Full name | Richard Norris Williams II |
---|---|
Country (sports) | United States |
Born |
Geneva, Switzerland |
January 29, 1891
Died | June 2, 1968 Philadelphia, PA, United States |
(aged 77)
Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
Int. Tennis HoF | 1957 (member page) |
Singles | |
Highest ranking | No. 2 (1916, Karoly Mazak) |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Wimbledon | SF (1924) |
US Open | W (1914, 1916) |
Other tournaments | |
Olympic Games | QF (1924) |
Doubles | |
Grand Slam Doubles results | |
Wimbledon | W (1920) |
US Open | W (1925, 1926) |
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results | |
Wimbledon | QF (1924) |
US Open | W (1912) |
Medal record
|
Richard "Dick" Norris Williams II (January 29, 1891 – June 2, 1968), generally known as R. Norris Williams, was an American tennis player and RMS Titanic survivor.
Williams was born in Geneva, Switzerland, the son of Philadelphia parents Charles Duane Williams, a direct descendant from Benjamin Franklin, and Lydia Biddle White. He was tutored privately at a Swiss boarding school and spoke fluent French and German. He started playing tennis at age 12, mainly under the guidance of his father.
In 1911 Williams won the Swiss Championship. A year later he entered Harvard and became the intercollegiate tennis champion in singles (1913, 1915) and doubles (1914, 1915).
He is best known for his two men's singles titles at the U.S. Championships in 1914 and 1916. He was also on the victorious American Davis Cup team twice: in 1925 and 1926 and was considered a fine doubles player. He also had a reputation in singles of always hitting as hard as possible and always trying to hit winners near the lines. This made him an extremely erratic player, but when his game was sporadically "on", he was considered unbeatable.
Williams was ranked World No. 2 for 1916 by Karoly Mazak, and World No. 4 in 1923 by A. Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph.
During the 1924 Olympics, at the age of 33 (and with a sprained ankle), Richard Norris Williams became a Gold Medalist in the mixed doubles, partnering Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman. He went on to captain several winning Davis Cup teams from 1921 through 1926 as well as the 1934 team. At age 44 he retired from Championship Tennis.
He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame (Newport, Rhode Island) in 1957.
Williams also gained fame as being a survivor of the RMS Titanic disaster in April 1912. He and his father, Charles Duane Williams, were traveling first class on the liner when it struck an iceberg and sank. Shortly after the collision, Williams freed a trapped passenger from a cabin by breaking down a door. He was reprimanded by a steward, who threatened to fine him for damaging White Star Line property, an event that inspired a scene in James Cameron's film Titanic (1997). Williams remained on the doomed liner almost until the very end. At one point Williams' father tried to get a steward to fill his flask. The flask was given to Williams and remains in the Williams family.