George Hillyard (tennis)
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| Full name | George Whiteside Hillyard | |||||||||
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| Country (sports) |
 United Kingdom
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| Born |
6 February 1864 Hanwell, UK |
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| Died | 24 March 1943 (aged 79) Pulborough, UK |
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| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | |||||||||
| Singles | ||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 5 (1901, Karoly Mazak) | |||||||||
| Grand Slam Singles results | ||||||||||
| Wimbledon | QF (1889, 1897, 1901) | |||||||||
| Other tournaments | ||||||||||
| Olympic Games | 2R (1908) | |||||||||
| Doubles | ||||||||||
| Grand Slam Doubles results | ||||||||||
| Wimbledon | F (1889, 1890) | |||||||||
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Medal record
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George Whiteside Hillyard (6 February 1864 – 24 March 1943) was a male tennis player from the United Kingdom. Under his supervision as secretary of the All England Club from 1907 to 1925, the Wimbledon Championships moved to its current site at Church Road. Hillyard also excelled at cricket and golf.
George Whiteside Hillyard was born in Hanwell, Middlesex on 6 February 1864, the only child of George Wright Hillyard (1817–1896) and his second wife Mary Mansfield (1827–?). His father had been a police officer at Welwyn, Hertfordshire by 1840 and later worked in the Nottingham County Jail before becoming superintendent at the Central London District School in West London in 1861. After his first wife Lucy had died in early 1862, he married Mary Mansfield in December the same year.
In 1877, George senior sent his 13-year-old son to the Royal Navy. At first, he came to the Britannia Royal Naval College as a cadet. In 1879, he was promoted to midshipman and was assigned to the HMS Bacchante which toured the colonies of the British Empire around the world from 1880 to 1882. Among his fellow midshipmen were Prince Albert and Prince George (later King George V).
Hillyard resigned from the Navy with the rank of sub-lieutenant on 2 October 1885. His last posting was aboard the HMS Minotaur.
Hillyard had been already introduced to tennis at the age of ten by his uncle, who had set up a Sphairistike court in 1875. However, he didn't like what he called "pat-ball" at first, and preferred cricket. After his Navy service, however, the rules of the game had undergone significant changes and Hillyard became attracted to it. From 1887, he began to play tournaments.
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