Clarence Clark (tennis)
Clarence Munroe Clark was an American tennis player who won the 1881 U.S. National Championship - Doubles with Frederick Winslow Taylor and was a finalist in the 1882 U.S. National Championships - Singles. He was one of the founders of the United States Lawn Tennis Association in 1881 and served as the first secretary. He and his brother Joseph Sill Clark Sr. were the first Americans to play doubles on Centre Court at Wimbledon. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1983. He was a partner in the banking firm E. W. Clark & Co.. He invested in and managed electric light, power, and railway companies.
Early life and education
Clark was born on August 27, 1859, in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, to Edward White Clark and Mary Todhunter Sill Clark. He was a member of the Young America Cricket Club with his brother Joseph Sill Clark Sr. and Frederick Winslow Taylor where they all became interested in tennis. In 1878, the Clark brothers built a tennis court on their father's property and Frederick Winslow Taylor built a court on his family's property where they all played tennis together frequently. He attended Germantown Academy and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1878.Tennis career
In 1879, he created the All-Philadelphia Lawn Tennis Committee to codify rules and regulations for local competitions and organized matches against other organizations. In 1881, he helped organize a meeting of thirty-three tennis clubs to develop consistent regulations for the sport. From this meeting, the United States Lawn Tennis Association was formed and Clark served as the first secretary.That same year, he won the first doubles tournament in the U.S. National Championships, playing with Frederick Winslow Taylor, after defeating first the favored Richard Sears/James Dwight, and in the final round, Alexander Van Rensselaer/Arthur Newbold. In 1882, he reached the final of the championships, where he lost to reigning champion Sears in straight sets. Clark also reached the semifinals in 1884.
In 1883, Clark and his brother Joseph competed in doubles at Wimbledon against Ernest Renshaw and William Renshaw. The Clark brothers were the first Americans to play at Centre Court.
He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1983.
Business career
He worked in a chemical lab and in the forging department at the Midvale Steel company. In 1883, he took a six-month leave of absence and traveled throughout Europe to learn from European steel companies. After his return, he led the ordnance and railroad- and automobile-wheel production. He was promoted to second assistant superintendent and to assistant superintendent in 1886. He left Midvale Steel in 1887 and took a position as treasurer and secretary of the Flat Top Coal Land Association, which owned most of the land for mining of the Pocahontas Coalfield.In 1900, he became a partner in the bank, E. W. Clark & Co., founded by his grandfather Enoch White Clark. He was placed in charge of public utility investments. He invested in electric light, electric power, and electric street railway companies. He served as president of the Nashville Railway and Light Company, the Northern Ohio Power Company, the Tennessee Electric Power Company, the Portland Electric Power Company, as well as a director of several other companies.
Clark endowed a professorship in Mountain Agriculture at Berea College.
He died on June 29, 1937, at the age of 77, at his home, Cedron, in Germantown, Philadelphia. He was interred at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.