Richards, Vincent
Tennis
b. March 20, 1903, New York, NY
d. Sept. 20, 1959
The only singles championships Richards ever won as an amateur were the 1924 Olympic gold medal and the U. S. indoor titles in 1919, 1923, and 1924, but his great volleying ability made him a master doubles player.
In 1918, when he was only fifteen, Richards teamed with Bill Tilden to win the U. S. national doubles championship. They were also champions in 1921 and 1922. With R. Norris Williams, Richards won the 1925 and 1926 men's doubles titles. and he won national mixed doubles championships with Marion Zinderstein in 1919 and with Helen Wills in 1924. His only Wimbledon title came in the 1924 men's doubles with Francis T. Hunter.
A trained journalist, Richards often covered tournaments in which he played. The U. S. Lawn Tennis Association banned that practice in 1926 and Richards joined C. C. Pyle's initial professional tour in September of that year. He was a co-founder of the Professional Lawn Tennis Association in 1927. Richards won the PLTA's national singles championship; in 1927, 1928, 1930, and 1933, and he won professional doubles titles from 1929 through 1933 and in 1937, 1938, and 1945.
After retiring from competition, Richards joined the Dunlop Tire and Rubber Company as general manager of the sporting goods division. He died of a heart attack.