One of the first great female tennis players, Mary K. Browne was a three timesNational Singles champion and five time National Ladies Doubles champion, won the Ladies Doubles championship of England at Wimbledon and twice captained the International Wightman Cup Team. She was also the first female tennis player to turn professional, started the first woman’s tennis clinic in America and was one of the first women to be enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
One of the first Cleveland natives to win the Ohio high school state championship (1945) and the first player to win four tennis letters at Michigan State University, Robert Malaga captained the U.S. Junior Davis Cup Team. He competed in numerous major tournaments, including the USLTA National Championships at Forest Hills and won several Cleveland City championships in singles, doubles and mixed doubles.
One of area’s most successful players, Monte Gagner reigned as Cleveland and Ohio Junior Doubles champion (with Paul Atkinson) from 1921 to 1924 and as Men’s Ohio and Cleveland Doubles champion (with brother “Dutch” and John Dorr) from 1933 to 1946. Began Senior competition in 1951 and was a finalist in 30 USLTA National Championships events, winning 14 national age group championships.
Two-time winner of the National Clay Court Father-Son Doubles Championships and a National Clay Court champion in the Senior 45 doubles, Kirk Reid won ten Greater Cleveland singles crowns and 12 doubles titles between 1920 and 1932. He also captured 20 Ohio and New York State or Regional championships, plus approximately 60 lesser titles. Kirk ranked as high as 13th nationally in men’s singles, third in Senior 45 singles, fifth in father-son doubles and sixth in Senior 45 doubles.
Clark Graebner served as player-coach for the Cleveland Nets in World Team Tennis in 1974 and also played in 1975. He won three U.S. Men’s national singles titles and six doubles titles between 1963 and 1971. He recorded 16 singles wins and four doubles wins in 11 Davis Cup ties over a five year period. Clark was ranked in the Top Ten in U.S. Men’s Singles eight times in nine years between 1964 and 1972, and was in the Top Ten in doubles nine times between 1962 and 1971, including the top ranking from 1965 to 1967.
Robert Busbey won All-American designation three times in the free style sprints at Cleveland State University (then Fenn College) in 1948 and 1949. The dominant swimmer in the Greater Cleveland area from 1946 to 1950, he lost only four races in four years of collegiate competition against some of the best swimmers in the country. Robert broke over 100 records in NCAA and AAU competition, including a national record in the 50-yard freestyle that stood for 12 years.
One of the first nationally-acclaimed swimmers from the Greater Cleveland area Ted Abrams set an American and world record in 1924 for the “plunge for distance”. His mark of 84 feet, six inches has never been broken.
National AAU long distance champion during the mid 1940’s, Ted Stevens was a multiple AAU All-American. He led the University Circle YMCA team to a National YMCA championship and was considered the outstanding distance swimmer in the area during his competitive years. Ted was an Ohio high school freestyle champion at East Tech for two years.
Louis “L.B.” Schaefer was a member of the 1959 United States Pan-American Team in backstroke. He won NCAA titles in the 100 and 200-yard backstrokes and swam on the gold medal-winning 400-yard medley relay team in 1962 to help Ohio State University win the national collegiate championship. L.B. was the Ohio state high school champion in the backstroke for three years (1957-1959) at Berea High School, where he captained the Berea team in his senior year. He also co-captained the Ohio State team in 1963.
Gretchen Kluter was a member of the 1955 U.S. Pan-American Games Team, winning a gold medal as a member of the 400-meter freestyle relay team and placing fifth in the 100-meter freestyle. She was also a member of the 1956 AAU All-American Women’s Swim Team and the 1972 All American Masters Swim Team. Gretchen was the first alternate for the 100 meter freestyle on the 1956 U.S. Olympic Swim Team, and set three national Junior Olympic records between 1953 and 1955.