Beals Wright

Beals Coleman Wright (December 19, 1879 – August 23, 1961) was an American tennis player who was active at the end of the 1890s and early 1900s. He won the singles title at the 1905 U.S. National Championships. Wright was a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and the older brother of American tennis player Irving Wright.¹²

Biography

Beals was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 19, 1879, to George Wright, the shortstop for the Cincinnati Red Stockings and founder of the sporting goods store Wright & Ditson.³ Beals was the brother of Irving Wright, the 1917 and 1918 U.S. Championship mixed doubles champion. Together they won the men's doubles title at the Canadian Tennis Championship four times (1902, 1903, 1904, 1905).⁴ Beals was the nephew of baseball pioneer Harry Wright.

In 1899 Beals Wright traveled with his father to California where he played at the Delmonte Tennis Championship in Monterey. George Wright managed the team the same year he coached at Harvard. Two Harvard University players participated in the DelMonte Tournament-the first time east coast players took on California tennis champions.

Wright played at the 1904 St. Louis Olympics and won gold medals in both the singles and doubles competition.⁵ He also won three consecutive singles titles (1904–1906) at the Tri-State Tennis Tournament (now Cincinnati Open), and reached the doubles final (with Edgar Leonard) in 1904.

Wright won the , played in , in 1902, 1903 and 1904. In 1902 he won the , also played in Niagara-on-the-Lake, by defeating in the final in five sets and the default of in the challenge round.