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James Cecil Parke

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James Cecil Parke
Country (sports)United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Great Britain and Ireland
Born(1881-07-26)26 July 1881
Clones, County Monaghan, Ireland
Died27 February 1946(1946-02-27) (aged 64)
Llandudno, Conwy, Wales
Turned pro1900 (amateur tour)
Retired1925[1]
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record193–40 (82.83%)
Career titles31
Highest rankingNo. 1 (1914, P.A. Vaile)[2]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenW (1912)
WimbledonSF (1910, 1913)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenW (1912)
WimbledonF (1920)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
WimbledonW (1914)
Team competitions
Davis CupW (1912)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
– Monkstown ()
– DUFC ()
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1901–1908 Leinster 10 ()
Correct as of 30 January 2021
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1903–1909 Ireland 20 (36)
Correct as of 8 February 2021[3]
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
Tennis, Summer Olympics
Silver medal – second place 1908 London Outdoor doubles

James Cecil Parke (26 July 1881 – 27 February 1946) was an Irish rugby union player, tennis player, golfer, solicitor and World War I veteran.[4] He became an Olympic silver medallist, Davis Cup champion, Wimbledon Mixed Doubles winner and Australasian Championships winner in both Singles and Doubles. He has often been referred to as Ireland's greatest ever sportsman.[5][6]

Early life

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James Parke was born in the town of Clones located in County Monaghan, Ireland. He was one of eight children to Emily (née Pringle) and William Parke.[5] When he was nine years old, Parke played for his hometown's chess team.[7] He attended the Portora Royal School in Enniskillen and after graduation he attended Trinity college to study law.[5] Having been a part of the Irish golf team in 1906, Parke was also considered a top-class track and field sprinter and a cricketer.

Rugby career

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From 1901 to 1908, Parke played on the rugby teams of Monkstown, Dublin University. He also played on the provincial level for Leinster.[7] Between 1903 and 1909, he also played in twenty games for the Irish national team.[8] Parke captained Ireland on three occasions.[6] He helped Ireland win two of their three 1906 Home Nations matches, resulting in a shared championship with Wales.[9] In his final international cap, Parke kicked a penalty and a conversion to help seal a 19–8 victory in Ireland's first match against France.[5]

Tennis career

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As a tennis player, Parke was a baseliner whose best shot was a running down-the-line forehand.[10] Through his career, Parke achieved a number of feats. Having already became the European singles champion in 1907, Parke later won a silver medal in the 1908 Olympics in men's doubles, the Australian men's singles and doubles tennis titles in 1912, and the Wimbledon mixed doubles title in 1914.[11] He won eight Irish Lawn Tennis Singles titles, four doubles and two mixed titles. Parke was ranked world No. 4 in both 1913 and 1920 by A. Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph.[7][12] He was described as having the strongest claim to the "championships of the world" by P.A. Vaile for the 1914 season.[2]

Having already played in the Davis Cup (then known as the International Lawn Tennis Challenge), he defeated Norman Brookes and Rodney Heath in the Challenge Round on 28–30 November 1912, helping the British Isles capture the Cup in one of his greatest accomplishments. The following year he beat Maurice McLoughlin and Richard Norris Williams in the Challenge Round on 25–28 July 1913. However, the British Isles lost the meeting against the USA. Parke wore a four-leaved shamrock during every match he played.[5]

Military

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At the outset of World War 1, Parke enlisted in the Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) with the rank of captain (1914), before switching to the Essex regiment where he was promoted to Major in 1917.[5] He was wounded twice, at Gallipoli and on the Western front.[5]

Personal life

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Parke married Sybil Smith in 1918 and moved to her hometown of Llandudno, Wales in 1920 where he joined Chamberlain and Johnson law practice.[5] He died in Llandudno in 1946 following a heart attack.[5]

Grand Slam finals

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Singles: 1 title

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Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Win 1912 Australasian Championships Grass United Kingdom Alfred Beamish 3–6, 6–3, 1–6, 6–1, 7–5

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1912 Australasian Championships Grass United Kingdom Charles Dixon United Kingdom Alfred Beamish
United Kingdom Gordon Lowe		 6–4, 6–4, 6–2
Loss 1920 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom Algernon Kingscote United States Chuck Garland
United States R. Norris Williams		 6–4, 4–6, 5–7, 2–6

Mixed doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1913 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom Ethel Thomson Larcombe United Kingdom Agnes Tuckey
United Kingdom Hope Crisp		 6–3, 3–5 retired
Win 1914 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom Ethel Thomson Larcombe France Marguerite Broquedis
New Zealand Anthony Wilding		 4–6, 6–4, 6–2

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Irish Identity: Ireland's greatest all-round sportsman". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  2. ^ a b Vaile, P.A. (1915). Modern Tennis (2nd ed.). p. 242.
  3. ^ "James Parke". ESPNscrum. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  4. ^ "James Cecil Parke". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Is James Cecil Parke Ireland's greatest ever sportsman?". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  6. ^ a b "From All Blacks opponent to tennis champion: Ireland sporting great James Cecil Parke's Kiwi links". stuff nz. 8 March 2019. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  7. ^ a b c "James Cecil Parke". Dictionary of Ulster Biography. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
  8. ^ "Ireland's greatest all-round sportsman?". ESPNscrum. 23 January 2009. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  9. ^ "Career Figures". ESPNscrum. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  10. ^ "J. Cecil Parke". tennis.co.nf. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  11. ^ "James Cecil Parke Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  12. ^ United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 422.
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