 Patty in 1958 | |
| Full name | Edward John Patty |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  United States |
| Born | (1924-02-11)February 11, 1924 Fort Smith, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Died | October 4, 2021(2021-10-04) (aged 97) Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Turned pro | 1940 (amateur tour) |
| Retired | 1960 |
| Plays | Right-handed (1-handed backhand) |
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1977(member page) |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 777–182 (81.02%)[1] |
| Career titles | 73[2] |
| Highest ranking | No.1 (1950,John Olliff)[3] |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| French Open | W (1950) |
| Wimbledon | W (1950) |
| US Open | QF (1951,1953,1957) |
| Doubles | |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | W (1957) |
| US Open | F (1957) |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| French Open | W (1946) |
| Wimbledon | SF (1946) |
Edward John Patty (February 11, 1924 – October 4, 2021), better known asBudge Patty, was an American world no. 1 tennis player whose career spanned a period of 15 years after World War II. He won twoGrand Slam singles titles in 1950. He was the second American male player to win theChannel Slam (winning theFrench Open andWimbledon in the same year) and one of only four as of 2024 (the others were Don Budge, Tony Trabert and Andre Agassi).
Edward John Patty[4] was born inFort Smith, Arkansas, on February 11, 1924. His grandmother was born in France, while one of his grandfathers was Austrian. His family relocated toLos Angeles during his childhood,[5] and he attendedLos Angeles High School. He was nicknamed "Budge" by his brother, who perceived Patty to be lethargic, resulting in a "failure to budge".[6][7]
Patty started playing tennis as a child,[8] and practised withPauline Betz every Saturday morning when he was a junior player.[7] After winning the Los Angeles novice championships when he was 13, she encouraged him to take lessons withBill Weissbuch at theBeverly Hills Tennis Club.[6][7] There, Patty was discovered byBarbara Stanwyck andRobert Taylor, who provided him with financial support to travel to national junior championships.[6] He triumphed at the under-15 national championships in 1939, before winning both the singles and doubles titles at the under-18 tournament two years later.[7] He then defended his singles title in 1942.[6] Patty intended to study at theUniversity of Southern California, but wasdrafted into theUS Army several days after registering. He was eventually discharged in January 1946.[7]
After his return from military service, Patty partnered with Betz to win the mixed doubles title at the1946 French Championships.[5] Three years later, he reached the final of thesingles event, where he lost to fellow AmericanFrank Parker.[6] He then won his first major singles title at the1950 French Championships, where he won three consecutive matches in five sets, including the final againstJaroslav Drobný.[7] Several weeks later, he won the1950 Wimbledon Championships in a four-set victory overFrank Sedgman.[9] Patty became the second American man – afterDon Budge in 1938 – to win theChannel Slam. Since then, onlyTony Trabert in 1955 has achieved the feat among male players from the US.[7] Patty was also the fourth consecutive male player fromSouthern California to win Wimbledon (afterJack Kramer,Bob Falkenburg, andTed Schroeder).[8] At the end of the year, Patty was ranked amateur world no. 1 in 1950 by John Olliff ofThe Daily Telegraph.[3][7]
At the1953 Wimbledon Championships, Patty faced Drobný again in the third round. Patty lost the five-set match that lasted four hours and twenty minutes, despite having six match points on Drobny’s serve.[7] It was the longest continuous tennis match at the time.[6][7] He later recounted toThe Telegraph in 2000 how he "could hardly see a thing" towards the end of that match, adding: "I was so tired I barely knew where I was".[5][6] Patty partnered withGardnar Mulloy in 1957 to win theWimbledon men's doubles title, upsetting top seedsLew Hoad andNeale Fraser in the final.[8] Patty (aged 33) and Mulloy (aged 43) were the oldest team to win Wimbledon afterWorld War I.[8] The duo also reached the final of the1957 U.S. National Championships two months later,[7] but lost in four sets to Fraser andAshley Cooper.[6]
The final tournament of Patty's career was the1960 Wimbledon Championships, where he lost to Italy'sNicola Pietrangeli in the first round.[10] Patty stayed amateur throughout his career and won over 70 singles titles.[11][5] These included theGerman International Championship in 1953 and 1954,[10] as well as theItalian Championship in 1954.[6] He finished seven years ranked within the Top 10 between 1947 and 1957. He was subsequently inducted in theInternational Tennis Hall of Fame in 1977.[6]
Source:[6]
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1949 | French Championships | Clay |  Frank Parker | 3–6, 6–1, 1–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 1950 | French Championships | Clay |  Jaroslav Drobný | 6–1, 6–2, 2–6, 5–7, 7–5 |
| Win | 1950 | Wimbledon | Grass |  Frank Sedgman | 6–1, 8–10, 6–2, 6–3 |
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1957 | Wimbledon | Grass |  Gardnar Mulloy | Neale FraserLew Hoad | 8–10, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1957 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Gardnar Mulloy | Ashley CooperNeale Fraser | 6–4, 3–6, 7–9, 3–6 |
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1946 | French Championships | Clay | Pauline Betz | Dorothy BundyTom Brown | 7–5, 9–7 |
Source:[10]
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 1941 | 1942–1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | |||||||||||||
| French | A | A | QF | 4R | SF | F | W | 4R | QF | 4R | SF | QF | 4R | 4R | 4R | 3R | 2R | |||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | A | A | 4R | SF | QF | 3R | W | 2R | 4R | 3R | SF | SF | 2R | 4R | 4R | 1R | 1R | |||||||||||||
| U.S. | 2R | A | 4R | A | 3R | A | 1R | QF | A | QF | A | A | A | QF | 1R | A | A | |||||||||||||
Patty moved toParis afterWorld War II and became fluent in French.[7] During the late 1950s, he was employed by atravel agency there when he was not playing competitive tennis.[5] He also featured inbit parts of films and worked in real estate.[7] He ultimately resided in Europe for over seven decades.[5] Patty married Maria Marcina Sfezzo in Lausanne in 1961.[12] They remained married until his death. Together, they had two children: Christine and Elaine.[5]
Patty died on October 4, 2021, at a hospital inLausanne, Switzerland. He was 97 years old.[5][13][14]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
