Jack Wright
Full name: Jack A. Wright
| Born | November 11, 1901 in Nelson, British Columbia, Canada |
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| Died | September 24, 1949 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Plays | Right-handed |
| Bio | Jack Wright dominated lawn tennis throughout the 1920s decade, receiving number one national ranking for seven consecutive years. He was considered to be among the first Canadian players able to compete consistently well at the international level. In 1950, Wright was voted Canada’s “Outstanding Tennis Player of the First Half-Century” in press polls. He was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1972. As a young player he captured numerous titles including junior champion in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, junior boys champion of the Northwest, BC junior champion, and boys tennis champion of the Inland Empire. In 1922, with partner W.F. Crocker, Wright captured the Canadian indoor tennis doubles championship in three straight games. Wright also stood as Canadian doubles champion with partner W.F. Crocker and champion of Quebec in 1931. He was a member of every Davis Cup team from 1923-33. He played in zone matches against the US, Japan, Australia, and Cuba. His greatest challenge was in Montreal in 1927 when, in a Davis Cup singles match against Japan, he defeated Takeichi Harada in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, 8-6. Harada was ranked third in the world at the time. At the 1928 US national championships at Forest Hills, he defeated England’s top-ranked player, E. Higgs, before suffering defeat at the hands of H.W. ‘Bunny’ Austin, another top British player. (Source: Jason Beck, BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum) |