Bryan Grant
Grand at the 1937 Wimbledon Championships
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| Full name | Bryan Morel Grant, Jr |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |
 United States
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| Born |
December 25, 1909 Atlanta, GA, United States |
| Died | June 5, 1986 (aged 76) Atlanta, GA, United States |
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) |
| Plays | Right-handed |
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1977 (member page) |
| Singles | |
| Highest ranking | No. 6 (1937, A. Wallis Myers) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| Wimbledon | QF (1936, 1937) |
| US Open | SF (1935) |
| Doubles | |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | 3R (1936) |
Bryan Morel "Bitsy" Grant, Jr (December 25, 1909 – June 5, 1986) was an American amateur tennis champion. At 5 feet 4 inches (162 cm) and 120 lbs (54 kg), Grant was the smallest American man to win a championship on the international tennis circuit. A right-handed retriever, he was able to beat heavy-hitting greats such as Don Budge and Ellsworth Vines even when playing on grass. His nickname was "Itsy Bitsy the Giant Killer".
At a young age, Grant was already a star in football, basketball and tennis at local Atlanta schools. In 1929, he won the Georgia state (GIAA) tennis title. Grant had gained national stature in tennis long before his graduation from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1933. During World War II, he served in the Pacific Islands as a US Army Rifleman in and around Papua New Guinea. His letters to his future wife attest that he fought out of a foxhole for several months, and saw heavy and repeated firefights.
Grant was a member of the Piedmont Driving Club. Grant died at the age of 76 at his home he shared with his sister, Harriet Keyes Grant behind Lovett School in Townsend Place. He was survived by his sister, Harriet, his son Bryan M. Grant III, his daughter, Mary (Grant) McDonald, and his three grandchildren, Bryan M. "Beau" Grant IV, Jeffrey Bryan McDonald, and Christopher McDonald.
Between 1930 and 1941, Grant was ranked nine times in the U.S Top Ten (USLTA). He was third in 1935 and second in 1936 (USLTA). A. Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph ranked Grant World No. 6 in 1937 and World No. 8 in 1936. Grant won 8 of 11 tournaments entered in 1935, and did not lose one match on clay courts. He won the U.S. Clay Court Championships thrice (1930, 1934, 1935). Grant reached the U.S. semifinals in 1935 by defeating second-seeded Budge, but in 1936, he lost to eventual champion Fred Perry. He was a quarterfinalist in 1937, losing to Gottfried von Cramm, and reached the same round a year later.
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