Ladislav Hecht

Infobox Person
name=Landislav Hecht


caption=
nationality = Czechoslovakia
birth_date= August 31, 1909
birth_place= Zsolna, Upper Hungary
death_date= death date and age|2004|5|27|1909|8|31
death_place= New York City, NY

Landislav Hecht (August 31, 1909 – May 27, 2004) was a Jewish professional tennis player, well known for representing Czechoslovakia in the Davis Cup during the 1930's.

He was born in Zsolna, Upper Hungary in 1909, and developed a successful tennis career, some considering him to be the best tennis player in Europe immediately before the Second World War. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9504EED91730F933A25755C0A9629C8B63 New York Times] ] He then fled to the United States before Nazi Germany invaded Czechoslovakia in 1939, working in a munitions factory [ [http://www.jewishsports.net/biopages/LadislavHecht.htm International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ] ] during World War II. After the war he continued his tennis career, becoming a #1 ranked player in the eastern United States. He continued on starting toy and paintbrush businesses, and later in life was honored by the city of Bratislava, having a new multisport stadium named after him in 1966.

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