Don Budge

 

J. Donald Budge"Don"

A tennis great who was first to win the great slam in 1938 and who was Wimbledon and U.S. Champion in 1937. The number on player of the era, he twice won the national amateur tennis title and three times won top professional honors. He was born and raised in Oakland and attended University High School, where he excelled in baseball and basketball as well. Don learned his tennis from the legendary Tom Stowe at the Claremont Tennis Club, Budge often knocked the racquet from his opponent’s hand with his powerful serves and forehands. "He was the prefect tennis player,"said Stowe. "He wanted to be the best and he was." Enshrined in the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1982.