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The following tribute to the American lawn tennis player Joseph R. Hunt was written on Sunday, February 4, 1945, and appeared in the March 1945 edition of "American Lawn Tennis". It was written by Stanley Wallis Merrihew, editor and publisher of "ALT", as it was popularly known, and all-round promoter of the sport of lawn tennis.
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Lieutenant Joseph R. Hunt
By Stephen W. Merrihew
“A tragedy that brings closer to our world this awful war was the one that brought to a close the life of Lieutenant Joseph R. Hunt, youngest scion of the family of that name, illustrious in the game of lawn tennis. He died in the line of duty, his F6F Grunman Hellcat having gone into a spin off the coast of Florida on February 2; the plane crashed and sank, as told elsewhere in this issue.
“Joe Hunt had a tennis career that began when he was five years old. Born in San Francisco on February 17, 1919, his first tournament was the Bay Counties Championships at Golden Gate Park; his last was the [US] Championship of 1943, which he won by defeating Jack Kramer in a four-set battle. His first important success was in the 1934 Boys’ Championship and was followed by the win of the Junior [US] Championship in 1937. He won the Intercollegiate Championship in 1941, as was generally expected. In a nutshell these wins marked the salients of his tennis career.
“While still in his teens, Joe was marked for eminence in the game which his father, Reuben G. Hunt of San Francisco, pursued long before Joe was born. ‘Played tennis throughout the United States regularly from 1898 to 1906’ is the way the elder Hunt put it in his Biographical Sketch, and the many tennis publications of the past make it plain that he attained considerable success. Joe was the youngest of three children, the others being a son, Charles, and a daughter, Marian. Both of them play tennis and have shown much promise.
“In tournament circles Joe was long described as ‘dangerous’. He was also a determined and resourceful person, as was shown in the 1940 [US] Championship when he met Frank Kovacs and the latter staged a clowning attack. Joe sat down on the court, and even when Frank got down to business again and began to serve Joe sat there with his back turned and let some balls go by before resuming play. He eventually won the match in straight sets; in the next round Joe bowed to Bobby Riggs in five sets. Joe was alternately praised and criticised for this handling of a difficult situation.
“When Joe won the Intercollegiate Championship in 1941 he was believed to have made his exit as a tennis player. He had entered the Naval Academy at Annapolis [in 1938], graduating at the end of 1941. But his greatest success was to come. Little was this known when Reuben Hunt boarded the train that was to carry him from Haverford (at the conclusion of the Intercollegiate final match) to Philadelphia en route to California. With Joe’s retirement the elder Hunt was to cease to follow the game as a spectator, he told me. All the players he knew or had heard of had passed from the scene and there was no incentive for him to become acquainted with the newcomers. But the United States soon entered World War II and Joe came forward as a contestant in the 1943 Championship meeting, which he won. He had hoped to be given leave to defend his title in the 1944 Championship but was disappointed.
‘A tall, blond Californian’ is the way one writer refers to Lieutenant Joseph R. Hunt. He was ‘6 feet even and weighed 160 pounds’, as he put it in his Biographical Sketch, made out in 1936. He was well poised, possessed of a considerable amount of self-confidence, but not too much of it. If the War had not intervened he would probably have won the great title earlier, despite the presence of Riggs, Donald McNeill and Frank Schroeder – or of other players who might have come to the front. He was possessed of the winning type of game and he made the best use of it. He made the net position his objective, and of course his volleying was well judged and effective. Yet he was not entirely at a disadvantage in the back court.
“Shortly after the 1943 [US] Championship I was honoured by a visit at 366 Madison Avenue, from Lieutenant Hunt and Mrs Hunt. I had a slight acquaintance with Mrs Hunt, the former Jacque Virgil, but before the visit under discussion we came to know each other quite well. She told me – during a pause in the conversation between Joe and myself – of her interest in the match between her husband and Jack Kramer. That interest was keen and graphically evidenced; when she finished I almost believed that she had been on court with Joe!
“During the conversation Joe gave me an insight into his knowledge of strategy and tactics by saying that after the match with Jack he was inclined to think that he had made a mistake in not prolonging the rallies. Joe’s physical condition was better than Jack’s and the latter could have been worn down by keeping the ball in play more.
“Joe gave me a further insight into his character by a visit he paid me several years ago in New York. Soon after returning from Florida I had a heavy cold. Consequently I remained at home to give the ailment a chance to work itself out. Joe went to 500 Fifth Avenue, and learning of my condition he came over to the Hotel Webster to pay his respects, as it were. He remained for an hour or so and we had the pleasantest kind of a talk on a variety of subjects; tennis was by no means the only one of these, although we did not neglect it. It warmed the cockles of my heart – and apparently Joe had a good time also.
“It has been my good fortune to know all of the Hunt family reasonably well, and that is why the news of Joe’s death came to me with such a shock. I had gone to Howard Park on Saturday afternoon and Bruce Thomas came to me and asked if I had heard of the lamentable happening. The news was in the papers, of course, and I read them all. Today, Sunday, I heard from Edwin Baker, with further details. It appears that Edwin had written to Mrs Hunt only recently and asked for some photos of her husband, and by a strange coincidence he received a reply from her on Saturday, the day of the accident.
“The March issue of ‘ALT’ was being closed but will be held to get in the story of the death of a great figure in game, one who will be long remembered and whose passing will be deplored on every side.
“This terrible global conflict is changing the face of the world. We are all in it and we know not at what minute it may strike us. To the Hunts, all of them, the sympathy of the tennis world will go forth, and their grief will be shared by all to the greatest possible extent. Even so it will be inadequate. To that lonely heart at Port Orange, Florida [Jacque Hunt], I express all that is in my power to put into words.”
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These extracts are from another article featured in the same edition of "American Lawn Tennis":
"Lieutenant Joseph R. Hunt, US Navy, national singles tennis champion in 1943, was killed February 2 when the F 6 Grunman Hellcat fighter plane he was flying in gunnery practice crashed at sea nineteen miles off the Florida coast east of the Naval Air Station at Daytona Beach.
"Lieutenant Hunt's plane went into a spin from 10,000 feet, according to the report of navy officials, while he was making a 'run' on the a target being towed by another plane. It is reported that Joe never pulled out of the spin and the plane sank immediately after it crashed. Rescue and crash boats were rushed to the scene but the plane sank before the rescuers arrived. Later parts of the plane were rescued."
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Lieutenant Joseph R. Hunt
By Stephen W. Merrihew
“A tragedy that brings closer to our world this awful war was the one that brought to a close the life of Lieutenant Joseph R. Hunt, youngest scion of the family of that name, illustrious in the game of lawn tennis. He died in the line of duty, his F6F Grunman Hellcat having gone into a spin off the coast of Florida on February 2; the plane crashed and sank, as told elsewhere in this issue.
“Joe Hunt had a tennis career that began when he was five years old. Born in San Francisco on February 17, 1919, his first tournament was the Bay Counties Championships at Golden Gate Park; his last was the [US] Championship of 1943, which he won by defeating Jack Kramer in a four-set battle. His first important success was in the 1934 Boys’ Championship and was followed by the win of the Junior [US] Championship in 1937. He won the Intercollegiate Championship in 1941, as was generally expected. In a nutshell these wins marked the salients of his tennis career.
“While still in his teens, Joe was marked for eminence in the game which his father, Reuben G. Hunt of San Francisco, pursued long before Joe was born. ‘Played tennis throughout the United States regularly from 1898 to 1906’ is the way the elder Hunt put it in his Biographical Sketch, and the many tennis publications of the past make it plain that he attained considerable success. Joe was the youngest of three children, the others being a son, Charles, and a daughter, Marian. Both of them play tennis and have shown much promise.
“In tournament circles Joe was long described as ‘dangerous’. He was also a determined and resourceful person, as was shown in the 1940 [US] Championship when he met Frank Kovacs and the latter staged a clowning attack. Joe sat down on the court, and even when Frank got down to business again and began to serve Joe sat there with his back turned and let some balls go by before resuming play. He eventually won the match in straight sets; in the next round Joe bowed to Bobby Riggs in five sets. Joe was alternately praised and criticised for this handling of a difficult situation.
“When Joe won the Intercollegiate Championship in 1941 he was believed to have made his exit as a tennis player. He had entered the Naval Academy at Annapolis [in 1938], graduating at the end of 1941. But his greatest success was to come. Little was this known when Reuben Hunt boarded the train that was to carry him from Haverford (at the conclusion of the Intercollegiate final match) to Philadelphia en route to California. With Joe’s retirement the elder Hunt was to cease to follow the game as a spectator, he told me. All the players he knew or had heard of had passed from the scene and there was no incentive for him to become acquainted with the newcomers. But the United States soon entered World War II and Joe came forward as a contestant in the 1943 Championship meeting, which he won. He had hoped to be given leave to defend his title in the 1944 Championship but was disappointed.
‘A tall, blond Californian’ is the way one writer refers to Lieutenant Joseph R. Hunt. He was ‘6 feet even and weighed 160 pounds’, as he put it in his Biographical Sketch, made out in 1936. He was well poised, possessed of a considerable amount of self-confidence, but not too much of it. If the War had not intervened he would probably have won the great title earlier, despite the presence of Riggs, Donald McNeill and Frank Schroeder – or of other players who might have come to the front. He was possessed of the winning type of game and he made the best use of it. He made the net position his objective, and of course his volleying was well judged and effective. Yet he was not entirely at a disadvantage in the back court.
“Shortly after the 1943 [US] Championship I was honoured by a visit at 366 Madison Avenue, from Lieutenant Hunt and Mrs Hunt. I had a slight acquaintance with Mrs Hunt, the former Jacque Virgil, but before the visit under discussion we came to know each other quite well. She told me – during a pause in the conversation between Joe and myself – of her interest in the match between her husband and Jack Kramer. That interest was keen and graphically evidenced; when she finished I almost believed that she had been on court with Joe!
“During the conversation Joe gave me an insight into his knowledge of strategy and tactics by saying that after the match with Jack he was inclined to think that he had made a mistake in not prolonging the rallies. Joe’s physical condition was better than Jack’s and the latter could have been worn down by keeping the ball in play more.
“Joe gave me a further insight into his character by a visit he paid me several years ago in New York. Soon after returning from Florida I had a heavy cold. Consequently I remained at home to give the ailment a chance to work itself out. Joe went to 500 Fifth Avenue, and learning of my condition he came over to the Hotel Webster to pay his respects, as it were. He remained for an hour or so and we had the pleasantest kind of a talk on a variety of subjects; tennis was by no means the only one of these, although we did not neglect it. It warmed the cockles of my heart – and apparently Joe had a good time also.
“It has been my good fortune to know all of the Hunt family reasonably well, and that is why the news of Joe’s death came to me with such a shock. I had gone to Howard Park on Saturday afternoon and Bruce Thomas came to me and asked if I had heard of the lamentable happening. The news was in the papers, of course, and I read them all. Today, Sunday, I heard from Edwin Baker, with further details. It appears that Edwin had written to Mrs Hunt only recently and asked for some photos of her husband, and by a strange coincidence he received a reply from her on Saturday, the day of the accident.
“The March issue of ‘ALT’ was being closed but will be held to get in the story of the death of a great figure in game, one who will be long remembered and whose passing will be deplored on every side.
“This terrible global conflict is changing the face of the world. We are all in it and we know not at what minute it may strike us. To the Hunts, all of them, the sympathy of the tennis world will go forth, and their grief will be shared by all to the greatest possible extent. Even so it will be inadequate. To that lonely heart at Port Orange, Florida [Jacque Hunt], I express all that is in my power to put into words.”
--
These extracts are from another article featured in the same edition of "American Lawn Tennis":
"Lieutenant Joseph R. Hunt, US Navy, national singles tennis champion in 1943, was killed February 2 when the F 6 Grunman Hellcat fighter plane he was flying in gunnery practice crashed at sea nineteen miles off the Florida coast east of the Naval Air Station at Daytona Beach.
"Lieutenant Hunt's plane went into a spin from 10,000 feet, according to the report of navy officials, while he was making a 'run' on the a target being towed by another plane. It is reported that Joe never pulled out of the spin and the plane sank immediately after it crashed. Rescue and crash boats were rushed to the scene but the plane sank before the rescuers arrived. Later parts of the plane were rescued."
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