Barry MacKay

Barry MacKay
MacKay in Michigan, 1957
Country (sports) United States
Born(1935-08-31)August 31, 1935
Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
DiedJune 15, 2012(2012-06-15) (aged 76)
San Francisco, United States
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Turned pro1961 (#1 US amateur 1960)
Retired1970 (#9 US ranking)
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Career titles29
Highest rankingNo. 4 (1959, Lance Tingay)[1]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenSF (1959)
French OpenQF (1960)
WimbledonSF (1959)
US OpenQF (1959)
Professional majors
US ProSF (1961, 1962)
Wembley ProQF (1961, 1962, 1967)
French ProQF (1961, 1963, 1967)
Doubles
Career titles11

Barry MacKay (August 31, 1935 – June 15, 2012) was an American tennis player, tournament director and broadcaster. He was ranked #1 in the U.S. in 1960.[2]

While competing in college for the University of Michigan, he won the Singles title of the 1957 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship to clinch the team title for Michigan over Tulane 10 to 9, by defeating Sammy Giammalva in a 5 set Final. His teammates were: Mark Jaffe, Dick Potter, Jon Erickson, John Harris, Dale Jensen, George Korol and Dick Cohen. He was also a finalist in the 1957 NCAA Doubles competition with Dick Potter. He won 5 Big Ten Conference titles, 1956-57 (2) in singles and 1955-57 (3) in doubles.[3]

He reached the Quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 1958 and 1960 and the Semifinals in 1959, and was a Doubles finalist at the U.S. Open in 1958, with Sam Giammalva.[4]

In 1959, when he reached the Singles Semifinals at the Australian Championships he lost to Alex Olmedo in five sets, and in the Semifinals at The Championships, Wimbledon he lost to Rod Laver in five sets. He then reached the Quarterfinals of the U.S. Championships, losing to Tut Bartzen.[5]

In 1960, he was seeded No. 1 at the French Championships, and reached the Quarterfinals losing to Orlando Sirola. Prior to Paris he had won the Italian Championships in early May, beating Defending Champion, Luis Ayala, in five sets. MacKay twice won the Pacific Coast Championships, first in 1959, and again in 1960.[6][7]

His big year was 1960, when he also won ten more tournaments, to earn the No. 1 ranking in the United States. That year he reached the Quarterfinals of the U.S. Championships.[8]

  1. ^ United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 427.
  2. ^ "Tennis - ATP World Tour - Tennis Legend Barry MacKay Passes Away". ATP World Tour. September 30, 2011. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  3. ^ "Barry Mackay (1980) - University of Michigan Hall of Honor". University of Michigan Athletics. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  4. ^ The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed.). New Chapter Press. 2010. pp. 114, 477. ISBN 9780942257700. Retrieved June 26, 2024 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ "Bartzen, Unseeded Grass-Hater, Planted in Lawn Tennis Semis". New York Daily News. Forest Hills, New York. September 12, 1959. p. 11. Retrieved June 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Written at Berkeley, California. "MacKay, Knode Top Tennis Play". The Olympian. Olympia, Washington. AP. October 5, 1959. p. 6. Retrieved June 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Coast Net Titles for MacKay, Hard". Charleston Daily Mail. Berkeley, California. AP. October 5, 1960. p. 5. Retrieved June 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Barry MacKay Bested". Spokane Chronicle. Forest Hills, New York. AP. September 8, 1960. p. 1. Retrieved June 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.