Bob Falkenburg
| Full name | Robert Falkenburg |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |
 United States Brazil
|
| Residence | Santa Ynez, California, USA |
| Born |
January 29, 1926 Manhattan, New York, USA |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Turned pro | 1942 (amateur tour) |
| Retired | 1955 |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1974 (member page) |
| Singles | |
| Highest ranking | No. 7 (1948, John Olliff) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| French Open | 4R (1954) |
| Wimbledon | W (1948) |
| US Open | SF (1946) |
| Doubles | |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | W (1947) |
| US Open | W (1944) |
| Mixed doubles | |
| Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | 4R (1947) |
| US Open | F (1945) |
| Team competitions | |
| Davis Cup | SFAm (1955) |
Robert "Bob" Falkenburg (born January 29, 1926) is a former American amateur tennis player and entrepreneur. He is best known for winning the Men's Singles at the 1948 Wimbledon Championships and for introducing soft ice cream and American fast food to Brazil in 1952. He is the founder of the Brazilian fast food chain “Bob's.”
in New York City on January 29, 1926 and grew up in Los Angeles, California in a tennis playing family. His parents, Eugene “Genie” Lincoln Falkenburg (an engineer involved in the construction of the Hoover Dam) and Marguerite “Mickey” Crooks Falkenburg were amateur tennis players. While employed by Westinghouse, Eugene was transferred to South America, where he moved with his wife and three children to São Paulo, Brazil. There Mickey won the state tennis championship in 1927. Mickey was always involved in tennis. In The Game: My 40 Years in Tennis, tennis champion Jack Kramer wrote that Mickey Falkenburg was “the first person to ever suggest to him the idea of a team-tennis league,” a league which he later created. Bob’s sister, Jinx Falkenburg, a famous American film star/model was also an amateur tennis player and his brother Tom had a successful tennis career as well.
Falkenburg started to play tennis in 1936 when he was 10 years old. Like other players from Southern California, he frequently played at The Los Angeles Tennis Club in Hollywood, which was located very close to the family home. Bob also played at the Bel-Air Country Club, where he won the junior tennis tournament in 1937. As a youngster he participated in different tournaments around the city.
In 1942 and 1943 while attending Fairfax High School, Falkenburg won the National Interscholastic singles title and won the national doubles title with his brother, Tom. In 1943, Bob became the Los Angeles city singles title holder. The following year he claimed the United States doubles crown with Don McNeill at Forest Hills, NY. In 1943 Bob became one of the youngest players to enter the US Top 10 amateur ranks. He remained in the US Top 10 for 5 years, whilst he was ranked as high as World No. 7 by John Olliff of The Daily Telegraph.
From 1944 to 1945, during World War II Falkenburg served in the military as an air cadet. Being enlisted in the service, however, did not put a complete halt to his tennis career and he continued to occasionally play while in the Air Force. In 1946, while attending the University of Southern California, he won the NCAA singles and doubles titles. He teamed again with his brother Tom to capture that NCAA doubles final.
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