Ted Schroeder - Early Career

Early Career

Schroeder was an almost exact contemporary of Jack Kramer, having been born only 10 days earlier in 1921, and they began to play against each other as top boy players in the mid-1930s. Schroeder's career is similar to Kramer's in that they both became top players whose careers were then interrupted by World War II. They were also lifelong friends and at least once Schroeder mortgaged his house on short notice in order to be able to lend an unsolicited $25,000 to Kramer. Schroeder, however, attended college for 4 years, the first two at the University of Southern California (USC), and the last two at Stanford University, while Kramer, apparently, spent only two years at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. After the war Kramer proved himself to be slightly better than Schroeder in the amateur ranks. Kramer then turned professional, where he immediately established himself as the best player in the world by demolishing the pro champion, Bobby Riggs, by 69 victories to 20 losses in the 1948 tour.