Albert Burke
Country (sports) Ireland
Born1901
DiedNovember 1958 (aged 57)
Singles
Professional majors
US ProQF (1931, 1932)
Wembley ProQF (1935)
French Pro2nd (1930)

Albert Burke (1901–1958) was a French-born professional tennis player of Irish descent who described himself as British but was classed as a representative of Ireland and, on other occasions, of France when playing in international tournaments.[1] In 1924 and 1925 he won the Bristol Cup tournament, which was at that time the principal competition for tennis professionals.

Family

Albert Burke, born at Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1901,[2] was a son of Thomas Burke, one of the earliest tennis professionals. His father had been the tennis coach at Dublin's Lansdowne Club (where the champions Joshua Pim and Frank Stoker were among those he guided) before moving to France in 1897 at the behest of Victor Voss.[3] Thomas Burke became tutor at the Tennis Club de Paris and in 1898, on winning matches on the club's covered court against fellow professionals George Kerr (Fitzwilliam, Dublin) and Tom Fleming (Queen's, London), he was acclaimed "the world's professional tennis champion".[4] He was still popularly known as such in March 1906, but was said to be "formerly" world champion by the end of that year.[5] In 1900 he became coach at Nice Lawn Tennis Club[6] and later relocated to Cannes where he worked under contract to the Hotel Metropole before becoming senior professional at the Carlton Lawn Tennis Club there.[7] He was also active in Paris and at Le Touquet and was engaged to teach tennis to the Prince of Wales in 1912.[8]

Thomas's three sons, Tommy, Albert and Edmund, were all raised to succeed their father in the game. The eldest, Tommy, was already playing professionally by February 1914 when, aged 13, he played a set against the former British Prime Minister Arthur Balfour at Cannes.[9] He was subsequently eclipsed by Albert and by Edmund, the latter enjoying a long and consistent professional career but without matching Albert's degree of success.

Career

Albert coached at the Lawn Tennis Club of Marseille in 1920[10] but soon after, following the death of his father, he returned to the Carlton Club's seven court-complex at Cannes. In 1922 he won the international professional invitation tournament at Lloyd Park, Walthamstow (sponsored by the News of the World), defeating Joseph Negro in straight sets in the semi-final and overcoming Charles Read of Queen's Club in the final "after a magnificent contest that lasted two and a half hours".[11]

When organising tournaments at the Carlton Courts he was able to attract the best players of the day, both professional and amateur, and in the course of a 1923 competition four hundred and twenty matches were played there in the course of a single week. These included a “memorable” contest between Suzanne Lenglen and Elizabeth Ryan and a match between Burke and the Frenchman Henri d'Arsonville, then regarded as the world professional champion. The latter encounter attracted heavy betting on its outcome, "thrilled a large audience and ended in a win for the French player".[12] In 1925 Burke, partnered by Lenglen, played in an exhibition match against René Lacoste and Yvonne Bourgeois at Nice.[13]

Albert Burke won the Bristol Cup in France in 1924 and 1925, beating Roman Najuch in both finals.[14] He was also losing finalist in the Bristol Cup in 1926, 1929 and 1931, defeated in all three finals by Karel Koželuh.[15]

In the absence of Koželuh he won the Deauville tournament in 1927, meeting Joseph Negro, Howard Kinsey and his own brother Edmund in the final pool, and beating them all without losing a set.[16] On account of this victory he was saluted as "champion of the world",[17] and he was the acknowledged Champion of France when, in the following year, he played in the 1928 Bristol Cup competition and appeared at the World Professional Singles Championship at Queen's Club, defeating the title holder, Dan Maskell, in the third round.[18] Playing against his brother Edmund and their assistant coach at Cannes, Robert Ramillon, Albert won the doubles final at Queen's with Roman Najuch as his partner, but it was Ramillon who defeated Edmund to take the singles title.[19]

Burke finished second in the 1930 French Pro Championship round robin, while Karel Koželuh was the winner.[20] At the US Pro Tennis Championships Burke was a quarter finalist in 1931 (losing to Howard Kinsey) and 1932 (losing to Bill Tilden).[21] In 1931, at an exhibition match at Crawford Notch, he had defeated Tilden in what was described as "the best feat of his career".[22]

At the 1935 Wembley Championships, Burke lost in the quarter finals to Ellsworth Vines.[23] The following year he partnered Henri Cochet to the doubles title at the French Professional Championships.[24]

Death

Burke died at Cannes on 22 November 1958, aged 57. A newspaper report of his death recalled that his tennis pupils had included the Duke of Edinburgh and Rita Hayworth.[25]

References

  1. ^ Passenger Manifest of 23 June 1931, SS Paris, Le Havre to New York
  2. ^ Passenger Manifest of 23 June 1931.
  3. ^ Evening Herald, Dublin, 15 April 1882, p. 3, and 21 April 1900, p. 7.
  4. ^ Irish Independent, 26 April 1898, p. 7; The Field, 21 July 1900, p. 39; Sporting Life, 14 December 1903, p. 6; The Globe, London, 15 December 1903, p. 8.
  5. ^ Sportsman, 6 March 1906, p. 3; Standard, London, 13 December 1906, p. 12.
  6. ^ Sporting Life, 31 January 1900, p. 7.
  7. ^ Sporting Life, 14 December 1903, p. 6. The Carlton Courts were reported to belong to the Burke family in 1937: Courier and Advertiser, Dundee, 2 January 1937, p. 10.
  8. ^ Pall Mall Gazette, 11 May 1912, p. 13.
  9. ^ Standard, London, 23 February 1914, p. 3.
  10. ^ Portsmouth Evening News, 29 December 1920, p. 10.
  11. ^ Western Mail, 25 September 1922, p. 4.
  12. ^ Bystander, 7 March 1923, p. 42. Lenglen played Helen Willis in the Match of the Century at the Carlton Courts in 1926.
  13. ^ Bystander, 11 March 1925, p. 24.
  14. ^ "Le Figaro. Supplément littéraire du dimanche". Gallica. December 26, 1925.
  15. ^ "Figaro : journal non politique". Gallica. January 18, 1931.
  16. ^ Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, 6 August 1927, p. 30.
  17. ^ Tatler, 10 August 1927, p. 54.
  18. ^ Belfast Telegraph, 30 November 1927, p. 8; Scotsman, 8 October 1928, p. 6; Daily Mirror, 11 October 1928, p. 30.
  19. ^ Daily Mirror, 15 October 1928, p. 31; Yorkshire Post, 16 October 1928, p. 20.
  20. ^ "FRENCH PRO CHAMPIONSHIPS". www.tennis.co.nf. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  21. ^ "U. S. PRO CHAMPIONSHIPS". www.tennis.co.nf. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  22. ^ Daily News, London, 21 August 1931, p. 12, quoting Associated Press news agency.
  23. ^ "BRITISH PRO CHAMPIONSHIPS". www.tennis.co.nf. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  24. ^ Ray Bowers (25 July 2004). "Forgotten Victories: History of the Pro Tennis Wars Chapter VII: Awaiting Perry, 1936". Houston, United States: Adastro Incorporated.[1] Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  25. ^ Sunday Mirror, 23 November 1958, p. 7; New York Times, 23 November 1958, p. 89."'ALBERT BURKE, 57, .'.'. RIVIERA TENNIS PRO". timesmachine.nytimes.com.
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