webmaster

John C. Skogstad, Georgia, 1998

John C. Skogstad, Georgia, inducted in 1998 John Skogstad

Played junior tennis in Florida where he won multiple Florida junior singles and doubles titles, the Interscholastic High School Doubles Championship, several Florida high school singles and doubles championships and the Boys 15’s Orange Bowl
Undefeated at the #1 singles position for Baylor University for 2 years
Transferred to the University of Miami where he was team captain and All-American in 1961
Helped Miami set the NCAA record for consecutive team wins
Continued to excel as an adult/senior player and won multiple Georgia and Southern championships
Served as President of the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association (ALTA) and Vice-President of the Georgia Tennis Association
Inducted into the Georgia Tennis Hall of Fame in 1985

Wilton McKinney, South Carolina, inducted in 1997

An active junior player and captain of both the Greenville High School and University of South Carolina tennis teams
Considered the patriarch of South Carolina tennis as the first volunteer to become involved in the sport at the local, state, sectional and national levels
Served as Director of Tennis at Greenville Country Club where the center court is named in his honor
Volunteer tennis coach at Greenville High School for 25 years, winning 16 state championships, 3 Southern championships and finishing third in the nation twice.
Served as President of the South Carolina Tennis Association, on the Southern Tennis Association Executive Committee, chaired the STA Umpire’s Committee, served on numerous other state, section and national committees, coached the Junior Davis Cup team and refereed the South Boys Open
Became the first person inducted into the South Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame in 1982 and in 1986 the state established the Wilton McKinney Award in his honor, the state’s highest junior award
Attended every Southern Tennis Association Annual Meeting for over 50 consecutive years, did extensive work to document the history of Southern tennis and was awarded the USTA Southern Jacobs Bowl

Nehemiah Atkinson, Louisiana, inducted in 1997

Avid tennis player since the 1940’s who specialized in singles competition
Director of Tennis for the City of New Orleans for 22 years
Won over 15 Southern Singles Championships and several Silver Balls as a finalist at USTA National Championships
Represented Louisiana at Senior Cup competition, captain of the Southern 75’s team at the USTA Intersectional Team competition, 1993 USPTR Player of the Year and winner of the 1996 USPTR Men’s 70 singles title
Recipient of the inaugural Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award and the T. N. Touchstone Memorial Trophy presented annually to a Southern senior player who displays outstanding sportsmanship and support of tennis in the South
Played on the 1999, 2000 and 2001 United States Gardner Mulloy Cup Team which won the competition in 2001 to become world champions in the Men’s 80’s
Inducted into the Louisiana Tennis Hall of Fame in 1986

Ernest M. Sutter, Louisiana, inducted in 1996 Ernest Sutter

All-American at Tulane University
Won 2 consecutive National Intercollegiate Singles Championships in 1936 and 1937
Won the 1936 Southern Singles and Doubles Championships and the 1937 Southern Doubles Championships
Ranked in the top 6 in singles in the South between 1934 and 1939 and #1 in the South in doubles in 1935, 1936, 1937 and 1939
Ranked #21 in the nation in 1936 and #22 in 1937
Won the 1961 National Senior Doubles Championships with his brother Cliff
Inducted into the National Collegiate Hall of Fame, the Tulane Athletic Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Tennis Hall of Fame

Eugene Ray. Georgia, inducted in 1996

Involved as a local competitor, teacher and organizer and known as “Mr. Tennis” in Clayton County
Devoted much of his time to introducing tennis to local residents, maintaining the only 2 courts in the county, giving free lessons to juniors and adults and running tournaments
Began playing senior tournaments at age 60 and restricted himself to 10 tournaments per year, but still earned 21 number 1 Georgia rankings and 9 number 1 Southern rankings
Won all 6 Southern tournaments he entered in 1984 at age 80
Played few national tournaments, but earned wins over several nationally ranked players, including Bitsy Grant
Attained his highest national singles ranking of number 5 in the 85’s in 1990
Inducted into the Georgia Tennis Hall of Fame in 1995