- Joe Hunt
Joseph "Joe" Raphael Hunt (
February 17 1919 –February 2 1945 ) was a champion Americantennis player of the early 1940s fromSouthern California . He became alieutenant in theU.S. Navy duringWorld War II and, fifteen days short of his twenty-sixth birthday, was killed on a training mission offDaytona Beach, Florida , when hisGrumman Hellcat crashed for still-unknown reasons.In 1943 he won the United States singles championship at
Forest Hills while lying on the ground. On match point Hunt collapsed with cramps while his opponent,Jack Kramer , hit a return that barely went long. Had it been in, most observers at the time felt that Kramer would have eventually won the match against Hunt. Hunt was unable to obtain leave from the Navy in 1944 in order to defend his title.Hunt was inducted into the
International Tennis Hall of Fame inNewport, Rhode Island in 1966.Grand Slam record
U.S. Championships
*Singles champion: 1943
External links
* [http://www.tennisfame.com/famer.aspx?pgID=867&hof_id=156 Tennis Hall of Fame profile]
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