June 13, 1890 – An American won the US National Championship Women’s Tennis at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. Ellen Crosby Roosevelt defeated the defending champion Bertha Townsend 6-2, 6-2. Miss Roosevelt was the daughter of John Aspinwall Roosevelt, an estate proprietor, and Ellen Murray Crosby.
She started playing tennis with her sister Grace eleven years earlier when her father installed a tennis court at their mansion ‘Rosedale’. She also won the doubles title with her sister Grace in 1890. They were the first pair of sisters to win the U.S.
Championships and remained the only pair to do so until the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena matched their achievement in 1999. She won the mixed doubles title at the 1893 U.S. Championships, partnering with Oliver Campbell. Ellen Roosevelt was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1975.
Ellen Crosby was the first cousin of the future President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. FDR was about 8 years old when Ellen won this US Tennis Title.
To find more great daily sports history make sure to check out the Sports Jersey Dispatch and Pigskin Dispatch.
More From Sports History Network
NFL Game Plan Gifts From The 1970s
There have been two documented cases that I know of during the 1970s where
Detroit Lions Dynasty of the 1950s
The Detroit Lions franchise began in 1930, but they were the Portsmouth Spartans for
The Inspiring Comeback of Weightlifter Tim Caso
When I first started Olympic Weightlifting in 1981, at nineteen years old, Tim was
Chicago’s Weightlifting Legacy: Mark Levell
As with many weightlifters, Mark’s interest in the sport began with watching weightlifting on
Kentomania: A Sneak Peek at the Black Basketball Virtuoso in Communist Poland
With a “won’t be denied” attitude, he took basketball to a level that few
Cheers and Gears: The Tech Behind Today’s College Football Experience
The college football experience has evolved tremendously over the past decade, integrating new technologies
Pro Quarterback Magazine: A Nostalgic Journey Through NFL History
Although it is difficult to get much information on when the first issue was
The Greatest NFL Quarterbacks of the 1970s
Well, I have refrained from discussing this topic, because I know that it will