Frank Andrew Parker (born Franciszek Andrzej Pajkowski, January 31, 1916 – July 24, 1997) was an amateur & later professional American male tennis player of Polish immigrant parents who was active in the 1930s and 1940s. He won four Grand Slam singles titles as well as three doubles titles.
Early life
Parker was born on January 31, 1916, in Milwaukee as Franciszek Andrzej Pajkowski and had three brothers and a sister. Franciszek changed his name to Frank Parker when the sports announcers couldn't pronounce his Polish name. He learnt to play tennis at age 10, hitting discarded tennis balls at the Milwaukee Town Club. There he was discovered by the club coach Mercer Beasley who noticed his quickness and accuracy. Aged 12, he won his first national title, the boys' indoor championship played at the Seventh Regiment Armory in New York. In 1933, when he was 17, he won the singles title at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, defeating Gene Mako in the final in straight sets. Following success in these championships, Frank earned the nickname "Boy Wonder of Tennis."
Career
Parker is one of the few Americans to win both the French Championships (1948, 1949) and the U.S. Championships (1944, 1945).
Parker was 26-5 in six appearances at the Cincinnati Open, reaching four men's singles finals (1932, 1933, 1938 & 1939) before winning the singles title in 1941. Each of his four losses in a singles final in Cincinnati came against a fellow future International Tennis Hall of Famer: George Lott in 1932, Bryan Grant in 1933 and 1939, and Bobby Riggs in 1938.
Writing about Parker in his 1949 autobiography, Bobby Riggs, who had played Parker many times, stated "Parker is a tough man to get past. Equipped with a wonderful all-court game, he plays intently and with classic form. His footwork is marvelous. You never see Frankie hitting the ball from an awkward position."
In his autobiography, Jack Kramer wrote "even as a boy (Parker) had this wonderful, slightly overspin forehand drive. Clean and hard. Then for some reason, Frankie's coach, Mercer Beasley, decided to change this stroke into a chop. It was obscene." It impaired his game, particularly in preventing him from getting to the net, and Parker dropped in the rankings. A few years later, he worked hard to regain his original forehand, and according to Kramer, greatly improved his stroke, but it never was as good as it had once been. Parker was known for having a "deadpan" persona on court.
Parker took part in the 1968 US Open at the age of 52, becoming the oldest player to compete in the US Open men's singles. He also had the longest span in Grand Slam men's singles history (36 years from his first appearance at the U.S. Championships in 1932 to his last appearance in 1968).
He won the Canadian title in 1932 and again in 1938. He won five U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships and four Eastern Clay Court Championships. He was ranked World No. 1 amateur in 1948 by John Olliff of The Daily Telegraph. He compiled a Davis Cup record of 12 wins and two losses.
In October 1949, Parker signed a one-year contract with Bobby Riggs to become a professional tennis player.
Parker was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1960.
Parker was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island in 1966 and into the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.
Personal life
On March 17, 1938, Parker married Audrey Beasley who previously divorced Parker's coach Mercer Beasley. She became his adviser and tailored his tennis wardrobe.