Maurice McLoughlin (1890–1957) revolutionized the game of tennis. He learned on the concrete courts of Golden Gate Park and favored an aggressive, speedy style of play not traditionally seen on the grass courts. Whereas most players at the time plodded in the back court, McLoughlin dominated by “rushing in behind [his cannonball serve] to meet the return near the net with a cataclysmic overhead or a masterful volley,” as the late tennis historian, Bud Collins, described in his authoritative Encyclopedia of Tennis.
R.N. Williams, a top player of the era, argued that “What McLoughlin brought to the game was the spectacular part — the tremendous power of attack.”
“He was one of the first players to use a powerful serve-and-volley technique,” the New York Times noted, “He had a violent service and overhead game and was a terror at the net to which he went at every opportunity. He had great speed of foot.”
Born in Carson City, Nevada, his family moved to San Francisco in 1903, where he enrolled at Lowell High School and became an avid tennis player. He honed his skills on the public courts of the city, particularly at the Golden Gate Park Junior Tennis Club under the tutelage of Sidney Marvin. Marvin taught several San Francisco players who went on to have big careers, including fellow Olympic Club Hall of Famer “Little Bill” Johnston.
In 1907, at 17 years of age, McLoughlin won the singles titles of the prestigious Pacific Coast and San Francisco Championships. He successfully defended the latter from 1908-12. In 1908 he won the California State Championship held at the California Lawn Tennis Club in San Francisco. After winning the state title again in 1909, the Pacific Coast Lawn Tennis Association sent him to the East Coast to participate in tournaments, including the United States Championships (now called the U.S. Open) in Newport, Rhode Island.
In 1909, McLoughlin was part of the U.S. Davis Cup team that traveled to Sydney, Australia for the finals versus the Australasia team. While the U.S. lost this Cup, it was on this trip that McLoughlin got his nickname, the “California Comet,” for his power and speed. He played on three more Davis Cup squads, racking up a 12–8 record in singles and doubles matches over the course of his Davis Cup career. The U.S. won in 1913, defeating Great Britain.
He was the first player from the West Coast to win the U.S. Championship and the first American to make it to a Wimbledon final. His matches attracted record crowds never seen at tennis championships. He won the U.S. singles titles in 1912 and 1913, and the U.S. doubles in 1912, 1913 and 1914 with Tom Bundy. At Wimbledon in 1913, he made the finals, but lost to Anthony Wilding of New Zealand. He redeemed himself during the 1914 Davis Cup, when he beat Wilding in the finals.
After world rankings began in 1913, he earned the number one ranking in 1914. The 1915 Tennis Guide said, “In McLoughlin, America undoubtedly has the greatest tennis player of all time.” That same year, he made it to the finals of the U.S. Championships, but lost to fellow Olympian Johnston in four sets. This was the first of Johnston’s two U.S. titles.
In the doubles, McLoughlin and Bundy reached the finals to defend their title, but lost to Johnston and Clarence Griffin. The doubles finals the next year, 1916, featured Johnston and Griffin against McLoughlin and a new partner, Ward Dawson. Johnston and Griffin defended their title. The West Coast, and specifically The Olympic Club, now dominated the game of tennis.
In addition to playing, McLoughlin also wrote an instructional book, Tennis as I Play It, said to be ghostwritten by Sinclair Lewis. He served in the Navy during World War I and after he returned, he never again attained his championship form. Nagging shoulder injuries kept him off the court. In 1918, he married and moved to Los Angeles. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1957.
