Southern Tennis Patrons Foundation

Southern Tennis Patrons Foundation

Pollard Parsons, Tennessee, 1980

Pollard Parsons, Tennessee, inducted in 1980Pollard Parsons

  • Southern tennis enthusiast and longtime tournament director.
  • Friends said Parsons was “about as informed about Nashville tennis as anyone could be.”
  • Provided the Southern Lawn Tennis Association with a foundation on which today’s programs were developed.
  • Served as an officer, committee member, and USLTA delegate during a period that lasted from 1929-1955.
  • Secretary/Treasurer of the Southern Lawn Tennis Association.
  • Vice President of the United States Lawn Tennis Association.
  • Passed away at age 88 in Tennessee.

Clifford Sutter, Louisiana, 1979

Clifford Sutter, Louisiana, inducted in 1979Ernest Sutter035

  • Born in New Orleans where his family built two grass tennis courts next to their property on Loyola Street.
  • Began playing on those courts with his entire family when he was five years old.
  • Won the NCAA Singles title in 1930 and 1932 during his collegiate career at Tulane University.
  • Semifinalist in 1932 at the United States National Championships, losing in five sets to world number one, Ellsworth Vines.
  • Became the only male New Orleans native to play the main draw singles at Wimbledon in 1933.  
  • Marketing Manager of Bancroft Sporting Goods until he retired in 1975.
  • Mr. Sutter died in 2000 at the age of 89.

William E. “Slew” Hester JR, Mississippi, 1978

William E. “Slew” Hester JR, Mississippi, 1978, Mississippi, inducted in 1978Slew Hester

  • No one knows quite why the wildcatting oilman was called “Slew.”
  • In his own words, he liked to “drink all night and play tennis all day.”
  • The first United States Tennis Association President from the Deep South.
  • During his tenure from 1977-78, “Slew” led the move of the US Open from Forest Hills to its current site in Flushing Meadows.
  • One big mistake he made in picking the new location was not realizing planes taking off and landing at LaGuardia Airport next door would be disruptive during play at the Open.
  • Planted ivy near the entrance of Flushing Meadows with a handwritten sign that read, “Watch Tradition Grow!”
  • Mr. Hester died from congestive heart failure at the age of 80.

Hamilton F. “Ham” Richardson, Louisiana, 1977

Hamilton F. “Ham” Richardson, Louisiana, inducted in 1977Hamilton Richardson

  • Won two NCAA Singles Championships in 1953 and 1954 while attending Tulane University.  The university made him a charter member of its Athletic Hall of Fame.
  • Named a Rhodes scholar and earned his master’s degree from Oxford University.
  • Diagnosed in 1949, at the age of 15, with diabetes. Doctors advised him against playing tennis. He obviously did not comply.
  • “Ham” went on to win 17 national titles and play on seven United States Davis Cup Teams, winning the Cup in 1954 and 1958.
  • Ranked number one in the United States in 1956 and 1958.
  • In retirement, “Ham” founded the New York investment and venture capital firm Richardson and Associates.
  • Married to author Midge Turk and had three children.  “Ham” died in 2006 from diabetes complications.

Bryan M. “Bitsy” Grant, Georgia, 1977

Bryan M. “Bitsy” Grant, Georgia,inducted in 1977Bitsy Grant

  • Nicknamed “Itsy Bitsy the Giant Killer” because of his five feet, four inch frame, Grant was a pioneering representative for the game of tennis in Georgia.
  • In 1954, The Bitsy Grant Tennis Center, which was once the headquarters of the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association, was named in his honor.
  • Two time quarterfinalists at Wimbledon, and played four U.S. Davis Cup Teams between 1935-1938.
  • Played on the University of North Carolina’s 1931 team that won the Southern Conference title. Selected All-American that same year.
  • Served in the Pacific Islands around New Guinea during WWII where he was involved in heavy firefights.
  • Inducted into the International Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island in 1972.
  • Bitsy Grant died at the age of 76.