Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame

Relive It All Again

Tennis

Outerbridge_Mary

Mary Outerbridge

Mary Outerbridge, the Mother of American Tennis, introduced the game to the United States in 1874, after watching British army officers play in Bermuda. Outerbridge and her family erected a court on the St. George grounds of the Staten Island Cricket and Baseball Club, which hosted a national tournament in 1880, leading to a standardization of rules and creation of the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association.(Read more...)

Perpetua_Ed

Ed Perpetua

Ed Perpetua won a record 56 Staten Island championships – 12 singles titles, 23 men’s doubles titles, and another 21 in mixed doubles – and eight Triple Crowns. A self-taught player, Perpetua won the National Indoor 35-and-over doubles, was a finalist in the National 35-and-over singles, and coached both men’s and women’s tennis at Wagner College.(Read more...)

Schoenlank_Claude

Claude Schoenlank

Claude Schoenlank won 41 Staten Island tennis championships – singles, doubles, and mixed doubles – and four triple crowns. Before he was out of his teens, Schoenlank had already won three New York City private school titles – the first as an eighth-grader – two PSAL city championships, two New York City Open titles, and his first Island crown, a sign of the dominance to come.(Read more...)