Colin Gregory

Colin was an amateur British tennis player who was born in 1903 in Beverley, Yorkshire, the son of Dr William Herbert and Constance Gregory. Like his father, he became a medical doctor but was also a successful amateur lawn tennis player in both doubles and singles. Colin Gregory was a highly respected and popular player who emerged onto the scene in the 1920s. Gregory had already been a Wimbledon quarter finalist in 1926, the same year that he became a regular in the British Davis Cup team. In the 1920s he played doubles with Ian Collins and they were runners up at the 1929 Wimbledon Championships. Touring Australia in 1929, Gregory eased his way into the semis of the Australian Open, where he faced Gar Moon. Gregory was the more aggressive and won in straight sets. In the final he faced Bob Schlesinger and after 4 tough sets, Gregory claimed victory on his third match point to take his first and only Grand Slam title. The following year, 1930, Gregory beat Jack Crawford in the French Open and made it to the quarters. At Wimbledon he beat Fred Perry before going out to Bill Tilden in the quarters. After retiring in the mid 1930s, Gregory became non-playing captain of the British Davis Cup team.
Following the Second World War, Gregory was captain of the British Davis Cup team. Due to an accident Geoffrey Paish was unable to play in a 1952 match against Yugoslavia and the 49-year-old Gregory made a comeback and stepped in to win the doubles match with Tony Mottram. Gregory became chairman of the All-England Club at Wimbledon in 1955, where he died in 1959 in the changing rooms following a match.