Jim Dear

James "Jim" Dear (1910–1981) was a British racquets, court tennis, and squash player who effectively won world titles in three different sports during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

Dear was the racquets world champion from 1947 to 1954, losing the title to Geoffrey Atkins.

He was also world champion of court, or real, tennis from 1955 to 1957.

Dear also won the most prestigious title in squash, the British Open, in 1939, at a time when there was no official world championship and the British Open champion was acknowledged as the world's best. Dear was losing finallist three times in the 1930s and twice in the late 1940s.

He was among seven British world champions honored at the inaugural Sports Writers' Association - which later became the Sports Journalists' Association - [http://www.sportsjournalists.co.uk/awards_sports.php?content=winners annual sports dinner] in 1949.

ee also

* Real tennis world champions
* British Open Squash Championships