Bill Talbert

Bill Talbert

Full name	William Franklin Talbert
Country (sports)	United States
Born	(1918-09-04)September 4, 1918 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Died	February 28, 1999(1999-02-28) (aged 80) New York City, U.S.
Plays	Right-handed
Int. Tennis HoF	1967 (member page)
Singles
Career record	651-201 (76.4%)
Career titles	49
Highest ranking	No. 3 (1949, John Olliff)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	2R (1947)
French Open	SF (1950)
Wimbledon	QF (1950)
US Open	F (1944, 1945)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	QF (1947, 1954)
French Open	W (1950)
US Open	W (1942, 1945, 1946, 1948)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
French Open	F (1950)
US Open	W (1943, 1944, 1945, 1946)

William Franklin Talbert (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 1999) was an American tennis player and administrator.

Tennis career

He was ranked in the U.S. top 10 from 1941 to 1954, and he was ranked World No. 3 in 1949 by John Olliff of The Daily Telegraph. He won nine Grand Slam doubles titles, and also reached the men's doubles finals of the U.S. National Championship nine times, mainly with Gardnar Mulloy, his favorite partner. He also was a Davis Cup player and one of the more successful Davis Cup captains in U.S. history.

Talbert was a Type 1 diabetic, one of the few known to be in sports at a highly competitive level, and for many years he was held up as an example of how this disease could be surmounted.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Talbert still holds records at the Cincinnati Masters in his hometown. His records are for most doubles titles (six), most total finals appearances (14), and most singles finals appearances (seven). He won three singles titles (in 1943, 1945 and 1947), and his six doubles titles came in 1943, 1944, 1945, 1947, 1951 and 1954.

Talbert, circa 1942

Talbert reached the final of the U.S. Championships in 1944 and 1945 (losing both finals to Frank Parker). He also reached the semifinals of the French championships in 1950, losing to Budge Patty 13–11 in the fifth set).

Talbert also won the singles title at the U.S. Clay Court Championships in 1945 defeating Pancho Segura in a five set final, and was a finalist in 1946 and 1943. He won the Eastern Clay Court Championships in 1949.

Before starting on the international tour, he played for the University of Cincinnati and won an Ohio State singles title in 1936 while at Cincinnati's Hughes High School.

Talbert was enshrined into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1967 and was in the first class, along with his former protégé Tony Trabert, enshrined into the Cincinnati Tennis Hall of Fame in 2002. After his playing career, he wrote tennis books, including the best seller The Game of Doubles in Tennis with Bruce Old in 1977; served as a tennis commentator for NBC Sports; and was the tournament director of the US Open.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (2 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1944	U.S. Championships	Grass	Frank Parker	4–6, 6–3, 3–6, 3–6
Loss	1945	U.S. Championships	Grass	Frank Parker	12–14, 1–6, 2–6

Doubles (5 titles, 5 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1942	U.S. Championships	Grass	Gardnar Mulloy	Ted Schroeder Sidney Wood	9–7, 7–5, 6–1
Loss	1943	U.S. Championships	Grass	David Freeman	Jack Kramer Frank Parker	2–6, 4–6, 4–6
Loss	1944	U.S. Championships	Grass	Pancho Segura	Don McNeill Bob Falkenburg	5–7, 4–6, 6–3, 1–6
Win	1945	U.S. Championships	Grass	Gardnar Mulloy	Bob Falkenburg Jack Tuero	12–10, 8–10, 12–10, 6–2
Win	1946	U.S. Championships	Grass	Gardnar Mulloy	Don McNeill Frank Guernsey	3–6, 6–4, 2–6, 6–3, 20–18
Loss	1947	U.S. Championships	Grass	Bill Sidwell	Jack Kramer Ted Schroeder	4–6, 5–7, 3–6
Win	1948	U.S. Championships	Grass	Gardnar Mulloy	Frank Parker Ted Schroeder	1–6, 9–7, 6–3, 3–6, 9–7
Win	1950	French Championships	Clay	Tony Trabert	Jaroslav Drobný Eric Sturgess	6–2, 1–6, 10–8, 6–2
Loss	1950	U.S. Championships	Grass	Gardnar Mulloy	John Bromwich Frank Sedgman	5–7, 6–8, 6–3, 1–6
Loss	1953	U.S. Championships	Grass	Gardnar Mulloy	Rex Hartwig Mervyn Rose	4–6, 6–4, 2–6, 4–6

Mixed Doubles (4 titles, 3 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1943	U.S. Championships	Grass	Margaret Osborne	Pauline Betz Pancho Segura	10–6, 6–4
Win	1944	U.S. Championships	Grass	Margaret Osborne	Dorothy Bundy Don McNeill	6–2, 6–3
Win	1945	U.S. Championships	Grass	Margaret Osborne	Doris Hart Bob Falkenberg	6–4, 6–4
Win	1946	U.S. Championships	Grass	Margaret Osborne	Louise Brough Robert Kimbrell	6–3, 6–4
Loss	1948	U.S. Championships	Grass	Margaret Osborne duPont	Louise Brough Tom Brown	4–6, 4–6
Loss	1949	U.S. Championships	Grass	Margaret Osborne duPont	Louise Brough Eric Sturgess	6–4, 3–6, 5–7
Loss	1950	French Championships	Clay	Patricia Canning Todd	Barbara Scofield Enrique Morea	w.o.

External links

• Bill Talbert at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Bill Talbert at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
• Bill Talbert at the Davis Cup
• Bill Talbert at the International Tennis Federation