Frank Shields

Francis Xavier Alexander "Frank" Shields Sr. (November 18, 1909 – August 19, 1975) was an amateur American tennis player of the 1920s and 1930s and an actor known for Hoosier Schoolboy (1937).

For the Australian film and TV director, see Frank Shields (director). For the Oregon politician, see Frank Shields (politician).

Frank Shields
Full nameFrancis Xavier Alexander Shields Sr.
Country (sports) United States
Born(1909-11-18)November 18, 1909
New York City, United States
DiedAugust 19, 1975(1975-08-19) (aged 65)
New York, United States
Turned pro1926 (amateur tour)
Retired1955
PlaysRight-handed (1-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF1964 (member page)
Singles
Highest rankingNo. 5 (1930, A. Wallis Myers)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
French Open4R (1933)
WimbledonF (1931)
US OpenF (1930)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
WimbledonSF (1931)
US OpenF (1933)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
US OpenF (1930)
Team competitions
Davis CupW (1932)

Tennis career

Between 1928 and 1945 he was ranked eight times in the U.S. Top Ten, reaching No. 1 in 1933, and No. 2 in 1930. He was ranked World No. 5 in 1930 by A. Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph.[1] Shields beat Wilmer Allison and Sidney Wood before losing to John Doeg in the final of the 1930 U. S. championships.[2] Shields defaulted to Sidney Wood in the singles final of Wimbledon in 1931 due to an ankle injury he had sustained in winning his semi-final match against France's "Musketeer" Jean Borotra, and this was the only time in the history of a Grand Slam event singles final that the event was won by default.

Davis Cup

He competed for the Davis Cup in 1931, 1932, and 1934, winning 19 of 25 matches. He was left off the team for his erratic playing in 1933.[3] Shields was the non-playing captain in 1951, when the team won four matches.

Shields had his issues both with interactions with other players, and with alcohol.[4][5][6] In the late 1930s, Shields was known for making fun of the US tennis star Bryan Grant, the smallest American to win an international championship, saying "the little shaver" was hiding behind the net. Once a drunk Shields held Grant upside down, outside a hotel window.[7]

Grand Slam finals

Singles (2 runners-up)
Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss1930U.S. ChampionshipsGrass John Doeg8–10, 6–1, 4–6, 14–16
Loss1931WimbledonGrass Sidney Woodwalkover

Doubles (1 runner-up)
Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss1933U.S. ChampionshipsGrass Frank Parker George Lott
Lester Stoefen		13–11, 7–9, 7–9, 3–6

Mixed doubles (1 runner-up)
Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1930 U.S. Championships Grass Marjorie Morrill Edith Cross
Wilmer Allison		 4–6, 4–6

Marriages

In 1932, Shields married Rebecca Tenney (1910–2005). In 1938 he maintained a home in Palm Springs, California.[8] Shields and Tenney divorced in 1940 on the grounds of his "habitual intemperance and cruelty"[9] and in 1947 she married lawyer Donald Agnew.

In 1940, he married his second wife, Marina Torlonia di Civitella-Cesi (1916–1960).[10] Marina was the daughter of Marino Torlonia, 4th prince of Civitella-Cesi (1861–1933) and Mary Elsie Moore (1888–1941), an American heiress. Marina's brother was Alessandro Torlonia, 5th Prince di Civitella-Cesi (1911–1986), the husband of the Spanish Infanta Beatriz de Borbón (1909–2002). Shields had two children with Marina Torlonia:

Shields and Torlonia divorced and in 1950 she married Edward W. Slater.[11]

In 1949, he married Katharine Mortimer (1923–2003), the daughter of financier Stanley Grafton Mortimer, Sr.[12] She had previously been married to Oliver Cadwell Biddle, with whom she had a daughter, Christine Mortimer Biddle, who became a stepdaughter to Shields. Shields had three children with Mortimer:

  • Katharine Shields
  • William "Willy" Xavier Orin Hunt Shields (1949–2016)[13]
  • Alston Shields.

Shields and Mortimer divorced and in 1962 she married Richard Gillespie Blaine.[14]

Later life

In his later years he was frequently drunk, at which times he became destructive and bullying with his strength. After two heart attacks and a stroke, he died at 65 of a third heart attack, in a Manhattan taxi.[15] He was the grandfather of Brooke Shields, Morgan Christina Shields, and Holton Joseph Shields.

Acting career

Shields appeared in the following films:

International Tennis Hall of Fame

Shields was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island in 1964.

Career highlights

References
  1. "Big Bill Tilden is Second Only to Henri Cochet", The Montreal Gazette, November 27, 1930.
  2. "U.S. Open 1930". www.tennis.co.nf.
  3. "Recovery: Man of the Year, 1933". Time. January 1, 1934. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
  4. Fisher, Marshall Jon (2010). A Terrible Splendor: Three ... ISBN 978-0307393951. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
  5. Hart, Jeffrey Peter (2008). From this moment on: America in 1940. ISBN 978-0517557419. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
  6. Graham, Sheilah (July 24, 1937). "Proquest". Courant.com. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
  7. Fisher, Marshall Jon (2010). A Terrible Splendor: Three ... ISBN 978-0307393951. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
  8. Meeks, Eric G. (2014) [2012]. The Best Guide Ever to Palm Springs Celebrity Homes. Horatio Limburger Oglethorpe. p. 37. ISBN 978-1479328598.
  9. "Frank Shields Is Divorced". The New York Times. June 28, 1940. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
  10. "Donna Torlonia Wed to Frank X. Shields", The New York Times, 14 July 1940
  11. "Mrs. M. T. Shields Is Wed; Former Marina Torlonia Bride Here of Edward W. Slater", The New York Times, 30 December 1950
  12. Staff (April 6, 1947). "S.G. Mortimer Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  13. "William X. Shields's Obituary on the Miami Herald". www.legacy.com. Miami Herald. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  14. "Blaine, Katharine Mortimer". The New York Times. April 17, 2003. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  15. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved June 19, 2007.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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