6-2
5-7
7-5
Round 1
Laird Watt 1 *
R. Morgan Watt Jr
7-9
6-8
8-6
8-6
6-2
Round 2
Laird Watt 1 *
Robert Joseph Kelleher
6-4
6-0
6-4
Round 3
Roderich Menzel 1 *
Laird Watt
6-4
6-2
6-3
Round 1
Henner Henkel 1 *
Laird Watt
6-3
6-2
6-1
Round 2
Laird Watt 1 *
S. Ellsworth (Sandy) Davenport III
6-4
2-6
6-3
Quarterfinals
Laird Watt 1 *
Roland Longtin
6-2
6-2
Semifinals
Marcel Rainville 1 *
Laird Watt
7-5
6-2
Round 2
Laird Watt 1 *
Jacques van den Eynde
5-7
7-5
6-3
Round 3
Jiro Yamagishi 1 *
Laird Watt
6-1
6-1
Round 1
Round 2
Laird Watt 1 *
George Leclerc
6-1
6-1
Quarterfinals
Laird Watt 1 *
Frank Joseph Rericha
6-3
6-3
Semifinals
Laird Watt 1 *
Charles William (Charlie) Leslie
6-4
6-1
5-7
6-1
Final
Robert Dudley Murray 1 *
Laird Watt
6-2
8-6
6-1
Round 2
Vernon Kirby 1 *
Laird Watt
7-5
6-3
6-1
Round 4
Laird Watt 1 *
Henri-Paul Emard
6-4
6-1
Quarterfinals
John Hal Surface jr 1 *
Laird Watt
4-6
6-4
6-4
6-0
Round 1
Laird Watt 1 *
George Snowden
6-0
6-0
Round 2
Laird Watt 1 *
H. Colin Smith
1-6
6-0
6-1
Quarterfinals
Laird Watt 1 *
Rodney Reid
6-1
6-1
Semifinals
Wilmer Allison 1 *
Laird Watt
10-8
6-2
Round 3
Quarterfinals
Walter Melville Martin 1 *
Laird Watt
4-6
1-6
6-1
6-2
6-0
Round 2
Laird Watt 1 *
Herbert L. Bowman
6-0
6-1
Quarterfinals
Clifford Sutter 1 *
Laird Watt
6-1
5-7
6-2
Semifinals
Laird Watt 1 *
Donald Arthur Thomas Leahong
6-4
6-1
4-6
7-5
Final
Robert Dudley Murray 1 *
Laird Watt
6-1
7-5
6-4
Round 1
Laird Watt 1 *
Émile Durand
6-3
6-3
Round 2
Laird Watt 1 *
Ross Alfred Wilson
6-4
6-0
Quarterfinals
Laird Watt 1 *
William Aydelotte
5-7
7-5
6-2
Semifinals
George Lott 1 *
Laird Watt
8-6
6-3
11-9
Round 1
George Lott 1 *
Laird Watt
6-1
4-6
6-3
6-1
Round 4
Laird Watt 1 *
Jack E. Brawn
6-3
6-1
Quarterfinals
Walter Melville Martin 1 *
Laird Watt
6-0
6-3
6-1
Final
Laird Watt 1 *
Marcel Rainville
2-6
7-5
6-2
3-6
6-4
Round 1
Laird Watt 1 *
John S. Nicholl
6-1
6-2
Round 2
Laird Watt 1 *
Jess Baldwin
6-2
6-3
Quarterfinals
J. Gilbert (Gil) Hall 1 *
Laird Watt
1-6
6-3
6-4
Semifinals
Laird Watt 1 *
Arthur Stewart (Stewart) Veysey
3-6
3-6
7-5
7-5
6-4
Final
Laird Watt 1 *
Joseph Weldon (Joe) O'Hara
7-5
7-5
6-4
Final
Laird Watt 1 *
George Leclerc
6-2
6-1
6-1
Round 1
Laird Watt 1 *
W.M. Hodgson
6-4
6-2
Round 2
Laird Watt 1 *
Daniel P. Hatch
6-3
5-7
6-1
Quarterfinals
George Lott 1 *
Laird Watt
6-4
6-2
Final
Laird Watt 1 *
George Wardman
?