Eastern Indoor Championships
Tennis tournament
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Eastern Indoor Championships[1] also known as the Eastern States Indoor Championships was a men's and women's indoor tennis tournament founded in 1944.[2] It was organized by the Eastern Lawn Tennis Association (today known as USTA Eastern). It was originally played on wood courts, then switching later to carpet courts until 1977 when it was discontinued.[2]
| Eastern Indoor Championships Eastern States Indoor Championships | |
|---|---|
| Defunct tennis tournament | |
| Tour | ILTF World Circuit (1944–77) |
| Founded | 1944 |
| Abolished | 1977 |
| Location | Bergen Hackensack New York City Waldwick |
| Venue | Various |
| Surface | Wood (indoors) Carpet (indoors) |
History
In February 1944 the Eastern Indoor Championships were established.[2] The first two editions were played at the Bassford-Wood Courts, Lexington Avenue, New York City.[3][2] This tournament is particular notable for allowing Althea Gibson the tennis player and black woman to play in a major United States Lawn Tennis Association tournament,[4] where she advanced to the quarter finals in the singles but was beaten by nationally ranked Betty Rosenquest,[5] who won the event that year. The tournament was mainly played in New York City, in particular in Manhattan and the Bronx. It was also held in Bergen, New York, Hackensack, New Jersey and Waldwick, New Jersey.[2] The tournament was discontinued in 1977 as part of the ILTF Independent Tour and became a regional USTA circuit event.[2]
Finals
Men's singles
(incomplete roll) In 1967 two editions of the men's championships were held one in January denoted as (*) and the other in March as (**).
| Year | Location | Champions | Runners-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | NYC |  Theodore Schein | Edward McGrath[6] | 6–4, 4–6, 6–3, 2–6, 6–3.[2] |
| 1945[7] | NYC | Bill Talbert | Herbert Bowman | 6–2, 6–1, 6–0.[2] |
| 1950 | NYC | Charles Masterson | R. Philip Hanna[8][9] | 12–10, 7–5, 6–2.[2] |
| 1964 | NYC | Donald Rubell[10] | John Mangan | 7–9, 6–4, 8–6, 6–4.[2] |
| 1965 | Bergen | Herb Fitzgibbon | Ned Weld | 3–6, 8–10, 6–4, 7–5, 3–1, ret.[2] |
| 1966 | Waldwick | Eugene Scott | Robert Barker | 6–1, 6–4, 6–1.[2] |
| 1967* | Waldwick | Eugene Scott (2) | Frank Froehling III | 6–3, 6–3, 6–3.[2] |
| 1967** | Waldwick | Donald Rubell (2) | Tony Vincent | 6–3, 6–2, 6–4.[2] |
| 1968 | NYC |  Mike Callaghan |  Gabino Palafox | 6–8, 5–7, 6–3, 9–7.[2] |
| ↓ Open era ↓ | ||||
| 1969 | Hackensack | Butch Seewagen | Jaime Subirats | 6–2, 13–11, 6–3.[2] |
| 1970 | Hackensack | Herb Fitzgibbon (2) | Peter Fishbach | 13–11, 7–5, 6–0.[2] |
| 1971 | NYC | Herb Fitzgibbon (3) | John Adams | 6–3, 6–2, 6–0.[2] |
| 1972 | NYC | Vitas Gerulaitis | King Van Nostrand | 6–2, 6–2, 6–1.[2] |
| 1973 | NYC | Mike Grant | King Van Nostrand | 6–2, 6–2, 6–1.[2] |
| 1974 | NYC | King Van Nostrand | Warren Lucas | 6–2, 4–6, 6–2, 6–3.[2] |
| 1975 | NYC | Jon Molin | Art Carrington | 4–6, 6–1, 6–7, 7–6, 6–4.[2] |
Women's singles
(incomplete roll)
| Year | Location | Champions | Runners-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | NYC | Norma Taubele Barber | Mary J. M. Donnalley[11] | 6–2, 6–2 |
| 1945 | NYC | Norma Taubele Barber (2) | Helen Germaine | 1–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
| 1946 | NYC | Norma Taubele Barber (3) | Edna Steinbach | 6–2, 6–2 |
| 1947 | NYC | Nina Irwin | Sylvia Knowles | 7–5, 4–6, 7–5 |
| 1948 | NYC | Barbara Wilkins | Nina Irwin | 6–4, 4–6, 64 |
| 1949 | NYC | Betty Rosenquest | Helen Germaine | 6–4, 6–0 |
| 1950 | NYC | Althea Gibson | Millicent Hirsch Lang | 6–3, 6–1 |
| 1953 | NYC | Thelma Coyne Long | Lois Felix | 6–0, 6–2 |
| 1964 | NYC | Pat Stewart | Mimi Kanarek | 6–2, 8–6 |
| 1966 | Waldwick | Marilyn Aschner | Mimi Kanarek | 6–3, 8–10, 7–5 |
| 1968 | NYC |  Maria-Cristina Dias | Marilyn Aschner | 6–4, 4–6, 6–3 |
| ↓ Open era ↓ | ||||
| 1970 | Hackensack | Marilyn Aschner (2) | Louise Gonnerman | 6–0, 7–5 |
| 1977 | NYC | Barbara Potter | Kathy Mueller | 6–3, 6–2 |