J. F. Foulkes
Canada's 1913 Davis Cup team; J. F. Foulkes is at the right.
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| Full name | John Fortescue Foulkes |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |
 Canada
|
| Born | 10 July 1872 Middlesex (now London), England |
| Died | 22 June 1948 (aged 75) Canada |
| Singles | |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| Wimbledon | 3R (1908) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Olympic Games | 3R (1908) |
| Team competitions | |
| Davis Cup | F (1913) |
John Fortescue 'J.F.' Foulkes DSO (10 July 1872 – 22 June 1948), also known as Captain Foulkes, was an early star of Canadian tennis. Foulkes may have been a three-time winner of the Canadian national championship, today known as the Rogers Cup. He was also a member of the only Canadian team to reach the finals of the Davis Cup.
Foulkes was born in Middlesex, England, the second of six children born to Rev. Augustine Lempriere Foulkes and Francesca Forster (née Godfrey). His father, who had been a cricket player, earned a doctorate at Queen's College, Oxford and was the vicar of Steventon. He had three brothers (Godfrey, Louis and Leonard) and two sisters (Francesca and Catherine).
He moved to Canada as a teenager in 1891, and quickly began winning tournaments. A member of the Victoria Lawn Tennis Club, Foulkes may have captured the Canadian national championship in singles 1907, 1909, and 1910 - at least one source says otherwise however. His 1907 win, if it did occur, broke a string of 13 consecutive wins by an American player and only the second for a Canadian in 18 years. The source that disputes that Foulkes won his titles claims he was, instead, runner-up in 1907 and again in 1908.
He competed in the men's singles and doubles events at the 1908 Summer Olympics.
Foulkes along with fellow Victoria natives B. P. Schwengers, R. B. Powell and Victoria-based Henry Mayes reached the final of the 1913 Davis Cup in the country's first attempt. (All four players were members of the Victoria LTC.) With the entire tournament played at Wimbledon in June–July, the upstart Canadians, with Powell and Schwengers playing each match, beat South Africa, 4 wins to 1 and then Belgium, 4-0, to reach the final. In the final, however, they were overwhelmed by the Americans losing each set of three matches they contested.
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