Gus Touchard
Full nameGustave Fitzhugh Touchard Jr.
Country (sports) United States
BornJanuary 11, 1888
New York
DiedSeptember 5, 1918(1918-09-05) (aged 30)
Toronto, Canada
Turned pro1907 (amateur tour)
Retired1915
Singles
Career record74–22 (77.1%)[1]
Career titles9[1]
Highest rankingNo. 4 (U.S. ranking)
Grand Slam singles results
US OpenSF (1909, 1911)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
US OpenW (1911)

Gustave "Gus" Fitzhugh Touchard Jr. (or Gustav) (January 11, 1888 – September 5, 1918) was an American tennis player in the early part of the 20th century. He was ranked as high as No. 4 in the United States during his career.

Tennis career

He played his first tennis tournament in 1907 at the New York Tennis Club Open where he reached the semi finals.[1] In 1908 he reached his first final at the New York Metropolitan Championships where he was defeated by Ross Burchard.[1]

In 1909 he went to win four singles titles that season including the Amackassin Club Invitation against Frederick Clark Inman,[1] the Harlem Tennis Club Invitation against Wylie Grant,[1] the Bronx County Championships against Theodore Pell,[1] and the New York Tennis Club Open against Theodore Pell,[1] He was also a finalist at the New England Championships the same year.[1]

At the US Nationals, Touchard paired with Raymond D. Little to win the 1911 doubles title and reach the 1912 doubles final.[2] At the Tri-State Championships in Cincinnati, Touchard won the 1912 singles title over Richard H. Palmer. He reached the singles final again in 1913, losing to William S. McEllroy.[3]

He won the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships title three consecutive years (1913, 1914 and 1915),[1] and won the singles title at the New Jersey State Championships in 1915.[1] In 1912, he reached the final of the US Clay Court Championship, losing to Richard Norris Williams.[1]

Career finals

Grand Slam finals

Doubles (1 title)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner1911U.S. ChampionshipsGrassUnited States Raymond LittleUnited States Fred Alexander
United States Harold Hackett		7–5, 13–15, 6–2, 6–4

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

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.
Tournament1908190919101911191219131914
Grand Slam tournaments
Australasian Championships A A A A A A A
Wimbledon A A A A A A A
US National Championships QF SF Q1 SF Q1 1R QF


Personal life

He was born in New York on January 11, 1888. In July 1915, Touchard confessed to a charge of stealing 24 dozen golf balls from the sporting goods store where he was employed.[4]

He joined the Royal Flying Corps Canada at Camp Borden after having been turned down by the United States aviation corps. He died in 1918 in Toronto General Hospital of a throat operation.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Players:Touchard, Gustave". The Tennis Base. Madrid: Tennismem SL. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Died". Time magazine. August 8, 1932. Archived from the original on October 27, 2010. Retrieved August 20, 2010. Raymond D. Little, 52, publisher, sportsman, onetime (1906) Davis Cup tennist, with Gustave F. Touchard national doubles champion in 1911; by his own hand (shotgun) in Manhattan.
  3. ↑ "M'Elroy Meets G.F. Touchard". Christian Science Monitor. July 5, 1913. Retrieved August 20, 2010. W.S. McElroy of Pittsburgh meets G.F. Touchard of New York in the challenge round of the annual tri-state lawn tennis championship tournament today.
  4. ↑ "Touchard Held for Trial". Boston Evening Transcript. July 1, 1915 – via Google News Archive.
  5. ↑ "Lawn Tennis Champion and Aviator is Dead". Toronto World. September 6, 1918. Retrieved August 20, 2010 – via Google News Archive. ... by the Toronto tennis players and members of the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club At ... been transferred to Leaside Camp Toronto Lieut Touchard had competed at ...
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