1878 men's tennis season explained

1878 men's tennis season
Duration:	21 May – 12 October
Edition:	3rd
Tournaments:	15^[1]
Categories:	Important (1) National (2) Provincial/Regional/State (1) County (1) Local (9)
Most Tournament Titles:	No outright leader
Most Tournament Finals:	No outright leader
Previous:	1877
Next:	1879

The 1878 men's tennis season^{[2] [3]} was composed of the third annual pre-open era tour. It now incorporated 15 tournaments staged in Great Britain and Ireland the Wimbledon championships was won by challenger Patrick Francis Hadow defeating the defending champion Spencer Gore.

It began in April in Newcastle Emlyn, Wales and ended in October in Bournemouth, Dorset, England.

Summary

This early pre open era tour began in April 1878 with Teifiside Lawn Tennis Club Tournament on grass played at Newcastle Emlyn, Wales the club is still open today.^[4] In May a spring tennis tournament was held at the Bournemouth Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club on Dean Park Cricket Ground, Bournemouth, England the club held a second event in October this year.^[5]

In July the most important event of the year the 1878 Wimbledon Championships was won by the challenger Patrick Francis Hadow who beat Spencer Gore in the all comers final. In August the inaugural Scottish Championships was won by James Patten MacDougall.^{[6] [7]} In September at the inaugural County Wicklow Championships the tournament was won by a Captain Hughes. In September at the South of Ireland Championships held Wicklow in Ireland, the Limerick Cup was won by Vere St. Leger Goold.^[8]

Calendar

Notes 1: Challenge round: the final round of a tournament, in which the winner of a single-elimination phase faces the previous year's champion, who plays only that one match. The challenge round was used in the early history of tennis (from 1877 through 1921),^[9] in some tournaments not all.

• Indicates challenger

Notes 2:Tournaments in italics were events that were staged only once that season

Key

Important^[10] ^[11] ^[12] ^[13] ^[14]
National
Provincial/State/Regional
- style="background:#fae7b5"	County
Local/other

January to March

No events

July

Date	Tournament	Winner	All comers' finalist	Semifinalist	Quarterfinalist
July.^[20]	All Ireland Lawn Tennis Championships All Ireland Lawn Tennis Club Champion Ground Lansdowne, Dublin, Ireland. Grass Singles	?	?
12 July	Championship of the Esher LTC Esher Lawn Tennis Club Esher, Surrey, England Grass Singles	Clement Edward Cottrell ?	?
9–19 July		Patrick Francis Hadow 6–4, 6–4, 6–4	Lestocq Robert Erskine	Herbert Lawford	Charles Gipps Hamilton Arthur Thomas Myers
	Challenger round Spencer Gore^[22] 7–5, 6–1, 9–7
24 July.^[23]	Staffordshire County Cricket Club Lawn Tennis Tournament. Staffordshire County Cricket Ground Lichfield, Staffordshire, England Grass Singles	Jonas Henry William Gardner ?

September

Date	Tournament	Winner	Finalist	Semifinalist	Quarter finalist
6 September.^[27] ^[28]		W.F. Templer ?	Robert Shaw Templer
8–9 September	County Wicklow Championships^[29] Bromley, County Wicklow, Ireland Grass Singles	Henry Evelyn Tombe ?	Captain Hughes ?	Captain Hughes George Gordon Tombe	S. H. Butcher Augustine Lefroy George Gordon Tombe
16–17 September	Waterford Tournament^[30] Waterford, Ireland Grass Singles	Vere St. Leger Goold ?	J. M. Brown	Henry Joseph Gallwey J. C. Roberts	Patrick Joseph Gallwey William Joseph Gallwey Pierce Barron-Newell
23 September.^[31] ^[32]		Rev. William Hughes ?	W. Sandilands
26–30 September.^[33] ^[34]		Vere St. Leger Goold 8–6, 8–6	William Henry Darby	William Henry Darby H H Eliott	Joseph Fritz James Heffernan Considine Robert Howden Kelly Charles Mounoir Sumner
	Heffernan Considine Helena Considine 6-3, 6-5, 6-2	Robert Howden Kelly Miss Lumley

October

Date	Tournament	Winner	Finalist	Semifinalist	Quarter finalist
October.^[35] ^[36]	Moy and Charlemont LTC Tournament Moy and Charlemont Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club Moy, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland Singles	Robert Baron Templer ?	S. Phipson	Robert Baron Templer H. Ringwood	Archibald Alexander Hamilton H. Ringwood Robert Shaw Templer
7–12 October	Dublin University Championships^[37] Dublin, Ireland Hard (Asphalt) Singles	James Jackson Sherrard ?	William Morgan Jellett	Henry James Daly ? William Morgan Jellett	Henry James Daly Richard Manders George Henry Shannon
10 October.^[38] ^[39]	Bournemouth CLTC Autumn Tournament Bournemouth CLTC Dean Park Cricket Ground Bournemouth, England Grass Singles - Doubles	Hubert James Medlycott ?

November to December

No events

List of tournament winners

Important tournament in bold

• Patrick Francis Hadow – Wimbledon-(1)
• W.F. Templer – Armagh-(1)
• Edmond Bennet Brackenbury – Bournemouth 1st-(1)
• Sir Hubert James Medlycott – Bournemouth 2nd-(1)
• Henry Evelyn Tombe – Bromley-(1)
• James Jackson Sherrard – Dublin-(1)
• James Patten MacDougall – Edinburgh-(1)
• Clement Edward Cottrell– Esher-(1)
• Jonas Henry William Gardner–Lichfield-(1)
• William Henry Darby – Limerick-(1)
• Robert Baron Templer –Moy-(1)
• Gwyn Saunders – Newcastle Emlyn-(1)
• Rev. William Hughes – Newton Abbott-(1)
• Vere St. Leger Goold – Waterford-(1)

Rankings

Source: The Concise History of Tennis, 6th edition, 2016

Karoly Mazak World Rankings for 1878^[40]
	Player
1
2
3
4
5

See also

• 1878 women's tennis season
• 1878 Tennis Season
• 1878 in sports

Sources

• A Social History of Tennis in Britain: Lake, Robert J. (2014), Volume 5 of Routledge Research in Sports History. Routledge, UK, .
• Ayre's Lawn Tennis Almanack And Tournament Guide, 1908 to 1938, A. Wallis Myers.
• British Lawn Tennis and Squash Magazine, 1948 to 1967, British Lawn Tennis Ltd, UK.
• Dunlop Lawn Tennis Almanack And Tournament Guide, G.P. Hughes, 1939 to 1958, Dunlop Sports Co. Ltd, UK
• Lawn tennis and Badminton Magazine, 1906 to 1973, UK.
• Lowe's Lawn Tennis Annuals and Compendia, Lowe, Sir F. Gordon, Eyre & Spottiswoode
• Spalding's Lawn Tennis Annuals from 1885 to 1922, American Sports Pub. Co, USA.
• Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice, Nauright John and Parrish Charles, (2012), ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, Cal, USA, .
• The Concise History of Tennis, Mazak Karoly, (2010), 6th Edition, 2015.
• Tennis; A Cultural History, Gillmeister Heiner, (1997), Leicester University Press, Leicester, UK.
• The Tennis Book, edited by Michael Bartlett and Bob Gillen, Arbor House, New York, 1981
• The World of Tennis Annuals, Barrett John, 1970 to 2001.
• Total Tennis:The Ultimate Tennis Encyclopedia, by Bud Collins, Sport Classic Books, Toronto, Canada,
• Wright & Ditson Officially Adopted Lawn Tennis Guide's 1890 to 1920 Wright & Ditsons Publishers, Boston, Mass, USA.
• http://www.tennisarchives.com/
• https://thetennisbase.com/

External links

• 1878 Scottish Championships
• 1878 South of Ireland Championships, The Limerick Cup Ireland

Notes and References

1. Web site: Tournaments 1878. tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives. 25 October 2016.
2. Web site: Archives. Tennis. 1878 Men's tournaments. www.tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives, 2016. 9 December 2016.
3. Web site: Tennis season 1878. thetennisbase.com. Tennis Base, 2016. 9 December 2016.
4. Web site: Our history . ncetennis.org . Newcastle Emlyn & Adpar Community Tennis Club . 6 July 2022 . 15 July 2019.
5. Book: The Athletic world and journal of English sports . 5 April 1878 . London . 81 . en.
6. Smellie, Kennedy. (12 April 1933). The History of the Dyvours Lawn Tennis Club 1883 to 1933 by Kennedy Smellie Hon. Secretary and Treasurer Scottish Lawn Tennis Association. R. W. Forsyth Ltd. Edinburgh, Glasgow and London. p.5.
7. Web site: Donnelley . Paul . Firsts Lasts & only's Tennis a truly wonderful collection of trivia . Pitch Publishing . 6 July 2022 . Worthing, England. . 27.
8. Web site: History . lltc.ie . Limerick Lawn Tennis Club . 6 July 2022.
9. Web site: Abolition of Challenge Rounds. Papers Past. EVENING POST. CIII. 65. 20 March 1922. 6 October 2016.
10. Book: Mazak. Karoly. The Concise History of Tennis, The complete tennis history from 1877. 2016. Karoly Mazak. 5–11. 6th. 9 December 2016.
11. Book: Nauright. John. Parrish. Charles. Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice. 2012. ABC-CLIO. Santa Barbara, California. 9781598843002. 198.
12. Book: Gillmeister. Heiner. Tennis:Cultural History. 1998. A&C Black. London. 9780718501952. 199.
13. Book: Mazak. Karoly. The Concise History of Tennis The complete tennis history from 1877. 2010. Karoly Mazak (Ph.D.). 3. 6th.
14. Book: Lake. Robert J.. A Social History of Tennis in Britain: Volume 5 of Routledge Research in Sports History. 2014. Routledge . 9781134445578. 48.
15. Web site: Our history . ncetennis.org . Newcastle Emlyn & Adpar Community Tennis Club . 6 July 2022 . 15 July 2019.
16. Web site: Nieuwland . Alex . Edition – Teifiside Lawn Tennis Club 1878 . www.tennisarchives.com . Tennis Archives . 6 July 2022.
17. Book: The Athletic world and journal of English sports . 5 April 1878 . London . 81 . en.
18. Web site: Nieuwland . Alex . Edition – Bournemouth Spring Tournament 1878 . www.tennisarchives.com . Tennis Archives . 6 July 2022.
19. Field: (11 May 1878) The Quarterly Magazine and review. Lawn Tennis announcements. Horace Cox. London, England. pp.43–44.
20. Web site: O'Riordan . Turlough . Dunlop, Henry Wallace Doveton . www.dib.ie . December 2015. Dictionary of Irish Biography . 10 December 2022 . Dublin, Republic of Ireland . en.
21. Web site: The Championships Wimbledon 1878Gentlemen's All-Comers' Singles. LTA. 15 July 2016.
22. Book: Tingay. Lance. 100 years of Wimbledon. 1977. Guinness Superlatives. Enfield [Eng.]. 0900424710.
23. LAWN TENNIS: STAFFORDSHIRE COUNTY CRICKET CLUB TOURNAMENT. "Fine weather favoured the tennis tournament on Friday last 26th July, when there was a large and most influential attendance. The original programme was somewhat curtailed, inasmuch as two matches were withdrawn." Lichfield Mercury. British Newspaper Archives. 2 August 1878. Lichfield, Stafforshire, England. page.5.
24. Web site: Craiglockhart was Wimbledon warm-up tournament of choice for the pros. edinburghnews.scotsman.com. the Edinburgh News 3 July 2012. 29 July 2016. 5 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161005083027/http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/craiglockhart-was-wimbledon-warm-up-tournament-of-choice-for-the-pros-1-2389369. dead.
25. Web site: Lawn Tennis in Scotland, 50 years of the game. Google News. The Glasgow Herald, 9 August 1927. 29 July 2016.
26. Web site: Scottish Championships 1878. tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives. 29 July 2016.
27. Web site: Nieuwland . Alex . Edition – Armagh 1878 . www.tennisarchives.com . Tennis Archives.
28. Book: McCreary . Alf . Saint Patrick's City : the story of Armagh . 2001 . Blackstaff . Belfast . 9780856407116 . 114 . 1st . Armagh at Play.
29. Web site: Bromley 1878. tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives. 26 October 2016.
30. Web site: Waterford 1878. tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives. 26 October 2016.
31. Web site: Nieuwland . Alex . Edition – Newton Abbot 1878 . www.tennisarchives.com . Tennis Archives . 6 July 2022.
32. News: Lawn tennis: For the first time, will be held in connection with the Newton Abbot Archery and Lawn Tennis Club, an amateur lawn-tennis meeting. The competitors will assemble on the ground of the South Devon Cricket Club 23rd September.. Exeter and Plymouth Gazette Daily Telegrams . British Newspaper Archives . 9 July 1878 . Plymouth, Devon, England . 3.
33. Web site: Tournaments: South of Ireland Championships. The Tennis Base . Tennismem SL . 24 May 2023 . Madrid. subscription.
34. Web site: Some history regarding Limerick Lawn. Limerick Lawn Tennis Club. 29 July 2016.
35. Lawn Tennis."The Moy and Charlemont Lawn Tennis Tournament held by the Moy and Charlemont Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club that started monday ended on Thursday, the gentleman's tournament was won by Mr. Robert Baron Templer". The Tyrone Constitution. Tyrone, Northern Ireland.: British Newspaper Archives. 18 October 1878. pp. 3, 4.
36. Web site: Nieuwland . Alex . Edition – Moy and Charlemont 1878 . www.tennisarchives.com . Tennis Archives . 6 July 2022.
37. Web site: Dublin University Championships 1878. tennisarchives.com. Tennis Archives. 26 October 2016.
38. Book: Goddard . Arthur . Beautiful Bournemouth . 1891 . Oetzmann & Company . Bournemouth . 35 . en.
39. Web site: Nieuwland . Alex . Edition – Bournemouth 1878 . www.tennisarchives.com . Tennis Archives . 6 July 2022.
40. Book: Mazak. Karoly. The Concise History of Tennis. 2010. 6.