Butch Buchholz

Earl "Butch" Buchholz, Jr., (born September 16 1940, in St. Louis, Missouri) is a former professional tennis player from the United States who was one of the game's top players in the late-1950s and early-1960s.

Buchholz won the boy's singles title at Wimbledon and Roland Garros in 1958, and at the Australian Championships in 1959.

Buchholz was ranked the World No. 5 player in 1960, and was ranked four times in the US Top 10. He played for the US in the Davis Cup from 1959-60.

Buchholz played as a touring professional player from 1961-1967. He won the United States Pro Championship in 1962, by beating Pancho Segura in the finals. Buchholz was an original member of Lamar Hunt's Handsome Eight.

Since retiring as a player, Buchholz has served tennis in many professional and administrative capacities. He has been the Commissioner of World Team Tennis from 1977-1978, an Executive Director of the Association of Tennis Professionals from 1981-1982, and member of the men's pro council from 1981-1983.

In 1985, Buchholz founded the Lipton International Players Championships (now known as the Miami Masters), which is now a leading event on both the men's and women's tours.

Buchholz helped create Altenis, a management company which oversees tennis tournaments in Latin America. He also helped secured the continuation of the Orange Bowl International Tennis Tournament, a prominent international junior event in Florida. In 1992, Buchholz teamed-up with Arthur Ashe to found the 'Good Life Mentoring Program', benefiting hundreds of elementary and middle school children in the greater Miami area.

In 2005, Buchholz was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.

External links

* [http://www.tennisfame.com/famer.aspx?pgID=867&hof_id=63 International Tennis Hall of Fame profile]