Dick Skeen
| Full name | Richard Skeen |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |
 United States
|
| Born | 1906 Dallas, Texas |
| Died | 1994 (aged 87–88) Medford, Oregon |
| Turned pro | 1935 (amateur tour from 1930) |
| Retired | 1946 |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Singles | |
| Highest ranking | No. 7 (1941, Karoly Mazak) |
| Professional majors | |
| US Pro | F (1941) |
Dick Skeen (1906 – 1994) was an American professional tennis player and teacher. He was runner-up to Fred Perry in the Men's Singles in the 1941 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships, reaching as high as World No. 7 in Karoly Mazak's combined amateur-pro rankings for 1941. He was also ranked the World No. 2 pro by Ray Bowers for the year (and No. 4 in his amateur-pro combined rankings). Skeen reached the semifinals of other tournaments on four occasions that year.
Dick Skeen was born in Dallas, Texas in 1906 and died in Medford, Oregon in 1994 at age 88. He wrote a tennis book at the request of Dale Jensen, entitled Tennis Champions are Made, not Born in 1976. He taught three World Champions (Jack Kramer, Louise Brough, and Pauline Betz) and forty National Champions, including Billy Talbert, George Richards, Gussie Moran, Kathleen Harter, Carole Caldwell, Dave Ranney, Mike Caro, Julius Heldman, Ted Olewine, Eleanor Harbula, Jimmy Wade, Connie Jaster, and Barbara Winslow. Many of his players furthered their careers at the Los Angeles Tennis Club (LATC) under the guidance of Perry T. Jones, President of the Southern California Tennis Association. Skeen was ranked No. 1 in the National Senior 65-and-over in 1972, after a 28-year layoff (1973 USTA Year Book).
In 1918, Dick arrived in Southern California with his family and learned to play tennis on three courts in Hollywood. In 1931, he turned professional and began his tennis teaching career in Pasadena. He became a ledendary tennis teacher, according to Bill Tilden and Jack Kramer. Dick was known for his classic stroke production and his emphasis on the backhand chop, not the slice. After Pasadena, he taught at the Riveria Country Club, the Balboa Bay Club, designed the Newport Beach Tennis Club, founded the Blossom Hill Tennis Club in Los Gatos, and ended his teaching career in Medford, Oregon. While at the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach in 1960, he met and taught Dale Jensen. This was the beginning of a lifelong Tennis and business relationship until Dick died in Medford.
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