Harold Segerson Mahony (13 February 1867 in Edinburgh – 27 June 1905) was an Irish tennis player, best known for winning the Wimbledon Championships in 1896. He was born at 21 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh to Richard John Mahony, an Irish barrister and prominent landowner. The family had a home in Scotland but spent most of their time at Dromore Castle, in County Kerry, Ireland. Harold trained on a specially built tennis court at Dromore.
Mahony made his Wimbledon debut in 1890 exiting in the first round. He reached the semi-final in 1891 and 1892. Mahony spent some time in America in the mid-1890s, before returning to England and finally taking the Wimbledon crown in 1896. In the final he beat Wilfred Baddeley of Great Britain in five sets: 6-2, 6-8, 5-7, 8-6, 6-3. Under the challenger system Mahony was entitled to defend the Wimbledon title in 1897 but this time he was beaten in the final in three straight sets by Reginald Doherty. He was the last Scottish born player to win a grand slam until Andy Murray won the US Open in 2012.
At the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris (France) he won a silver medal in the men's singles event and a bronze medal in the doubles tournament (for Great Britain and Ireland).
Mahony was 1.91m (6 ft 3in) tall and possessed a formidable backhand. His forehand was less notable, his fellow-player, George Hillyard, wrote that he "never did acquire the right method of hitting the ball on the forehand".
Mahony was killed, aged 38, in a bicycling accident near his home in Kerry.
Famous quotes containing the word harold:
“Together, we three, until the world crumbles and there is no longer a stone or a rock or a tree or a blade of grass.”
—Griffin Jay, and Harold Young. Mehemet Bey (Turhan Bey)