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| Full name | Karl Howell Behr |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  United States |
| Born | (1885-05-30)May 30, 1885 New York City,New York, United States |
| Died | October 15, 1949(1949-10-15) (aged 64) Morristown, New Jersey, United States |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| College | Yale and the Lawrenceville school |
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1969(member page) |
| Singles | |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Wimbledon | 4R (1907) |
| US Open | F (1906AC) |
| Doubles | |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | F (1907AC) |
| Team competitions | |
| Davis Cup | F (1907) |
Karl Howell Behr (May 30, 1885 – October 15, 1949) was an Americantennis player and banker. He was also a survivor of the sinking ofRMS Titanic.
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Karl Howell Behr was born the son of Herman and Grace (née Howell) Behr of New York City. He was the brother of Max H. Behr, the famous golfer. Behr was educated atLawrenceville School and attendedYale University and was admitted to thebar association in 1910. While at Yale he also played on theice hockey team for three years.
Behr married Helen Monypeny Newsom on March 1, 1913 at theChurch of the Transfiguration in New York City. The couple had four children together: Karl H. Behr Jr. (1914–2002), Peter Howell Behr (1915–1997), James Howell Behr (1920–1976), and Sally Howell Behr (later Mrs. Samuel Leonard Pettit) (1928–1995). After her husband's death, Helen remarried one of his best friends and former tennis partners, Dean Mathey.
Behr gave up a career in law, instead turning to banking. He was vice-president ofDillon, Read & Co. and sat on the board of the Fisk Rubber Company, theGoodyear Tire and Rubber Company, and theNational Cash Register Company. At the time of his death, he was a director of the Interchemical Corporation, the Behr-Manning Corporation ofTroy, New York, and the Witherbee Sherman Corporation. His clubs included the Downtown, University and Yale, and the St. Nicholas Society.
He was a cousin of fellow tennis playerAllen Behr.[1]
Behr was also a well knownlawn tennis player, playing on theUnited States Davis Cup team in1907. Behr, withBeals Wright, was also runner up in the men's doubles at the1907 Wimbledon Championships, losing toNorman Brookes andTony Wilding in three sets, 4–6, 4–6, 2–6.[2]
He reached the No. 3 U.S. ranking in both 1907 and 1914.[3]
Behr continued his tennis career after the sinking ofTitanic (see below), and was named to the 1914 U.S. Davis Cup team along with fellow survivorR. Norris Williams. However, Behr, who played on the 1907 U.S. Davis Cup, did not play in the1914 Davis Cup Challenge Round against Australasia at Forest Hills. In 1915 he defeatedMaurice McLoughlin, the world's no. 1 ranked player at the time,[4] in straight sets, 8–6, 7–5, 7–5 to win the tournament inSeabright, New Jersey.[5]
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1907 | Wimbledon | Grass |  Beals Wright |  Norman Brookes Anthony Wilding | 4–6, 4–6, 2–6 |
In 1912, Behr booked first class passage on boardRMS Titanic in pursuit of fellow first class passenger Helen Newsom, who was a friend of Behr's sister.[6] Behr occupied cabin C-148 during the voyage.
Sometime after the ship hit the iceberg, Behr met up with Helen, her mother and stepfather, Richard and Sallie Beckwith; and another couple, Edwin and Gertrude Kimball, on the boat deck. Under the watch ofThird OfficerHerbert Pitman, the group gathered aroundlifeboat 5. Gertrude Kimball askedJ. Bruce Ismay if all of their group could enter the boat. Ismay replied, "Of course, madam, every one of you."[7] As a result, Behr and his friends were rescued in lifeboat 5, the second boat to leave the ship. After the rescue, several newspapers reported that Behr had proposed to Miss Newsom in the lifeboat.[8]
While aboard the rescue ship,RMS Carpathia, Behr and several other passengers, includingMolly Brown, organized and formed a committee to honor the bravery ofCarpathia's captain,Arthur Rostron, and the ship's crew. They later presented an inscribed silver cup to Rostron, and medals to each of the ship's 320 crew.
Karl Behr died of cancer at his home on 15 October 1949, aged 64.[9] He was buried at the Evergreen Cemetery inMorristown, New Jersey. He was posthumously honored by theInternational Tennis Hall of Fame in 1969.
First, there was Karl Behr, fiery and temperamental national doubles champion with Theodore Roosevelt Pell, and one of the greatest and most colorful players that ever graced the courts. Then came Allen Behr, Karl's cousin.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
