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Barry MacKay (tennis)

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Revision as of 00:55, 18 January 2009 by 69.238.169.229 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) For the British actor, see Barry MacKay (actor).

Barry MacKay (born August 31, 1935 in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States) is a former tennis player, a tournament director, and current television broadcaster. He was the NCAA Singles Tennis Champion in 1957 while playing for University of Michigan and was a doubles finalist at the U.S. Championships in 1958. He twice won what is now the SAP Open in San Jose, CA.

Playing career

MacKay enjoyed a 20-year career as both a top amateur and a professional tennis player. He started in the early 1950s as the Ohio high school tennis champion. From there, he attended the University of Michigan where he played under Michigan's legendary tennis coach William Murphy. He won five Big Ten Conference championships while at Michigan—singles championships in 1956 and 1957, and doubles championships (with partner Richard Potter) in 1955, 1956, and 1957. In June 1957, MacKay won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) singles title to help the Wolverines win their first and only national team championship. He was the first Big Ten player to win the NCAA tennis singles title. MacKay was also the first Michigan player to be named an NCAA All-American. He made five U.S. Davis Cup appearances (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959 and 1960) and was part of the 1958 Davis Cup championship team. At Wimbledon in 1959, he lost in the semifinals to Rod Laver in five sets. In 1960, he gained the No. 1 U.S. ranking, after winning eleven tournaments. He spent three years on Jack Kramer's pro tour from 1961 to 1963.

Broadcasting career

Since the 1970s, MacKay has been a tennis broadcaster. Over his 30-year broadcasting career, MacKay has teamed him with Arthur Ashe, Bud Collins, Beth Herr, Leif Shiras, among others, and has become the voice U.S. fans tuned to for events such as the US Open, Wimbledon, and ATP tennis. He currently provides color commentary, play-by-play and lead analysis for The Tennis Channel's coverage of the top tennis tournaments in the world. He has also provided color commentary on the Fox Sports Network. MacKay served as the play-by-play announcer for NBC Sports coverage of tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Directing tournaments

MacKay has served as tournament director and promoter for more than 12 annual events, highlighted by promoting two U.S. Davis Cup finals. As president of BMK Sports, MacKay is on the Board of Directors for Youth Tennis Advantage in Northern California. MacKay ran what is now the SAP Open from 1970 until 1995.

Comments

Interviewed in 2007, MacKay recalled his playing career: "I won the NCAAs in Salt Lake City in June of 1957. I unfortunately missed my graduation at Michigan Stadium because of it, but I got my diploma eventually. Then I played amateur tennis. In those days, there were two games – there was professional tennis and there was amateur tennis – and there was no open tennis as we know it today. I played amateur tennis for the next three summers and represented the United States on our Davis Cup team. I actually played my first Davis Cup match while I was still at Michigan in the summer of 1956. The United States won the Davis Cup in 1958 in Australia. I was ranked No. 1 in the United States in 1960 after winning eleven tournaments: Atlanta, Buffalo, Dallas, River Oaks, River Forest, Rome, New York Indoors, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tuscaloosa, and Victoria(Melbourne). Then I signed a contract with Jack Kramer and turned professional. In those days, that meant you went onto the Jack Kramer Tour because that was the only professional tour. Our group of professionals played against one another in major cities across the country and around the world. I played the pro tour from 1961-63. Since there really wasn’t a future in professional tennis in those days, I migrated to California in 1964. I actually started working for Jack Kramer in what was then called the International Professional Tennis Tour. I’ve been in California ever since. I worked with Jack through the late 60’s. In 1970, I took over the Pacific Coast Championships in Berkeley,California. Our first winner was Arthur Ashe; our next winner was Rod Laver. After that, the tournament became the major tennis event in Northern California. John Mc Enroe has been the biggest winner of the tournament. I started my own company in 1973 called BMK Sports, and the company promoted this major tennis event of the year. I began my television commentary while promoting my tournament. This experience led to my broadcasting career of today.

Honors

See also

  • University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 1980
  • Intercollegiate Tennis Association Hall of Fame in 1987

References

  1. Medium Well: Your NBC Olympics lineup - A blog on sports media, news and networks - baltimoresun.com

External links

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