Francis "Frank" Townsend Hunter (June 28, 1894 – December 2, 1981) was an American tennis player who won an Olympic gold medal.[3] He won the U.S. National Indoor Championships in 1922 and 1930 and the Eastern Clay Court Championships in 1919.
During WWI he was a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy and served on Admiral Beatty's flagship of the British Royal Navy.[4] He later wrote a book about his experiences with the Admiral.
Hunter was the second husband of the actress Lisette Verea in 1954.[5]
Hunter was later successful in the coal and printing industries.
German Daniel Prenn (left) and Hunter (right), in a Davis Cup match in Berlin in 1929
He reached his third Grand Slam singles final at the U.S. championships in 1929 where he beat R. Norris Williams, losing the final in five sets to Bill Tilden.[7]
He was ranked World No. 4 in 1929 by A. Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph and World No. 5 in another Myers list in September the same year.[2][8]
Hunter won the Brooklyn Indoor Championships in 1930 defeating J. Gilbert Hall in the semifinal.
Hunter turned professional in mid January 1931 joining Bill Tilden.[9] He reached the final of the U.S. Pro Championships in 1933 where he lost to Vincent Richards.[10] As well as playing on the pro tour, Hunter was also a promoter, including promoting the first Perry-Vines tour in 1937 with S. Howard Voshell.[11]
^ abBéla Kehrling, ed. (October 10, 1929). "Wallis Meyers a világ legjobb tenniszezőiröl" [Wallis Myers about the best players in the world] (PDF). Tennisz és Golf (in Hungarian). I (11). Budapest, Hungary: Bethlen Gábor irod. és Nyomdai Rt.: 262–263. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
