Bill Talbert

William Franklin "Bill" Talbert (September 4, 1918 - February 28, 1999) was an American tennis player and administrator.

He was ranked in the U.S. Top 10 13 times between 1941 & 1954. He won nine Grand Slam doubles titles, and also reached the men’s doubles finals of the U.S. National Championship nine times.

He also was a Davis Cup player and one of the most successful Davis Cup captains in U.S. history.

Talbert was a diabetic, one of the very few, or possibly the only one, known to be in sports at a highly competitive level, and for many years was held up as an example of how this disease could be surmounted.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, he still holds records at the Cincinnati Masters in his hometown. His records are for most doubles titles (six), most total finals appearances (14), and most singles finals appearances (seven). He won three singles titles (in 1943, '45 & '47), and his six doubles titles came in 1943, '44, '45, '47, '51 & '54.

He also won the singles title at the U.S. Clay Court Championship in 1945 and was a finalist in 1946 and '43.

Before starting out on the international tour, he played for the University of Cincinnati and won an Ohio State singles title in 1936 while at Cincinnati's Hughes High School.

He was enshrined into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1967 and was in the first class, along with his former protege Tony Trabert, enshrined into the Cincinnati Tennis Hall of Fame.

After his playing career, he wrote tennis books and was Tournament Director of the US Open.

External links

* [http://www.tennisfame.com/famer.aspx?pgID=867&hof_id=142 International Tennis Hall of Fame biography]