Johnston, "Bill" (William M.)
Tennis
b. Nov. 2, 1894, San Francisco, CA
d. May 1, 1946
Nicknamed "Little Bill" in contrast to his nemesis, "Big Bill" Tilden, Johnston won the U. S. national singles title in 1915 and 1919. His best stroke was a powerful forehand and he was good at scrambling to retrieve shots, but his serve and backhand were little better than average.
From 1919 through 1925, Johnston and Tilden met in the finals of the U. S. Nationals every year but 1921. Johnston won in 1919 but lost to Tilden in their other meetings. In 1921, they met early in the tournament and Johnston was eliminated. Tennis fans were outraged. As a result, seeding was adopted for the first time in 1922 to prevent an early-round match between top players.
While Tilden was the better player of the two, Johnston was better than most other players in the world. In 1923, Tilden didn't play at Wimbledon and Johnston won the singles title easily, losing only one set. They were ranked 1-2 in the U. S. and the world from 1920 through 1923 and in 1925; Johnston slipped to third, behind Vincent Richards, in 1924.
In addition to his U. S. and Wimbledon singles titles, Johnston teamed with Clarence J. Griffin to win the U. S. men's doubles in 1915, 1916, and 1920, and with Mary K. Browne to win the mixed doubles championship in 1921.