Lester Stoefen

Lester Stoefen

Stoefen (left) with fianceé Ruth Henrietta Moody. 1936
Full name	Lester Rollo Stoefen
Country (sports)	United States
Born	(1911-03-30)March 30, 1911 Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
Died	February 8, 1970(1970-02-08) (aged 58) La Jolla, CA, U.S.
Height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) [1]
Turned pro	1935 (amateur from 1930)
Retired	1942
Singles
Highest ranking	No. 9 (1933, Pierre Gillou)[2]
Grand Slam singles results
Wimbledon	QF (1933, 1934)
US Open	SF (1933)
Professional majors
US Pro	SF (1935)
Wembley Pro	SF (1935, 1937)
French Pro	SF (1936, 1939)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
Wimbledon	W (1933)
US Open	W (1933, 1934)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Wimbledon	4R (1934)
US Open	F (1934)
Team competitions
Davis Cup	F (1934Ch)

Lester Rollo Stoefen (March 30, 1911 – February 8, 1970) was an American tennis player of the 1930s.

Stoefen, partnering with compatriot George Lott, won three Grand Slam doubles titles: 1934 Wimbledon Championships, 1933 and 1934 U.S. National Championships. In 1933 he was ranked world No. 9 by Pierre Gillou (president of the Fédération Française de Tennis) and World No. 10 by A. Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph.^[2][3] Stoefen reached the semifinals of the U. S. Championships singles in 1933, losing to Fred Perry in straight sets.^[4]

In 1934 he played for the US Davis Cup team and won all his six matches, including the only match the US won in their defeat in the final against Great Britain.^[5] Also in 1934 Stoefen won the U.S. Indoor Tennis Championships singles event, defeating Gregory Mangin in the final in three straight sets.^[6]

Stoefen signed a professional contract in November 1934 with promoter Bill O'Brien. In January 1935, at Madison Square Garden, he started a series of head-to-head matches against Ellsworth Vines and by March trailed him 1–25.^[1][7]

He was the cousin of basketball player Art Stoefen, although they were commonly mistaken for brothers, and both attended Los Angeles High School.^[8][9]

On February 6, 1936, he married actress Ruth Moody in Hollywood.^[10]

He died in La Jolla, California on February 8, 1970, of liver cirrhosis.^[11][12]

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1933	U.S. National Championships	Grass	George Lott	Frank Shields Frank Parker	11–13, 9–7, 9–7, 6–3
Win	1934	Wimbledon	Grass	George Lott	Jean Borotra Jacques Brugnon	6–2, 6–3, 6–4
Win	1934	U.S. National Championships	Grass	George Lott	Wilmer Allison John Van Ryn	6–4, 9–7, 3–6, 6–4

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1934	U.S. National Championships	Grass	Elizabeth Ryan	Helen Jacobs George Lott	6–4, 11–13, 2–6

• Lester Stoefen at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Lester Stoefen at the International Tennis Federation
• Lester Stoefen at the Davis Cup