Southern Tennis Patrons Foundation

Southern Tennis Patrons Foundation

Russell Bobbitt, Georgia, 1993

Russell Bobbitt, Georgia, inducted in 1993Russell Bobbett

  • Ranked among the top 10 players in the United States as a junior player
  • Played for Georgia Tech where he won the 1938 Southeastern Conference singles and doubles titles
  • Played on the United States Junior Davis Cup team with Jack Kramer and Bill Talbert
  • Volunteer and administrator who served as Vice-President of the Georgia Tennis Association and President of the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association
  • President of the Senior Tennis Players of Georgia
  • First tennis player inducted into the Georgia Tech Athletic Hall of Fame
  • Inducted into the Georgia Tennis Hall of Fame the first year it was established in 1983

A.W. “Buck” Archer, North Carolina, 1993

A.W. “Buck” Archer, North Carolina, inducted in 1993Buck Archer

  • Started playing tennis when he was 8 and continued through high school, prep school and while attending Davidson College
  • Following college he returned to Shelby, N. C. where he was the volunteer coach of the Shelby High School tennis team and the Cleveland County Country Club team
  • Played on two championship United States Austria Cup teams, an international team competition for 55-and-over men
  • Captain of the United States Osuna Cup team for 45-and-over men from 1987 to 1991, leading the American team to victory over Mexico four of the five years
  • Won two National Clay Court Championships
  • Won 11 national doubles titles
  • Inducted into the North Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame in 1977

Mildred F. Southern, North Carolina, 1991

Mildred F. Southern, North Carolina, inducted in 1991Mildred Southern

  • Attended Appalachian State University where she took up tennis as a recreational player and later worked for the City of Winston-Salem Recreation Department for 14 years supervising numerous tournaments
  • Began to play competitive tournament tennis at age 40 and started a long career as a player and volunteer
  • Organized the Winston-Salem Young Folks Tennis Program involving kids 6 to 18 years old in tennis classes and later organized the Twin City Kiwanis Junior Tournament to give young people a chance to compete
  • Served as President of the North Carolina Tennis Association where she introduced “Tennis Weekend” featuring workshops and clinics which attracted over 300 attendees and later introduced the same idea to the Southern Tennis Association when she became President
  • Organized the first Southern Senior Cup with teams from the 9 states competing and ranked #1 or #2 in the South in several different age groups in both singles and doubles
  • Received the Touchstone Award in 1982, the USTA Southern Jacobs Bowl in 1983, the Charles B. Morris Volunteer Service Award in 1998 and was inducted into the North Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame in 1983 and the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2013
  • Served on numerous USTA committees and received the USTA Senior Service Award in 1991

Newton Cox, Alabama, 1991

Newton Cox, Alabama, inducted in 1991Newton Cox

  • Begin playing tennis at age 16 and was involved in the sport as a player, coach and administrator the remainder of his life
  • Attended the University of Alabama on a tennis scholarship and after a term in the Army returned to Alabama where he coached the men’s tennis team 13 years
  • Coached and taught at the Mobile Tennis Center for over 35 years
  • Served as President of the Mobile Tennis Club, the Alabama Tennis Association, the Southern Tennis Association, the Alabama Professional Tennis Association, the Southern Professional Tennis Association and was Vice President of the United States Professional Tennis Association
  • Tournament Director for numerous prestigious tournaments including the Alabama Open, Senior Bowl Championships, Southern Junior Open and Closed Championships and several men’s and women’s professional circuit tournaments
  • Wrote a weekly column titled “Mobile Tennis Notes” in the Sunday edition of the Mobile Register for over 25 years
  • Received over 20 major awards, including the USTA Southern Jacob’s Bowl and was inducted into the Alabama Tennis Hall of Fame in 1990

Roscoe Tanner, Tennessee, 1990

Roscoe Tanner, Tennessee, Inducted in 1990Roscoe Tanner

  • Ranked #1 in the nation in the Boy’s 18-and-under and led the Baylor School team to two straight High School National Championships and was considered the best junior player ever from the South
  • Three time All-American at Stanford, runner up in the NCAA Singles Championships twice and won the NCAA Doubles champion once
  • Turned pro in 1972 and over the course of his 10 year career won 15 ATP championships and was runner up in over 20 other tournaments
  • Grand Slam record stands at 90-32, including the singles championship at the 1977 Australian Open, a finalist at the 1979 Wimbledon Championships where he lost a classic 5-set match to Bjorn Borg and a quarterfinalist or semifinalist at 9 other Grand Slam events
  • Represented the United States on the Davis Cup team 5 times, including the 1981 championship team
  • 1981 WCT Tour Champion whose fastest serve was clocked at 153 MPH
  • Inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1992, the Intercollegiate Tennis Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Tennessee Tennis Hall of Fame in 1994