1878 men's tennis season

1878 men's tennis season

Frank Hadow (from Hadow family collection. He won the major event of this year Wimbledon)
Details
Duration	21 May – 12 October
Edition	3rd
Tournaments	15[1]
Categories	Important (1) National (2) Provincial/Regional/State (1) County (1) Local (9)
Achievements (singles)
Most titles	No outright leader
Most finals	No outright leader
← 1877 1879 →

The 1878 men's tennis season^[2][3] was composed of the third annual pre-open era tour. It now incorporated 15 tournaments staged in Great Britain and Ireland the Wimbledon championships was won by challenger Patrick Francis Hadow defeating the defending champion Spencer Gore.

It began in April in Newcastle Emlyn, Wales and ended in October in Bournemouth, Dorset, England.

Summary

This early pre open era tour began in April 1878 with Teifiside Lawn Tennis Club Tournament on grass played at Newcastle Emlyn, Wales the club is still open today.^[4] In May a spring tennis tournament was held at the Bournemouth Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club on Dean Park Cricket Ground, Bournemouth, England the club held a second event in October this year.^[5]

In July the most important event of the year the 1878 Wimbledon Championships was won by the challenger Patrick Francis Hadow who beat Spencer Gore in the all comers final. In August the inaugural Scottish Championships was won by James Patten MacDougall.^[6][7] In September at the inaugural County Wicklow Championships the tournament was won by a Captain Hughes. In September at the South of Ireland Championships held Wicklow in Ireland, the Limerick Cup was won by Vere St. Leger Goold.^[8]

Calendar

Notes 1: Challenge round: the final round of a tournament, in which the winner of a single-elimination phase faces the previous year's champion, who plays only that one match. The challenge round was used in the early history of tennis (from 1877 through 1921),^[9] in some tournaments not all.

* Indicates challenger

Notes 2:Tournaments in italics were events that were staged only once that season

Key

Important[10][11][12][13][14]

National

Provincial/State/Regional

County

Local/other

January to March

No events

April

Date	Tournament	Winner	Finalist	Semifinalist	Quarter finalist
21 - 24 April.[15][16]	Teifiside LTC Championship Teifiside Lawn Tennis Club Newcastle Emlyn, Wales Grass Singles - Doubles	Gwyn Saunders Davies ?	Dacre Tyler

May

Date	Tournament	Winner	Finalist	Semifinalist	Quarter finalist
21 - 24 May.[17][18]	Bournemouth CLTC Spring Tournament[19] Bournemouth CLTC Dean Park Cricket Ground Bournemouth, England Grass Singles - Doubles	Edmond Bennet Brackenbury 3 sets to 2	Sir Hubert James Medlycott

July

Date	Tournament	Winner	All comers' finalist	Semifinalist	Quarterfinalist
July.[20]	All Ireland Lawn Tennis Championships All Ireland Lawn Tennis Club Champion Ground Lansdowne, Dublin, Ireland. Grass Singles	?	?
12 July	Championship of the Esher LTC Esher Lawn Tennis Club Esher, Surrey, England Grass Singles	Clement Edward Cottrell ?	?
9–19 July	Wimbledon Championship[21] London, Great Britain Grass Singles	Patrick Francis Hadow 6–4, 6–4, 6–4	Lestocq Robert Erskine	Herbert Lawford	Charles Gipps Hamilton Arthur Thomas Myers
		Challenger round Spencer Gore[22] 7–5, 6–1, 9–7
24 July.[23]	Staffordshire County Cricket Club Lawn Tennis Tournament. Staffordshire County Cricket Ground Lichfield, Staffordshire, England Grass Singles	Jonas Henry William Gardner ?

August

Date	Tournament	Winner	Finalist	Semifinalist	Quarter finalist
12–19 August	Scottish Championships[24] [25] Edinburgh, Great Britain Singles	James Patten MacDougall[26]

September

Date	Tournament	Winner	Finalist	Semifinalist	Quarter finalist
6 September.[27][28]	Armagh Lawn Tennis Tournament Armagh Lawn Tennis Club Armagh, Ireland Grass Singles - Doubles	W.F. Templer ?	Robert Shaw Templer
8–9 September	County Wicklow Championships[29] Bromley, County Wicklow, Ireland Grass Singles	Henry Evelyn Tombe ?	Captain Hughes ?	Captain Hughes George Gordon Tombe	S. H. Butcher Augustine Lefroy George Gordon Tombe
16–17 September	Waterford Tournament[30] Waterford, Ireland Grass Singles	Vere St. Leger Goold ?	J. M. Brown	Henry Joseph Gallwey J. C. Roberts	Patrick Joseph Gallwey William Joseph Gallwey Pierce Barron-Newell
23 September.[31][32]	Newon Abbott Lawn Tennis Tournament Newton Abbot Archery and Lawn Tennis Club South Devon Cricket Club Ground Newton Abbot, Devon, England Grass Singles - Doubles	Rev. William Hughes ?	W. Sandilands
26–30 September.[33][34]	South of Ireland Championships Limerick Cricket Club Limerick, Ireland Grass Singles	Vere St. Leger Goold 8–6, 8–6	William Henry Darby	William Henry Darby H H Eliott	Joseph Fritz James Heffernan Considine Robert Howden Kelly Charles Mounoir Sumner
		Heffernan Considine Helena Considine 6-3, 6-5, 6-2	Robert Howden Kelly Miss Lumley

October

Date	Tournament	Winner	Finalist	Semifinalist	Quarter finalist
October.[35][36]	Moy and Charlemont LTC Tournament Moy and Charlemont Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club Moy, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland Singles	Robert Baron Templer ?	S. Phipson	Robert Baron Templer H. Ringwood	Archibald Alexander Hamilton H. Ringwood Robert Shaw Templer
7–12 October	Dublin University Championships[37] Dublin, Ireland Hard (Asphalt) Singles	James Jackson Sherrard ?	William Morgan Jellett	Henry James Daly ? William Morgan Jellett	Henry James Daly Richard Manders George Henry Shannon
10 October.[38][39]	Bournemouth CLTC Autumn Tournament Bournemouth CLTC Dean Park Cricket Ground Bournemouth, England Grass Singles - Doubles	Hubert James Medlycott ?

November to December

No events

List of tournament winners

Important tournament in bold

• Patrick Francis Hadow – Wimbledon-(1)
• W.F. Templer – Armagh-(1)
• Edmond Bennet Brackenbury – Bournemouth 1st-(1)
• Sir Hubert James Medlycott – Bournemouth 2nd-(1)
• Henry Evelyn Tombe – Bromley-(1)
• James Jackson Sherrard – Dublin-(1)
• James Patten MacDougall – Edinburgh-(1)
• Clement Edward Cottrell– Esher-(1)
• Jonas Henry William Gardner–Lichfield-(1)
• William Henry Darby – Limerick-(1)
• Robert Baron Templer –Moy-(1)
• Gwyn Saunders – Newcastle Emlyn-(1)
• Rev. William Hughes – Newton Abbott-(1)
• Vere St. Leger Goold – Waterford-(1)

Rankings

Source: The Concise History of Tennis, 6th edition, 2016

Karoly Mazak World Rankings for 1878[40]
#	Player
1	Patrick Francis Hadow (ENG)
2	Spencer Gore (ENG)
3	William Marshall (GBR)
4	Lestocq Robert Erskine (SCO)
5	C.G. Hamilton (GBR)

See also

• 1878 women's tennis season
• 1878 Tennis Season
• 1878 in sports

References

1. "Tournaments 1878". tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
2. Archives, Tennis. "1878 Men's tournaments". www.tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives, 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
3. "Tennis season 1878". thetennisbase.com. Tennis Base, 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
4. "Our history". ncetennis.org. Newcastle Emlyn & Adpar Community Tennis Club. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
5. The Athletic world and journal of English sports. London. 5 April 1878. p. 81.
6. Smellie, Kennedy. (12 April 1933). The History of the Dyvours Lawn Tennis Club 1883 to 1933 by Kennedy Smellie Hon. Secretary and Treasurer Scottish Lawn Tennis Association. R. W. Forsyth Ltd. Edinburgh, Glasgow and London. p.5.
7. Donnelley, Paul. "Firsts Lasts & only's Tennis a truly wonderful collection of trivia" (PDF). Worthing, England.: Pitch Publishing. p. 27. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
8. "History". lltc.ie. Limerick Lawn Tennis Club. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
9. "Abolition of Challenge Rounds". EVENING POST. 20 March 1922. Retrieved 6 October 2016 – via Papers Past.
10. Mazak, Karoly (2016). The Concise History of Tennis, The complete tennis history from 1877 (6th ed.). Karoly Mazak. pp. 5–11. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
11. Nauright, John; Parrish, Charles (2012). Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 198. ISBN 9781598843002.
12. Gillmeister, Heiner (1998). Tennis:Cultural History. London: A&C Black. p. 199. ISBN 9780718501952.
13. Mazak, Karoly (2010). The Concise History of Tennis | The complete tennis history from 1877 (6th ed.). Karoly Mazak (Ph.D.). p. 3.
14. Lake, Robert J. (2014). A Social History of Tennis in Britain: Volume 5 of Routledge Research in Sports History. Routledge. p. 48. ISBN 9781134445578.
15. "Our history". ncetennis.org. Newcastle Emlyn & Adpar Community Tennis Club. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
16. Nieuwland, Alex. "Edition – Teifiside Lawn Tennis Club 1878". www.tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
17. The Athletic world and journal of English sports. London. 5 April 1878. p. 81.
18. Nieuwland, Alex. "Edition – Bournemouth Spring Tournament 1878". www.tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
19. Field: (11 May 1878) The Quarterly Magazine and review. Lawn Tennis announcements. Horace Cox. London, England. pp.43–44.
20. O'Riordan, Turlough (December 2015). "Dunlop, Henry Wallace Doveton". www.dib.ie. Dublin, Republic of Ireland: Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
21. "The Championships Wimbledon 1878Gentlemen's All-Comers' Singles" (PDF). LTA. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
22. Tingay, Lance (1977). 100 years of Wimbledon. Enfield [Eng.]: Guinness Superlatives. ISBN 0900424710.
23. LAWN TENNIS: STAFFORDSHIRE COUNTY CRICKET CLUB TOURNAMENT. "Fine weather favoured the tennis tournament on Friday last 26th July, when there was a large and most influential attendance. The original programme was somewhat curtailed, inasmuch as two matches were withdrawn." Lichfield Mercury. British Newspaper Archives. 2 August 1878. Lichfield, Stafforshire, England. page.5.
24. "Craiglockhart was Wimbledon warm-up tournament of choice for the pros". edinburghnews.scotsman.com. the Edinburgh News 3 July 2012. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
25. "Lawn Tennis in Scotland, 50 years of the game". The Glasgow Herald, 9 August 1927. Retrieved 29 July 2016 – via Google News.
26. "Scottish Championships 1878". tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
27. Nieuwland, Alex. "Edition – Armagh 1878". www.tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives.
28. McCreary, Alf (2001). "Armagh at Play". Saint Patrick's City : the story of Armagh (1st ed.). Belfast: Blackstaff. p. 114. ISBN 9780856407116.
29. "Bromley 1878". tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
30. "Waterford 1878". tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
31. Nieuwland, Alex. "Edition – Newton Abbot 1878". www.tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
32. "Lawn tennis: For the first time, will be held in connection with the Newton Abbot Archery and Lawn Tennis Club, an amateur lawn-tennis meeting. The competitors will assemble on the ground of the South Devon Cricket Club 23rd September". Exeter and Plymouth Gazette Daily Telegrams. Plymouth, Devon, England: British Newspaper Archives. 9 July 1878. p. 3.
33. "Tournaments: South of Ireland Championships". The Tennis Base. Madrid: Tennismem SL. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
34. "Some history regarding Limerick Lawn". Limerick Lawn Tennis Club. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
35. Lawn Tennis."The Moy and Charlemont Lawn Tennis Tournament held by the Moy and Charlemont Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club that started monday ended on Thursday, the gentleman's tournament was won by Mr. Robert Baron Templer". The Tyrone Constitution. Tyrone, Northern Ireland.: British Newspaper Archives. 18 October 1878. pp. 3, 4.
36. Nieuwland, Alex. "Edition – Moy and Charlemont 1878". www.tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
37. "Dublin University Championships 1878". tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
38. Goddard, Arthur (1891). Beautiful Bournemouth. Bournemouth: Oetzmann & Company. p. 35.
39. Nieuwland, Alex. "Edition – Bournemouth 1878". www.tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
40. Mazak, Karoly (2010). The Concise History of Tennis. p. 6.

Sources

• A Social History of Tennis in Britain: Lake, Robert J. (2014), Volume 5 of Routledge Research in Sports History. Routledge, UK, ISBN 9781134445578.
• Ayre's Lawn Tennis Almanack And Tournament Guide, 1908 to 1938, A. Wallis Myers.
• British Lawn Tennis and Squash Magazine, 1948 to 1967, British Lawn Tennis Ltd, UK.
• Dunlop Lawn Tennis Almanack And Tournament Guide, G.P. Hughes, 1939 to 1958, Dunlop Sports Co. Ltd, UK
• Lawn tennis and Badminton Magazine, 1906 to 1973, UK.
• Lowe's Lawn Tennis Annuals and Compendia, Lowe, Sir F. Gordon, Eyre & Spottiswoode
• Spalding's Lawn Tennis Annuals from 1885 to 1922, American Sports Pub. Co, USA.
• Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice, Nauright John and Parrish Charles, (2012), ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, Cal, USA, ISBN 1598843001.
• The Concise History of Tennis, Mazak Karoly, (2010), 6th Edition, 2015.
• Tennis; A Cultural History, Gillmeister Heiner, (1997), Leicester University Press, Leicester, UK.
• The Tennis Book, edited by Michael Bartlett and Bob Gillen, Arbor House, New York, 1981 ISBN 0-87795-344-9
• The World of Tennis Annuals, Barrett John, 1970 to 2001.
• Total Tennis:The Ultimate Tennis Encyclopedia, by Bud Collins, Sport Classic Books, Toronto, Canada, ISBN 0-9731443-4-3
• Wright & Ditson Officially Adopted Lawn Tennis Guide's 1890 to 1920 Wright & Ditsons Publishers, Boston, Mass, USA.
• http://www.tennisarchives.com/
• https://thetennisbase.com/

External links

• 1878 Scottish Championships
• 1878 South of Ireland Championships, The Limerick Cup Ireland Archived 2016-10-26 at the Wayback Machine