Full name Joshua Francis Pim Name Joshua Pim Retired 1902 Wimbledon W (1890, 1893) Turned pro 1887 | US Open 4R (1902) Grand slams won (singles) 2 Wimbledon W (1893, 1894) Role Tennis player Highest ranking No. | |
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Country (sports) United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Born 20 May 1869
Bray, Wicklow ( 1869-05-20 ) Plays Right-handed (one-handed backhand) Died April 15, 1942, Killiney, Republic of Ireland Similar People Jana Novotna, Martina Navratilova, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario | ||
Dr Joshua Pim F.R.C.S.I. (20 May 1869 in Bray, Wicklow – 15 April 1942 in Killiney, Dublin) was a medical doctor and world No. 1 Irish amateur tennis player. He won the Wimbledon men's singles title two years in a row, in 1893 and 1894. He won the Wimbledon men's doubles in 1890 and 1893.
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Family life
Joshua Pim, known as Josh, was born on 20 May 1869 at 1&2, Millward Terrace, Meath Road, Bray, County Wicklow. His parents were Joshua, a barrister who served in the Royal Tyrone Fusiliers, and Susannah Maria, née Middleton. His father died when Josh was barely two years old, leaving a widow and five young children.
As a child Pim lived for a while in Crosthwaite Park, Kingstown. In adulthood he moved with his wife Robin to Killiney. They had one son and three daughters. He died at Secrora, his home in Killiney, on 15 April 1942 aged 72, and was survived by his wife and four children. He was a keen swimmer and golfer, and a member of Killiney Golf Club.
Medical career
Pim studied medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the Royal College of Physicians in London. He was Medical Officer at St. Columcille's Hospital, Loughlinstown for 42 years.
Tennis
Pim was a member of Lansdowne club, then known as the All Ireland Lawn Tennis Club, where he was coached by Thomas Burke
His first tennis triumph was in 1890, when he won both the English and Irish doubles championships alongside the Dubliner, Frank Stoker, a cousin of the writer Bram Stoker. He reached the semifinals of the English singles championship, but lost to Willoughby Hamilton from Kildare.
The following year he reached the Wimbledon men's singles final, and in 1892 (when he was suffering from typhoid) he reached the "challenge round", but he lost on both occasions to an English player, Wilfred Baddeley.
In 1893, Pim returned to Wimbledon and won both the singles and (with Stoker) the doubles championships. In 1894 he won the singles again. In 1895 he competed in America rather than in England.
In 1896, Harold Mahony won at Wimbledon, while Pim concentrated on his medical career, becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons that year.
Pim played for Ireland against England in 1892, 1893, 1894 and 1896.
In 1902, he was summoned from retirement to be the token Irishman in the British Davis Cup squad to face America. Pim was derided for having put on excessive amounts of weight, despite the fact that he shed thirty pounds in six weeks. He lost both his matches and laid down his racket thereafter.