Budge Patty

Edward John Patty (February 11, 1924 – October 4, 2021), better known as Budge Patty, was an
Budge Patty
American world no. 1 tennis player whose career spanned a period of 15 years after World War II. He
won two Grand Slam singles titles in 1950. He was the second American male player to win the
Channel Slam (winning the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year) and one of only three as of
2024.

Early life
Edward John Patty[4] was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on February 11, 1924. His grandmother was
born in France, while one of his grandfathers was Austrian. His family relocated to Los Angeles during
his childhood,[5] and he attended Los Angeles High School. He was nicknamed "Budge" by his brother,
who perceived Patty to be lethargic, resulting in a "failure to budge".[6][7]

Patty started playing tennis as a child,[8] and practised with Pauline Betz every Saturday morning when
he was a junior player.[7] After winning the Los Angeles novice championships when he was 13, she
encouraged him to take lessons with Bill Weissbuch at the Beverly Hills Tennis Club.[6][7] There, Patty
was discovered by Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor, who provided him with financial support to
travel to national junior championships.[6] He triumphed at the under-15 national championships in
Patty in 1958
1939, before winning both the singles and doubles titles at the under-18 tournament two years later.[7]
Full name Edward John Patty
He then defended his singles title in 1942.[6] Patty intended to study at the University of Southern
California, but was drafted into the US Army several days after registering. He was eventually Country (sports) United States
discharged in January 1946.[7] Born February 11, 1924
Fort Smith, Arkansas, U.S.
Died October 4, 2021 (aged 97)
Career Lausanne, Switzerland
Turned pro 1940 (amateur tour)
After his return from military service, Patty partnered with Betz to win the mixed doubles title at the
1946 French Championships.[5] Three years later, he reached the final of the singles event, where he lost Retired 1960
to fellow American Frank Parker.[6] He then won his first major singles title at the 1950 French Plays Right-handed (1-handed
Championships, where he won three consecutive matches in five sets, including the final against backhand)
Jaroslav Drobný.[7] Several weeks later, he won the 1950 Wimbledon Championships in a four-set Int. Tennis HoF 1977 (member page (https://w
victory over Frank Sedgman.[9] Patty became the second American man – after Don Budge in 1938 – to ww.tennisfame.com/hall-of-fa
win the Channel Slam. Since then, only Tony Trabert in 1955 has achieved the feat among male players mers/inductees/budge-patty/))
from the US.[7] Patty was also the fourth consecutive male player from Southern California to win
Singles
Wimbledon (after Jack Kramer, Bob Falkenburg, and Ted Schroeder).[8] At the end of the year, Patty
Career record 777–182 (81.02%) [1]
was ranked amateur world no. 1 in 1950 by John Olliff of The Daily Telegraph.[3][7]
Career titles 73 [2]
At the 1953 Wimbledon Championships, Patty faced Drobný again in the third round. Patty lost the Highest ranking No. 1 (1950, John Olliff)[3]
five-set match that lasted four hours and twenty minutes, despite having six match points on Drobny’s
Grand Slam singles results
serve.[7] It was the longest continuous tennis match at the time.[6][7] He later recounted to The Telegraph
in 2000 how he "could hardly see a thing" towards the end of that match, adding: "I was so tired I barely French Open W (1950)

knew where I was".[5][6] Patty partnered with Gardnar Mulloy in 1957 to win the Wimbledon men's Wimbledon W (1950)
doubles title, upsetting top seeds Lew Hoad and Neale Fraser in the final.[8] Patty (aged 33) and Mulloy US Open QF (1951, 1953, 1957)
(aged 43) were the oldest team to win Wimbledon after World War I.[8] The duo also reached the final of Doubles
the 1957 U.S. National Championships two months later,[7] but lost in four sets to Fraser and Ashley
Grand Slam doubles results
Cooper.[6]
Wimbledon W (1957)
The final tournament of Patty's career was the 1960 Wimbledon Championships, where he lost to Italy's US Open F (1957)
Nicola Pietrangeli in the first round.[10] Patty stayed amateur throughout his career and won over 70
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
singles titles.[11][5] These included the German International Championship in 1953 and 1954,[10] as
French Open W (1946)
well as the Italian Championship in 1954.[6] He finished seven years ranked within the Top 10 between
1947 and 1957. He was subsequently inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1977.[6] Wimbledon SF (1946)

Grand Slams finals

Singles (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score

Win 1950 French Championships Clay Jaroslav Drobný 6–1, 6–2, 2–6, 5–7, 7–5

Win 1950 Wimbledon Grass Frank Sedgman 6–1, 8–10, 6–2, 6–3

Doubles (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score

Neale Fraser
Win 1957 Wimbledon Grass Gardnar Mulloy 8–10, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4
Lew Hoad

Ashley Cooper
Loss 1957 U.S. Championships Grass Gardnar Mulloy 6–4, 3–6, 7–9, 3–6
Neale Fraser

Mixed Doubles (1 title)

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score

Dorothy Bundy
Win 1946 French Championships Clay Pauline Betz 7–5, 9–7
Tom Brown

Performance timeline
Source:[10]

Key
W F SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not
qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

1942–
Tournament 1941 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960
1945
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A
French A A QF 4R SF F W 4R QF 4R SF QF 4R 4R 4R 3R 2R

Wimbledon A A 4R SF QF 3R W 2R 4R 3R SF SF 2R 4R 4R 1R 1R
U.S. 2R A 4R A 3R A 1R QF A QF A A A QF 1R A A

Personal life
Patty moved to Paris after World War II and became fluent in French.[7] During the late 1950s, he was employed by a travel agency there when he was not
playing competitive tennis.[5] He also featured in bit parts of films and worked in real estate.[7] He ultimately resided in Europe for over seven decades.[5]
Patty married Maria Marcina Sfezzo in Lausanne in 1961.[12] They remained married until his death. Together, they had two children: Christine and
Elaine.[5]

Patty died on October 4, 2021, at a hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland. He was 97 years old.[5][13][14]

Publications
Patty, Edward John (1951). Tennis My Way by Budge Patty. New York: Hutchinson's Library of Sports and Pastimes. LCCN 51008955 (htt
ps://lccn.loc.gov/51008955).

References
1. "Budge Patty: Career match record" (https://app.thetennisbase.co 2. "Jesse Edward (Budge) Patty: Stats" (https://web.archive.org/web/
m/?enlace=playern&player_input_enc=PATTY%2C+BUDGE&play 20170704220815/http://tennisarchives.com/player.php?playerid=2
er_input=PATTY%2C+BUDGE&sub=2#aSubmenu). 349). tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives. Archived from the
thetennisbase.com. Tennismem SL. Retrieved November 7, 2017. original (http://www.tennisarchives.com/player.php?playerid=234
9) on July 4, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
 3. United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official 9. "Tennis Grand Slam Winners – Tennis – ESPN" (https://www.esp
Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 426. n.com/sports/tennis/history). ESPN. go.com. Retrieved
4. Edward John Patty in the U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young January 18, 2010.
Men, 1940–1947 (https://www.ancestry.co.uk/discoveryui-content/ 10. "Budge Patty – Player Activity" (https://www.atptour.com/en/player
view/19199896:2238?tid=&pid=&queryId=3ec33364927cc036173 s/budge-patty/pi25/player-activity). ATP Tour. Retrieved
673d6a4d3a382&_phsrc=Dqh350&_phstart=successSource) October 10, 2021.
5. Goldstein, Richard (October 8, 2021). "Budge Patty, Elegant 11. Budge Patty. https://www.atptour.com/en/news/budge-patty-
Tennis Champion of the 1950s, Dies at 97" (https://www.nytimes.c obituary-october-2021
om/2021/10/08/sports/tennis/budge-patty-dead.html). The New 12. "Milestones: Apr. 14, 1961" (https://content.time.com/time/subscrib
York Times. Retrieved October 10, 2021. er/article/0,33009,872298,00.html). Time. April 14, 1961.
6. "Budge Patty" (https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inducte ISSN 0040-781X (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0040-781X).
es/budge-patty). International Tennis Hall of Fame. Retrieved Retrieved December 18, 2022.
October 10, 2021. 13. "Budge Patty, 1950 Wimbledon, Roland Garros champ, dies at
7. Buddell, James (October 8, 2021). "Budge Patty, 1950 Roland 97" (https://apnews.com/article/sports-john-edward-newport-europ
Garros & Wimbledon Champion, Dies Aged 97" (https://www.atpto e-switzerland-1642e6d4d292559b120118dcb0a4bac5).
ur.com/en/news/budge-patty-obituary-october-2021). ATP Tour. Associated Press News. October 8, 2021. Retrieved October 10,
Retrieved October 10, 2021. 2021.
8. Drucker, Joel (October 8, 2021). "In Memoriam: Hall of Famer 14. Garcia, Rebecca (October 7, 2021). "Le tennis mondial perd un
Budge Patty" (https://www.tennisfame.com/news/2021/in-memoria monument – La légende Budge Patty n'est plus" (https://www.24h
m-budge-patty). International Tennis Hall of Fame. Retrieved eures.ch/la-legende-budge-patty-nest-plus-322596944541). 24
October 10, 2021. heures (in French). Retrieved October 10, 2021.

External links
Budge Patty (https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/budge-patty) at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
Budge Patty (https://www.atptour.com/en/players/-/PI25/overview) at the Association of Tennis Professionals
Budge Patty (https://www.daviscup.com/en/players/player.aspx?id=800172261) at the Davis Cup
Budge Patty (https://www.itftennis.com/en/players/budge-patty/800172261/usa) at the International Tennis Federation

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