Miami Men's Tennis Legend Gardnar Mulloy Passes Away at 102
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Gardnar Mulloy, a member of nine sports hall of fames, including the University of Miami sports hall of fame in 1967, passed away Monday at age 102.
A Miami native, Mulloy organized the first University of Miami men’s tennis team in 1935, leading the Hurricanes to a 67-6-4 record over 10 seasons, while also having great success as a tennis professional. In 1939, he won his first of many U.S. Championships with his father in the Father and Sons doubles.
He went on to compete for 75 years, winning senior titles until his late 80s, and continued shuffling around local courts well into his 90s. During his professional career, Mulloy first teamed up with Bill Talbert. The duo was ranked No. 1 and won US Open doubles titles in 1942, 1945, 1946 and 1948.
Pairing with Budge Patty in 1957, he set the record as the oldest player to have won men’s doubles at Wimbledon. One year earlier, he advanced to the finals of mixed doubles at Wimbledon with Althea Gibson. In addition, Mulloy was ranked among the world’s top 10 in singles play for 14 years – including a No. 1 world ranking in 1952.
He helped the United States win three Davis Cup trophies – in 1946, 1948 and 1949 – 129 U.S. national titles and 25 international titles.
In 2013, the City of Miami renamed a section of a road near Mulloy’s longtime home in Spring Gardens, calling it “Gardnar Mulloy Way.” In September of 2015, he was awarded the French Legion of Honour, the highest distinction in France, by the consulate general of France.
The French Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour, was founded by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802 to recognize eminent accomplishments of service to France.
In his late 20s, Mulloy served in the navy four years during World War II, earning the rank of lieutenant and commanding officer of a tanklanding ship, the USS Alameda County. His ship participated in the invasion of Southern France in August 1944.
Born Nov. 22, 1913, in Washington, D.C., Gardnar Putnam Mulloy earned both his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Miami, played football and boxed for the Hurricanes before starting the tennis program.
