Trinity Tennis in the 1960's
1962-1963 Teams
The 1963 team was made up of the baddest tennis players around. In 1962, the prior year, the top players on the team had foregone the NCAA tournament in order to play in Wimbledon. In today's day and age, that would most likely never happen. They were the best college team in the history of college tennis to never play in the NCAA tournament.
Led by number one netter Chuck McKinley and coached by widely known Clarence Mabry, the team includes other net notables such as Frank Froehling, second-ranked American, Cliff Bucholz, ranked number 25 in the U.S., Butch Newman, rated number 5 and Harry Burrus, 28th in junior level rankings.
The last three players, two sophomores and one freshman, were among the most promising youngsters in the country.
The Legend of Chuck McKinley:
Chuck McKinley had a colorful collegiate career at Trinity University. He was ranked 13th in the United States as a freshman when arriving to Trinity. In 1962 he was the runner up at Wimbledon, and after a 42 win streak at Trinity, he was the top dog in the U.S.
He was undefeated for two straight seasons of collegiate tennis at Trinity. Then, in 1963, he took home the Wimbledon championship for the United States and helped put the name of Trinity University on the map. In fact, when walking on to the court for the match, the announcer incorrectly called Trinity University, Trinity College hesitantly. McKinley went on to win the tournament without losing a single set. Only two other men had accomplished that prior to McKinley. People from all over praised Chuck and the rest of Trinity's stalwart program. Unfortunately, Chuck McKinley passed away at the young age of 45, but his legend will not be forgotten. He has been elected to the Trinity University Hall of Fame and to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.