 | |
| Full name | Charles Robert McKinley Jr. |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  United States |
| Born | (1941-01-05)January 5, 1941 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | August 11, 1986(1986-08-11) (aged 45) Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Turned pro | 1956 (amateur tour) |
| Retired | 1969 |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1986(member page) |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 358-130 |
| Career titles | 28 |
| Highest ranking | No.1 (1963, Ned Potter)[1] |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Wimbledon | W (1963) |
| US Open | SF (1962,1963,1964) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 4–12 |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | QF (1961, 1962, 1964) |
| US Open | W (1961, 1963, 1964) |
| Team competitions | |
| Davis Cup | W (1963) |
Charles Robert McKinley Jr. (January 5, 1941 – August 11, 1986) was an American formerworld no. 1 men's amateur tennis champion of the 1960s. He is remembered as an undersized, hard-working dynamo, whose relentless effort and competitive spirit led American tennis to the top of the sport during a period heavily dominated by Australians.
McKinley won the1963 Men's Singles Championship atWimbledon. At the end of 1963, McKinley was ranked world No. 1 amateur by Ned Potter[2] and an Ulrich Kaiser panel of 13 experts.[3] He paired withDennis Ralston to win the1963 Davis Cup, the only interruption in eight unbroken years of Australian dominance. He also paired with Ralston to win theU.S. Men's Doubles championships in 1961, 1963, and 1964.
McKinley was born inSt. Louis, Missouri, the son of a localpipe fitter, and grew up in a 'rough neighborhood' on the north side of town. As a boy, McKinley used to drop by the localYMCA where he was taught table tennis by volunteer instructor Bill Price. Eventually Price, who was also a tennis professional, took McKinley and some of the other boys to the public tennis courts. McKinley soon became so good that Price advised him to quit all other sports and concentrate on tennis.[4]
In 1960 McKinley enrolled atTrinity University where he joinedFrank Froehling, another leading American player, under the tutelage of coachClarence Mabry, who also coachedJohn Newcombe and other professionals. This gave Trinity arguably the best collegiate men's tennis team in the U.S. However, during this period Trinity never won theNCAA championship because the NCAA scheduled the championship tournament opposite Wimbledon, and both McKinley and Froehling chose to participate in Wimbledon rather than the collegiate tournament.
McKinley's decision to play Wimbledon was justified when in 1961, as a college sophomore, he reached theWimbledon singles finals in which he was defeated byRod Laver in straight sets. The same year, he won the singles title at theEastern Grass Court Championships in South Orange against Frank Froehling.[5] He won theU.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in 1962 and 1963, defeating Fred Stolle and Dennis Ralston in the respective finals.[6] In 1962 and 1964, McKinley was victorious in the singles event at theU.S. National Indoor Championships.[7]
His intense desire to win, his habit of screaming, "Oh Charley, you missed that one," at himself after a bad shot, and the fact that he drew a four-month suspension for heaving his tennis racket into the crowd at aDavis Cup match,[8] gave him the reputation of the 'bad boy of international tennis.'[9]
In 1963, with Laver in the professional ranks, McKinley won Wimbledon without losing a set.[a] He was helped in this by the fact that favoriteRoy Emerson was eliminated by little known GermanWilhelm Bungert. After McKinley eliminated Bungert, the press asked the German if he had been tired. “I was tired,” said Bungert, "Tired from those five set matches earlier. And tired from watching McKinley run." According toTime, McKinley played the tournament "with an astounding lack of grace. He leaps, he lunges, he scrambles, he slides, he falls, he dives, he skins his elbows and knees, and he flails at the ball as if he were clubbing a rat. His nerves are as taut as the strings of his racket."[8] In the final, McKinley metFred Stolle who had beaten McKinley four out of six previous meetings. However, Stolle said "He knocked it down my throat...In the end, I didn't know where to serve or what he was going to do."[8]
In December 1963, McKinley and Dennis Ralston played all of the matches for the U.S. in winning the Davis Cup from Australia. The Australians had not lost the cup for four years and did not relinquish it again for another four. In the decisive match, McKinley defeated a young John Newcombe, who was 19 at the time.
After graduation from Trinity, McKinley chose not to go into professional tennis, and he became astockbroker in New York City. He died in 1986 in Dallas, Texas of abrain tumor at the age of 45.[12][13] McKinley has been elected to the Trinity University Hall of Fame and to theInternational Tennis Hall of Fame.[14]
The tennis courts atPattonville High School inMaryland Heights, Missouri, the school he attended, are named after him.
McKinley was not tall. He stood 5'8” and weighed 160 pounds. McKinley did not use off speed shots but relied instead on a power game. According to aSports Illustrated, “Not in years has an American fledgling combined so much box-office appeal with so much pure ability – or crashed the tight little world of big-time tennis with so much confidence. 'If I didn't think I could be the best tennis player in the world,' Chuck McKinley says, 'I don't think I'd want to play.'"Bill Talbert described the young McKinley by saying, "There is nothing he can't do on the court. He has all the strokes. He's fast. He's strong. He has marvelous reflexes. He has the eyes of a hawk—sees the ball as well as anyone in the game."[4]
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1961 | Wimbledon | Grass |  Rod Laver | 3–6, 1–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 1963 | Wimbledon | Grass | Fred Stolle | 9–7, 6–1, 6–4 |
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1961 | U.S. Championships | Grass |  Dennis Ralston |  Rafael OsunaAntonio Palafox | 6–3, 6–4, 2–6, 13–11 |
| Loss | 1962 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Dennis Ralston | Rafael Osuna Antonio Palafox | 4–6, 12–10, 6–1, 7–9, 3–6 |
| Win | 1963 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Dennis Ralston | Rafael Osuna Antonio Palafox | 9–7, 4–6, 5–7, 6–3, 11–9 |
| Win | 1964 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Dennis Ralston |  Mike SangsterGraham Stilwell | 6–3, 6–2, 6–4 |
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 |
| French Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | A | 2R | F | 2R | W | SF | A | A | A | A | A | 1 / 5 |
| US Open | 2R | 2R | 4R | QF | 3R | SF | SF | SF | 4R | 4R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 0 / 13 |
| Strike rate | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 2 | 1 / 2 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 1 / 18 |
