Barry MacKay
MacKay in Michigan, 1957
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| Country (sports) |
 United States
|
|---|---|
| Born |
August 31, 1935 Cincinnati, Ohio, United States |
| Died | June 15, 2012 (aged 76) San Francisco, United States |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Turned pro | 1961 (#1 US amateur 1960) |
| Retired | 1970 |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Singles | |
| Career titles | 24 |
| Highest ranking | No. 4 (1959, Lance Tingay) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| Australian Open | SF (1959) |
| French Open | QF (1960) |
| Wimbledon | SF (1959) |
| US Open | QF (1959) |
| Professional majors | |
| US Pro | SF (1961, 1962) |
| Wembley Pro | QF (1961, 1962, 1967) |
| French Pro | QF (1961, 1963, 1967) |
Barry MacKay (August 31, 1935 – June 15, 2012) was an American tennis player, tournament director and tennis broadcaster. 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. His teammates were: Mark Jaffe, Dick Potter, Jon Erickson, John Harris, Dale Jensen, 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 in singles and 1955-57 in doubles. In 1955, he lost the singles title to Warren Mueller of Wisconsin. He competed on five United States Davis Cup teams from 1956 to 1960 and was a doubles finalist at the U.S. Open in 1958, with Sam Giammalva. In 1959, he reached the singles semifinals at the Australian Championships and at the The Championships, Wimbledon where he lost to Rod Laver in five sets. He was seeded No. 1 at the French Championships in 1960, and reached the quarterfinals. He had won the Italian Championships in early May, beating defending champion, Luis Ayala, in five sets. MacKay had twice won the Pacific Coast Championships, first in 1959, and again in 1960, when he also won ten more tournaments, to earn the No. 1 ranking in the United States. Also in 1960, he won the Bob Hope Award for the Amateur Athlete of the Year.
Mackay died in San Francisco on June 15, 2012 after a long illness.
MacKay was born in Cincinnati and grew up in Dayton, Ohio, where he attended Oakwood High School. In 1950, he won the National Boys Indoor Doubles Championship. He was the Ohio State High School Tennis Champion in 1952 and 1953.
MacKay enjoyed a 17-year career as an amateur and a professional tennis player, winning 29 singles titles and 11 doubles. He started his tennis career in the 1950, as National Boys Indoor champion and then in 1952, as the Ohio State High School Champion. From there, he enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1953 along with Mark Jaffe and Dick Potter to form a strong core under tennis coach William E. "Bill" Murphy. He practiced often with Andy Paton,Jr, who made him a better player. He won five Big Ten Conference championships while at the University of Michigan— 2 Singles championships in 1956 and 1957, and 3 Doubles championships with partner, Dick Potter, in 1955, 1956, and 1957. In June 1957, MacKay won the singles title at the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship, defeating Sam Giammalva of Texas in five sets 6-4,3-6,6-2,3-6,6-3 at Salt Lake City. This win enabled the Michigan Wolverines to capture their first and only NCAA Team Championship. He was the first Big Ten player to win the NCAA singles title, was runner-up for the doubles title with partner, Dick Potter, losing in four sets to Crawford Henry and Ron Holmberg of Tulane, and was the first Michigan player to be named as an All-American.
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