Bob Falkenburg

Falkenburg was born in New York City on January 29, 1926 and grew up in Los Angeles, California in a tennis playing family.[3] His parents, Eugene "Genie" Lincoln Falkenburg (an engineer involved in the construction of Hoover Dam) and Marguerite "Mickey" Crooks Falkenburg were amateur tennis players. While employed by Westinghouse, Eugene was transferred to South America, where he moved with his wife and three children to São Paulo, Brazil. There Mickey won the state tennis championship in 1927.[4][5] Mickey was always involved in tennis. In The Game: My 40 Years in Tennis, tennis champion Jack Kramer wrote that Mickey Falkenburg was "the first person to ever suggest to him the idea of a team-tennis league," a league which he later created.[6] Bob's sister, Jinx Falkenburg,[3] an American film star/model and radio and television talk show host, was also an amateur tennis player and his brother Tom had a successful tennis career as well.[5]

Falkenburg started to play tennis in 1936 when he was 10 years old. Like other players from Southern California, he frequently played at the Los Angeles Tennis Club in Hollywood, which was located very close to the family home. Bob also played at the Bel-Air Country Club where he won the junior tennis tournament in 1937. As a youngster he participated in different tournaments around the city.[7]

In 1942 and 1943 while attending Fairfax High School, Falkenburg won the National Interscholastic singles title and won the national doubles title with his brother, Tom.[8] In 1943, Falkenburg became the Los Angeles city singles title holder. The following year he claimed the United States doubles crown with Don McNeill at Forest Hills, New York.[9] In 1943 Bob became one of the youngest players to enter the US Top 10 amateur ranks. He remained in the U.S. top 10 for five years and was ranked as high as World No. 7 by sports journalist John Olliff of The Daily Telegraph.[1] He won the men's singles in the Ojai Tennis Tournament in 1950.[10]

From 1944 to 1945, during World War II Falkenburg served in the military as an air cadet. Being enlisted in the service, however, did not put a complete halt to his tennis career and he continued to occasionally play while in the Air Force. In 1946, while attending the University of Southern California, he won the NCAA singles and doubles titles. He teamed again with his brother Tom to win the NCAA doubles final.[7][11]

Falkenburg was very agile and was known for his powerful serves. At the age of 20 he was considered to have "the fastest serve in tennis."[6] After marrying a Brazilian, Lourdes Mayrink Veiga Machado, in 1947 he moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1950, where he played on the 1954 and 1955 Brazilian Davis Cup teams.[8][12]

In 1947 he paired with Jack Kramer and together they won the Wimbledon doubles title.[13] A year later, in 1948, Falkenburg reached the pinnacle of his tennis career by winning the Wimbledon singles championship. He won the acclaimed tennis crown, after winning 3 of 5 sets against Australian John Bromwich, who after having taken the fourth set, was confident he would beat Falkenburg. Bromwich had a match point at 5–3 in the fifth set, but Falkenburg fought his way back and did something that tennis players rarely do; he saved three match points and went on to win 7–5 in the fifth set.[8][13][14][15][16]

It took 71 years before Falkenburg's feat was repeated. At Wimbledon in 2019, Novak Djokovic fought off Roger Federer by saving two championship points in the fifth and final set to win the men's title for the fifth time.[17] Falkenburg won Wimbledon because he was not only a great tennis player, but a superb strategist. Fellow tennis player Tom Brown, who was a runner up in the 1947 Wimbledon Championships described Falkenburg's competitive approach, "He would review the situation, figure out what was likely, and take chances."[13]

Falkenburg has been inducted into numerous Halls of Fame, including the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1974, the Intercollegiate Tennis Hall of Fame in 1985, the Fairfax High School Hall of Fame in 1999, the U.S.C. Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Southern California Tennis Association Hall of Fame in 2010.

Falkenburg was offered a $100,000-a-year professional tennis contract. He turned it down and instead decided to open an ice cream and fast food business in Brazil. With $10,000 and a few ice cream machines he brought from the United States, he was set to open his ice cream shop. It was not easy for him to start his business. He encountered numerous import restrictions, as the Brazilian government would not allow him to import the ingredients to make soft ice cream, so he worked out how to make his own ice cream mixes and toppings. Facing many obstacles, Falkenburg never gave up, and succeeded in opening his business in Rio de Janeiro. Soon after opening the first ice cream shop near the famed Copacabana beach front in 1952, his business became a success. Falkenburg's soft ice cream was the first time it was introduced to Brazil.[2]

A year later, the ice cream shop became a fast food restaurant. The restaurant, called "Bob's," was the first fast food restaurant in South America. Bob's menu includes traditional American food such as hamburgers, hot dogs, milkshakes and sundaes. Because it offered new tastes and a modern look, Bob's became a hit with the Brazilian glitterati, making Bob's the most prosperous food business in Brazil[18] and giving Falkenburg earnings far greater than what he would have made as a professional tennis player. Today, Bob's, no longer owned by Falkenburg, has over 1,000 locations in Brazil, as well as franchises in 4 other countries.[2][19]

Falkenburg not only found success on the tennis court and fast food industry, but he also had a successful amateur golf career. He played in many international golf championships and won the Brazilian amateur championship three times. He took part in renowned golf tournaments including the Bob Hope Desert Classic, where his team won in 1967; the Bing Crosby Pro-Am in Pebble Beach, where he played several times; the Eisenhower Cup, where he played for Brazil in Rome in 1964, Mexico City in 1966 and Melbourne in 1968;[20] and in the United Kingdom at the British Amateur Golf Championship, where he led the American contingent on the first qualifying round after having a hole-in-one at Carnoustie.[21] He also participated as an amateur in various European golf championships in France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and several Scandinavian countries.[2]

In 1970 the Falkenburgs moved back to Southern California and in 1974, at the age of 48, he sold the "Bob's" chain (which at the time had 12 stores) to Libby of Brazil (later acquired by Nestlé). Retired in Los Angeles, Falkenburg spent a lot of time playing golf at the Bel-Air Country Club, where he would often play with former Los Angeles Lakers star and good friend Jerry West and others. He went on to become the president of the club. Falkenburg and his wife currently reside in Santa Ynez, California.[2][7] As of October 26, 2020, his victory at the 1944 U.S. Open makes him the earliest winner of a Grand Slam tournament still living.

• Bob Falkenburg at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Bob Falkenburg at the International Tennis Federation
• Bob Falkenburg at the Davis Cup
• Bob Falkenburg at the International Tennis Hall of Fame