View source for Butch Buchholz

{{Short description|American tennis player (born 1940)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2013}}
{{Infobox tennis biography
|image          = 
|name     = Butch Buchholz
|fullname = Earl Henry Buchholz, Jr.
|country        = {{U.S.}}
|residence      = [[Westport, Connecticut]], US
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1940|9|16}}
|birth_place     = [[St. Louis, MO]], US
|height = {{height|ft=6|in=2}}
|turnedpro = 1961 (amateur from 1954)
|retired = 1970
|plays= Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
|careerprizemoney=
|tennishofyear= 2005
|tennishofid= butch-buchholz
|singlesrecord=
|singlestitles=
|highestsinglesranking= No. 5 (1960<small>, [[Lance Tingay]]</small>)<ref name="USLTAEncyclopedia">United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). ''Official Encyclopedia of Tennis'' (First Edition), p. 427.</ref>
|AustralianOpenresult= QF ([[1969 Australian Open – Men's singles|1969]])
|FrenchOpenresult= 2R ([[1969 French Open – Men's singles|1969]])
|Wimbledonresult= QF ([[1960 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles|1960]], [[1968 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles|1968]])
|USOpenresult= SF ([[1960 U.S. National Championships – Men's singles|1960]])
| Promajors              = yes
| USProresult            = '''W''' ([[U.S. Pro Tennis Championships#1962|1962]])
| WembleyProresult       = SF ([[Wembley Championship#1962|1962]], [[Wembley Championship#1963|1963]], [[Wembley Championship#1965|1965]])
| FrenchProresult        = SF ([[French Pro Championship#1965|1965]], [[French Pro Championship#1966|1966]])
| TOCresult              = 
|doublesrecord=
|doublestitles=
|highestdoublesranking=
|currentdoublesranking             = 
|AustralianOpenDoublesresult       = 
|FrenchOpenDoublesresult           = 
|WimbledonDoublesresult            = QF (1968)
|USOpenDoublesresult               = QF (1969)
|Mixed                             = <!-- adds mixed information-->
|mixedrecord                       = 
|mixedtitles                       = 
|AustralianOpenMixedresult         = 
|FrenchOpenMixedresult             =  
|WimbledonMixedresult              = 
|USOpenMixedresult                 = 
|Team                              = Yes
|DavisCupresult                    = F ([[1959 Davis Cup|1959]])

}}

'''Earl Henry "Butch" Buchholz, Jr.''' (born September 16, 1940) is a former professional [[tennis]] player from the United States who was one of the game's top players in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

==Tennis career==

===Juniors===
Buchholz was an outstanding junior, winning all three of the Boys' Singles slam titles in a row during 1958–1959:
* French Open: ([[1958 French Championships (tennis)|1958]])
* Wimbledon: ([[1958 Wimbledon Championships|1958]])
* Australian Open: ([[1959 Australian Championships|1959]])

Buchholz also won the U.S. National Boys’ 18 title in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1958.<ref name="USTA.com">{{cite web|title= USTA Junior Nationals Boys' Champions |url= https://www.usta.com/en/home/about-usta/usta-history/national/usta-national-junior-championships---boys.html}}</ref>

On February 10, 1959, he appeared as a mystery contestant on the television quiz show ''[[To Tell the Truth]]'', where he was described as holding the “grand slam” of junior tennis titles in France, England, Australia and the United States.<ref name="To Tell the Truth">{{cite web|title= To Tell the Truth, Feb. 10, 1959| website=YouTube | date=February 15, 2017 |url= https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EAv9Pqjw4zM |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/EAv9Pqjw4zM |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Amateur/Pro Tour===
Buchholz was ranked by [[Lance Tingay]] the world No. 5 amateur player in 1960 and ranked four times in the U.S. top 10.<ref name="USLTAEncyclopedia"/> He played for the United States in the Davis Cup in 1959 and 1960. In the 1960 Wimbledon quarterfinal, Buchholz led [[Neale Fraser]] 2 sets to 1, and had match points in the fourth set, but Buchholz had started cramping and had to retire from the match when Fraser made it 15–15 in the fourth set. Fraser went on to win the 1960 Wimbledon title. Buchholz reached the semifinals of the U.S. Championships in 1960, losing to [[Rod Laver]] in five sets.<ref name="talbert">{{cite book|last=Talbert|first=Bill|author-link=Bill Talbert|title=Tennis Observed|year=1967|publisher=Barre Publishers|location=Boston|page=135|oclc=172306}}</ref>

Buchholz turned professional in 1961. He won the [[Professional Tennis Championships|United States Pro Championship]] in 1962, beating [[Pancho Segura]] in the finals. Buchholz was an original member of [[Lamar Hunt]]'s [[Handsome Eight]], a group of players signed by in 1968 for the newly formed professional [[World Championship Tennis]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Wind|first=Herbert Warren|title=Game, Set, and Match : The Tennis Boom of the 1960s and 70s|year=1979|publisher=Dutton|location=New York|isbn=0525111409|pages=65–70|edition=1.}}</ref>

==Retirement==
Since retiring as a player, Buchholz has served tennis in many professional and administrative capacities. He has been the Commissioner of [[World Team Tennis]] from 1977 to 1978, an executive director of the [[Association of Tennis Professionals]] from 1981 to 1982, and member of the men's pro council from 1981 to 1983.

In 1985, Buchholz founded the Lipton International Players Championships (now known as the [[Miami Open (tennis)|Miami Open]]), which is a leading event on both the men's and women's tours. One of the courts there is named after Buchholz.

Buchholz helped create Altenis, a management company which oversees tennis tournaments in Latin America. He also helped secure the continuation of the Orange Bowl International Tennis Tournament, a prominent international junior event in Florida. In 1992, Buchholz teamed with [[Arthur Ashe]] to found the Good Life Mentoring Program, benefiting hundreds of elementary and middle school children in the greater Miami area.

In 2005, Buchholz was inducted into the [[International Tennis Hall of Fame]] in Newport, Rhode Island.

==Singles performance timeline==
{{performance key|short=yes|active=no}}
{|class="wikitable nowrap" style=text-align:center;font-size:90%
! !!1956 !!1957 !!1958 !!1959 !!1960 !!1961 !!1962 !!1963 !!1964 !!1965 !!1966 !!1967 !!1968 !!1969 !!SR !!W–L !! Win %
|- bgcolor=efefef
| align=left colspan=15 |'''[[Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam tournaments]]''' || '''0 / 14''' || '''31–14''' || '''69'''
|-
|align=left bgcolor=efefef |[[Australian Open]]
| A
| A || A
| bgcolor=afeeee |[[1959 Australian Championships – Men's singles|2R]]
| A || A || A || A || A || A || A || A || A
| bgcolor=ffebcd |[[1969 Australian Open – Men's singles|QF]]
| bgcolor=efefef |0 / 2
| bgcolor=efefef |2–2 
| bgcolor=efefef |50
|-
|align=left bgcolor=efefef| [[French Open]]
| A || A || A || A || A || A || A || A || A || A || A || A || A
| bgcolor=afeeee |[[1969 French Open – Men's singles|2R]]
| bgcolor=efefef |0 / 1
| bgcolor=efefef |1–1
| bgcolor=efefef |50
|-
|align=left bgcolor=efefef| [[The Championships, Wimbledon|Wimbledon]]
| A || A
| bgcolor=afeeee |[[1958 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles|2R]]
| bgcolor=afeeee |[[1959 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles|3R]]
| bgcolor=ffebcd |[[1960 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles|QF]]
| A || A || A || A || A || A || A
| bgcolor=ffebcd |[[1968 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles|QF]]
| bgcolor=afeeee |[[1969 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles|3R]]
| bgcolor=efefef |0 / 5
| bgcolor=efefef |13–5 
| bgcolor=efefef |72
|-
|align=left bgcolor=efefef| [[US Open (tennis)|US Open]]
| bgcolor=afeeee |[[1956 U.S. National Championships – Men's singles|1R]]
| bgcolor=afeeee |[[1957 U.S. National Championships – Men's singles|2R]]
| bgcolor=afeeee |[[1958 U.S. National Championships – Men's singles|3R]]
| bgcolor=afeeee |[[1959 U.S. National Championships – Men's singles|4R]]
| bgcolor=yellow |[[1960 U.S. National Championships – Men's singles|SF]]
| A || A || A || A || A || A || A || A
| bgcolor=ffebcd |[[1969 US Open – Men's singles|QF]]
| bgcolor=efefef |0 / 6
| bgcolor=efefef |15–6
| bgcolor=efefef |71
|- bgcolor=efefef
| align=left colspan=15 |'''[[Major professional tennis tournaments before the Open Era|Pro Slam tournaments]]''' || '''1 / 20''' || '''19–19''' || '''50'''
|-
|style="text-align:left;" bgcolor=efefef |[[U.S. Pro Tennis Championships|U.S. Pro]]
| A || A || A || A || A || A
| bgcolor=lime   |[[U.S. Pro Tennis Championships draws, 1946–1967#1962|'''W''']]
| bgcolor=yellow |[[U.S. Pro Tennis Championships draws, 1946–1967#1963|SF]]
| bgcolor=ffebcd |[[U.S. Pro Tennis Championships draws, 1946–1967#1964|QF]]
| bgcolor=yellow |[[U.S. Pro Tennis Championships draws, 1946–1967#1965|SF]]
| bgcolor=yellow |[[U.S. Pro Tennis Championships draws, 1946–1967#1966|SF]]
| bgcolor=afeeee |[[U.S. Pro Tennis Championships draws, 1946–1967#1967|1R]]
| rowspan=3 colspan=2|
| bgcolor=efefef |1 / 6
| bgcolor=efefef |6–5
| bgcolor=efefef |55
|-
|style="text-align:left;" bgcolor=efefef|[[French Pro Championship|French Pro]]
| A
| style=color:#767676|NH
| A || A || A
| bgcolor=afeeee |[[French Pro Championship Draws#1961|1R]]
| bgcolor=ffebcd |[[French Pro Championship Draws#1962|QF]]
| bgcolor=ffebcd |[[French Pro Championship Draws#1963|QF]]
| bgcolor=ffebcd |[[French Pro Championship Draws#1964|QF]]
| bgcolor=yellow |[[French Pro Championship Draws#1965|SF]]
| bgcolor=yellow |[[French Pro Championship Draws#1966|SF]]
| bgcolor=ffebcd |[[French Pro Championship Draws#1967|QF]]
| bgcolor=efefef |0 / 7
| bgcolor=efefef |6–7
| bgcolor=efefef |46
|-
|style="text-align:left;" bgcolor=efefef|[[Wembley Championships|Wembley Pro]]
| A || A || A || A || A
| bgcolor=afeeee |[[Wembley Professional Championships draws#1961|1R]]
| bgcolor=yellow |[[Wembley Professional Championships draws#1962|SF]]
| bgcolor=yellow |[[Wembley Professional Championships draws#1963|SF]]
| bgcolor=ffebcd |[[Wembley Professional Championships draws#1964|QF]]
| bgcolor=yellow |[[Wembley Professional Championships draws#1965|SF]]
| bgcolor=ffebcd |[[Wembley Professional Championships draws#1966|QF]]
| bgcolor=ffebcd |[[Wembley Professional Championships draws#1967|QF]]
| bgcolor=efefef |0 / 7
| bgcolor=efefef |7–7
| bgcolor=efefef |50
|- style="background:#efefef;"
| style=text-align:left|'''Win–loss'''
| 0–1
| 1–1
| 3–2
| 5–3
| 9–2
| 0–2
| 5–2
| 4–3
| 3–3
| 3–3
| 2–3
| 2–3
| 4–1
| 9–4
! 1 / 34
! 50–33 
! 60
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Tennis Hall of Fame}}
* {{ATP}}
* {{ITF}}
* {{Davis Cup player}}

{{navboxes top|title=Butch Buchholz in the [[Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam tournaments]]}}
{{Australian Championships boys' singles champions}}
{{French Championships boys' singles champions}}
{{Wimbledon boys' singles champions}}
{{Australian Championships boys' doubles champions}}
{{International Tennis Hall of Fame members}}
{{navboxes bottom}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buchholz, Butch}}
[[Category:American male tennis players]]
[[Category:Australian Championships (tennis) junior champions]]
[[Category:French Championships junior (tennis) champions]]
[[Category:International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Tennis players from St. Louis]]
[[Category:Wimbledon junior champions]]
[[Category:1940 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Westport, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Fairfield County, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Professional tennis players before the Open Era]]
[[Category:Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' singles]]
[[Category:Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' doubles]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]