F. D. Amr Bey - Squash Career

Squash Career

Amr was born into a prominent family from Abu Tij in Asyut Governorate, which is situated in Upper Egypt. He moved to England in 1928 as an Egyptian diplomat. He had never practiced squash before, his main sports at the time being tennis and polo. He represented Egypt in tennis at the Davis Cup. Amr was introduced to squash while in the United Kingdom, and he took to the game quickly.

The British Open men's title was only recently inaugurated at the time Amr emerged on the scene, but it quickly became the most significant title in the game and came to be viewed by many to be the equivalent to a world championship for the sport. The men's final at the time was played under a "challenge" system, with a challenger taking on the defending champion in a best-of-three-legs match-up, with matches being played at both the two players' respective squash clubs. In 1933, Amr took on Don Butcher, who had won the title in 1931 and 1932. The first match of the tie was played at Butcher's club, the Conservative Club, with Amr winning 9–0, 9–7, 9–1. The second leg was played at Amr's club, the Bath Club, which Amr won 9–5, 6–9, 9–2, 9–1, 9–4 to capture the title.

No challenger emerged to take on Amr in the British Open final in 1934, so he retained the title by default. Butcher challenged Amr again in the 1935 final, with Amr again winning in two matches – 9–4, 8–10, 10–8, 9–0 and 9–6, 6–9, 9–2, 0–9, 9–5.

In 1936–38, Amr faced Jim Dear in three consecutive British Open finals, with Amr winning on all three occasions in two straight matches.

In addition to his six British Open titles, Amr won the British Amateur Championship six times (in 1931–3 and 1935–7), an exploit which is recognized by the Guinness Book of Records. Along with Jonah Barrington, Amr is the only player to win both the British Open and British Amateur titles in the same year, a feat he accomplished five times.

Amr is widely considered to have raised the level of the sport of squash to a new heights through both his outstanding shot-making ability, and his exceptional speed and fitness.