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The Midland Counties Championships also known as the Midland International was a grass court tennis tournament held at Edgbaston Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club, Edgbaston, Great Britain from 1882 to 1977.

History

The first unofficial championship was established in 1881 at the Edgbaston Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club, Edgbaston near Birmingham, England as part of the Edgbaston Open Tournament. In 1882 the Midland Counties Challenge Cup became a separate event and ran for seventy two editions until 1977. The event featured both men's and women's singles, doubles and mixed doubles competitions and was classified as an open tournament.

The men' event was succeeded by the Birmingham Open in 1978 a $125k event as part of ITF Grand Prix Circuit that year, it was staged only once, it was later revived in 1991 as an indoor tournament for that season only.

The women's was succeeded five years later by a new event called the Edgbaston Cup a Toyota International Series event on the Toyota Series Circuit.

Finals

Notes: Challenge round: The final round of a tournament, in which the winner of a single-elimination phase faces the previous year's champion, who plays only that one match. The challenge round was used in the early history of tennis (from 1877 through 1921) in some tournaments not all.

Men's singles

Included: (Incomplete roll) Notes: * This edition was part of the Edgbaston Open Tournament.

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Score
Midland Counties Challenge Cup
1881 *	Walter Chamberlain	F.S. Goodwin	6-3, 6-4, 6-4
Midland Counties Championship
1882	R. W. Smith	George Reston Brewerton	2 sets to 1
1884	Walter Chamberlain (2)	John Redfern Deykin	6-3, 2-6, 10-8, 6-1
1885	Conway J Morgan	Walter Chamberlain	6-4, 2-6, 2-6, 6-2, 9-7
1886	Frank Noon	Conway J Morgan	6-4, 6-2, 6-4
1887	John Redfern Deykin	Frank Noon	6-4, 6-4, 6-2
1888	Harry Scrivener	John Redfern Deykin	6-2, 6-0, 9-7
1889	John Redfern Deykin (2)	Harold Weston Carlton	2-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
1890	John Redfern Deykin (3)	Henry Guy Nadin	0-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3
1891	James Baldwin	Harry S, Barlow	6-3, 7-9, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
1892	Harry S, Barlow	Tom Chaytor	6-4, 6-1
1893	George Hillyard	Henry Guy Nadin	6-3, 6-1, 6-3
1894	George Hillyard (2)	R A Bennett	6-4, 6-2, 6-1
1895	George Hillyard (3)	Sydney Howard Smith	6-4, 8-6, 4-6, 6-1
1896	Sydney Howard Smith	Charles Henry Ridding	6-3, 8-6
1897	Sydney Howard Smith (2)	George Hillyard	6-2, 6-3, 8-6
1898	Sydney Howard Smith (3)	George Hillyard	4-6, 9-7, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2
1899	Wilberforce Eaves	Ernest D Black	8-6, 6-2
1900	Sydney Howard Smith (4)	George Hillyard	6-2, 6-3, 7-5
1901	Sydney Howard Smith (5)	Wilberforce Eaves	6-3, 6-1
1902	Sydney Howard Smith (6)	Frank Riseley	6-4, 6-3, 6-4
1903	Sydney Howard Smith (7)	Josiah Ritchie	5-7, 7-5, 7-5, 6-2
1904	Sydney Howard Smith (8)	Wilberforce Eaves	6-4, 6-3, 6-2
1905	Sydney Howard Smith (9)	Norman Brookes	15-13, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
1906	John Mycroft Boucher	Wilberforce Eaves	6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
1907	John Mycroft Boucher (2)	James Cecil Parke	6-2, 8-10, 6-3, 9-7
1908	John Mycroft Boucher (3)	James Cecil Parke	6-2, 6-3, 6-2
1909	Stanley Doust	James Cecil Parke	6-2, 6-0
1910	James Cecil Parke	Stanley Doust	9-7, 6-3, 6-2
1911	Arthur Lowe	James Cecil Parke	2-6, 6-3, 6-2
1912	Stanley Doust (2)	Charles L Wilmslow	6-4, 6-0, 6-1
1913	Stanley Doust (3)	Erik Larsen	6-1, 6-3
1914	Alfred Beamish	William L Clements	6-1, 9-7, 2-6, 6-0
1915/1918	men's event not held due to World War I
1919	Stanley Doust	Pat O'Hara Wood	6-4, 6-4
1920	Bill Tilden	Chales L Wilmslow	6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
1921	Brian Norton	Frank Lorymer Riseley	8-6, 6-0, 6-0
1922	Gordon Francis Lowe	N M Greeg	6-2 6-2 6-2
1923	Hassan Ali Fyzee	Donald Greig	6-2 6-4
1924	Jack M Hillyard	Gordon Crole-Rees	6-4, 7-5, 6-4
1925	John Brian Gilbert	Hector Fisher	4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
1926	Hector Fisher	Jack M Hillyard	6-1, 9-7, 5-7, 6-1
1927	Bunny Austin	Keats Lester	6-1, 6-3
1928	Mohammed Sleem	Keats Lester	4-6, 6-1, 6-0, 6-0
1929	William Henry Powell	Jack Lysaght	6-1, 6-2
1930	Keats Lester	Ryuki Miki	6-3, 6-3
1931	Jiro Satoh	Herman David	7-5, 6-4
1932	John Olliff	Antoine Gentien	1-6, 6-4, 2-0, retired.
1933	Ryuki Miki	Keats Lester	6-4, 6-2
1934	Keats Lester (2)	Antoine Gentien	4-6, 6-3, 6-3
1935	Vivian McGrath	Walter Musgrove	8-6, 6-2
1936	Cam Malfroy	Alan Stedman	WEA
1937	Kho Sin-Kie	Herman David	6-4, 6-3
1938	Franjo Punčec	Kho Sin-Kie	6-3, 2-6, 7-5
1939	Donald Butler	Herman David	3-3, unfinished
1940/1945	men's event not held due to World War II
1946	Kho Sin-Kie	Enrique Morea	6-2, 1-6, 6-3
1947	Constantin Tănăsescu	Jack Crawford	6-1, 8-6, 3-6, 1-6, 6-3
1948	Felicisimo Ampon	Raymundo Deyro	6-2, 6-3
1949	Tony Mottram	Ricardo Balbiers	6-3, 9-7
1950	Jaroslav Drobný	Koon-Hong Ip	6-2, 6-2
1951	Don Candy	Naresh Kumar	6-4, 6-2
1952	Owen Gordon Williams	Trevor Fancutt	6-4, 6-2
1953	William Russell Seymour	Tony Mottram	8-6, 7-5
1954	Jaroslav Drobný (2)	Roger Becker	6-0, 6-3
1955	Jaroslav Drobný (3)	Arthur Larsen	7-5, 4-6, 6-4
1956	Trevor Fancutt	Mike Davies	7-5, 6-3, 6-4
1957	Budge Patty	Luis Ayala	7-5, 3-6, 6-1
1959	K F Buswell	Robert M Powell	7-5, 8-6
1960	Bobby Wilson	Ivo Ribeiro	6-0, 6-2
1962	Roger Becker	Ian Crookenden	6-3, 3-6, 6-3
1963	Roy Emerson	Rafael Osuna	4-6, 6-3, 7-5
1964	Fred Stolle	Billy Knight	3-6, 6-3, 6-2
1965	Billy Knight	Bobby Wilson	7-5, 6-3
1966	Roy W. Dixon	Keith Bland	6-2, 6-3
1967	Roy W. Dixon (2)	Keith Bland	6-4, 4-6, 7-5
1968	Roy W. Dixon (3)	Peter Breed	3-6, 6-3, 6-2
↓  Open era  ↓
Bio-Strath Edgbaston
1970	Andrew Pattison	Peter Doerner	6-4, 6-4
Midland Counties Championship
1973	Roy W. Dixon (4)	Martin Ladbrooke	7-6, 6-2
1974	Peter R. Breed	Alan G. Purnell	7-6, 6-4
1975	Hugh Thomson	Ricardo Ycaza	7-6, 6-3
1976	Peter Pierson	Nimish Desai	6-2, 6-4
1977	Sochio Kato	Mike Newberry	6-0, 6-4

Women's singles

(Incomplete roll)

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Score
Midland Counties Championships
1881	Maud Watson	Lilian Watson	?
1882	Constance Langley Smith	Miss Heaton	6-2, 6-1
1883	Miss Hutton	L. Sanders	6-5 ,8-6
1884	Edith Noon	Miss Richardson	6-3, 8-6, 6-3
1885	Margaret Bracewell	Mary Steedman	6-3, 6-2
1886	Blanche Bingley	Lilian Watson	6-0, 6-2
1887	Margaret Bracewell (2)	Florence Mardall	6-0, 4-6, 7-5
1888	Margaret Bracewell (3)	Florence Mardall	7-5, 6-1
1889	event not held
1890	L. Johnstone	Ethel Taylor Valentin	6-2, 5-6, 6-4
1891	Alice Simpson Pickering	Mrs Wills	6-1, 6-3
1892	Edith Longhurst	Winifred Longhurst	divided prizes
1893	D. Morgan	Blanche Bingley Hillyard	12-10, retd.
1894	women's event handicap only
1895	Winifred Longhurst	C. Jones	4-6, 6-4, 7-5
1896	Bertha Steedman	Katherine Grey	6-4, 6-2
1897	Ruth Dyas	Alice Simpson Pickering	8-6, 3-6, 6-3
1898	Blanche Bingley Hillyard	Maude Garfit	6-3, 6-1
1899	Charlotte Cooper	Ruth Dyas Durlacher	3-6, 6-4, 8-6
1900	Muriel Robb	Constance Hill	6-3, 2-6, 6-3
1901	Ruth Dyas Durlacher (2)	Maude Garfit	6-4, 6-4
1902	Winifred Longhurst (2)	Muriel Robb	7-5, 7-5
1903	Ethel Thomson	Gertrude Provis Houselander	6-4, 6-2
1904	Connie Wilson	Blanche Bingley Hillyard	6-3, 6-3
1905	Connie Wilson (2)	Dorothea Douglass	7-5, 6-4
1906	Connie Wilson (3)	Alice Greene	6-1, 3-6, 6-4
1907	Charlotte Cooper Sterry	Alice Greene	6-3 ,9-7
1908	Charlotte Cooper Sterry (2)	Edith Boucher	6-3, 6-0
1909	Helen Aitchison	Agnes Tuckey	6-2, 4-6, 6-3
1910	Dora Boothby	Helen Aitchison	7-5, 7-5
1911	Edith Hannam	Dora Boothby	6-4, 2-6, 7-5
1912	Edith Hannam (2)	Ethel Thomson Larcombe	2-6, 6-4, 7-5
1913	Edith Hannam (3)	Elizabeth Ryan	6-4, 6-0
1914	Winifred McNair	Helen Aitchison	4-6, 6-3, 9-7
1915/1918	women's event not held due to World War I
1919	Ethel Thomson Larcombe	Winifred McNair	4-6, 6-2, 7-5
1920	Dorothy Shepherd	Lesley Cadle	8-6, 7-5
1921	Geraldine Beamish	Dorothy Shepherd	8-6, 6-2
1922	Geraldine Beamish (2)	M. Fergus	6-1, 6-1
1923	Jessie Russell Colegate	Dorothy Shepherd Barron	10-8, 2-6, 6-4
1924	Elizabeth Ryan	Phyllis Satterthwaite	6-2, 6-4
1925	Phyllis Satterthwaite	Gwen Sterry	6-1, 6-0
1926	Ermyntrude Harvey	Joan Fry	2-6, 6-4, 6-3
1927	Jessie Russell Colegate (2)	Mary McIlquham	6-2, 6-1
1928	Naomi Trentham	Gwen Sterry	3-6, 9-7, 9-7
1929	Dorothy Round	Joan Fry	6-1, 6-4
1930	Naomi Trentham (2)	Mary McIlquham	6-1, 1-6, 7-5
1931	Lolette Payot	Mary Heeley	6-4, 4-6, 6-4
1932	Marie-Louise Horn	Freda James	6-2, 6-3
1933	Olga Webb	Marie-Louise Horn	6-4, 6-4
1934	Countess Gabriela Szapary	E. Woodhall	6-3, 4-6, 6-1
1935	Jadwiga Jędrzejowska	Anita Lizana	3-6, 6-3, 6-2
1936	Jadwiga Jędrzejowska (2)	Irmgard Rost	6-3 6-3
1937	Mary Heeley	Anita Lizana	0-6, 6-4, 6-3
1938	Mary Hardwick	Simonne Mathieu	7-5, 6-1
1939	Freda James Hammersley	Simonne Mathieu	divided prizes
1940/1945	women's event not held due to World War II
1946	Joan Curry	Jadwiga Jędrzejowska	7-5 6-3
1947	Joan Curry (2)	Elsie Hamilton Phillips	6-3, 6-0
1948	Barbara Knapp	Dorothy Round Little	7-5, 6-0
1949	Mary Terán de Weiss	Joy Gannon	9-7, 6-3
1950	Nancy Chaffee	Rita Jarvis Anderson	6-0, 6-2
1951	Doris Hart	Shirley Fry	4-6, 6-2, 7-5
1952	Doris Hart (2)	Shirley Fry	7-5, 3-6, 9-7
1953	Heather Nicholls Brewer	Billie Woodgate	6-4, 6-1
1954	Heather Nicholls Brewer (2)	Joan Curry	6-3, 3-6, 6-4
1955	Hazel Redick-Smith	Beryl Penrose	11-9, 2-6, 11-9
1956	Angela Mortimer	Jenny Staley Hoad	6-2, 4-6, 6-0
1957	Angela Mortimer (2)	Maria Helena Amorim	6-1, 6-1
1958	women's event cancelled
1959	Hazel Cheadle	Miss Bishop	6-4, 8-6
1960	Angela Mortimer (3)	Margaret Hellyer	6-0, 6-1
1961	Barbara Knapp	Jennifer Gail Morris	6-0, 6-3
1962	Rita Bentley	Ann Haydon	divided title
1963	Renée Schuurman	Ann Haydon Jones	8-6, 6-4
1964	Jan Lehane	Ann Haydon Jones	7-5, 6-1
1965	Margaret Smith	Virginia Wade	6-3, 4-6, 7-5
1968	Sue Tutt	Hazel Cheadle	6-4, 6-3
↓  Open era  ↓
1969	Janice MacFarlane	Kate Tillin	6-2, 6-4
Bio-Strath Edgbaston
1970	Sandra Walsham	Beatriz Araujo	1-6, 7-5, 6-1
Midland Counties Championships
1973	Hazel Cheadle	Mrs P. Reynolds	3-6, 6-2, 7-5
1974	C. Aitken	Hazel Cheadle	7-6, 6-3
1975	Ann Haydon Jones	Inge Korsten	6-0, 6-1
1976	Inge Korsten	Janice Wainwright	4-6, 6-1, 6-3
1977	Ann Haydon Jones (2)	Corinne Molesworth	6-4, 6-4
For the successor women's event see Edgbaston Cup

References

1. ^ Myers, A. Wallis (1903). "Edgabston". Lawn Tennis at Home and Abroad. New York, USA: Scribner's sons. pp. 66–68.
2. Cole, Matt. "At The Heart of the Game: The History of Edgbaston Priory Club" (PDF). edgbastonpriory.com. Edgbaston Priory Club. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
3. "Abolition of Challenge Rounds". EVENING POST. 20 March 1922. Retrieved 29 July 2018 – via Papers Past.
4. Nieuwland, Alex (2017). "Tournament – Midland Counties Championships". www.tennisarchives.com. Friesland, Netherlands: Tennis Archives. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
5. ^ Morris, James; Hegedus, Tomas (2013). "1877 to 2012 Finals Results". www.stevegtennis.com. stevegtennis. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
6. "LAWN TENNIS NOTES: J. R. Deykin became the holder of the Midland Counties Championship for the third time and the second year in succession". Sheffield Independent. Yorkshire, England: British Newspaper Archive. 3 July 1890. p. 6. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
7. Sheffield Independent (1890) p.6.
8. Sheffield Independent (1890) p.6.
9. "TENNIS FINAL: The Warwickshire tennis champion. Roy Dixon, will meet his county colleague, Keith Bland, in a repeat of last year's men's singles fnal he won last year in the Midland Counties championships at Edgbaston today". Coventry Evening Telegraph. Warwickshire, England: British Newspaper Archive. 15 July 1967. p. 39. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
10. "LAWN TENNIS: Two Midland events for Roy Dixon: Roy Dixon (Warwickshirel won two events in the Midland Counties championships at Edfbaston. In the men's singles final he beat his county colleague Keith Bland 6-4, 4-6, 7-5". Birmingham Daily Post. Warwickshire, England: British Newspaper Archive. p. 21. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
11. Barrett, John (1971) World of Tennis 1971 : a BP yearbook pp.260-271

Sources

• "Abolition of Challenge Rounds". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. EVENING POST, VOLUME CIII, ISSUE 65, 20 MARCH 1922.
• Cole, Matt. (2012) "At The Heart of the Game: The History of Edgbaston Priory Club" (PDF). edgbastonpriory.com. Edgbaston Priory Club.
• Myers, A. Wallis (1903). "Edgabston". Lawn Tennis at Home and Abroad. New York, USA: Scribner's sons.
• Nieuwland, Alex (2017). "Tournament – Midland Counties Championships". www.tennisarchives.com. Friesland, Netherlands: Tennis Archives.

Further reading

• Ayre's Lawn Tennis Almanack And Tournament Guide, 1908 to 1938, A. Wallis Myers.
• British Lawn Tennis and Squash Magazine, 1948 to 1967, British Lawn Tennis Ltd, UK.
• Dunlop Lawn Tennis Almanack And Tournament Guide, G. P. Hughes, 1939 to 1958, Dunlop Sports Co. Ltd, UK
• Lawn tennis and Badminton Magazine, 1906 to 1973, UK.
• Lowe's Lawn Tennis Annuals and Compendia, Lowe, Sir F. Gordon, Eyre & Spottiswoode
• Spalding's Lawn Tennis Annuals from 1885 to 1922, American Sports Pub. Co, USA.
• The World of Tennis Annuals, Barrett John, 1970 to 2001.

External links

• http://www.tennisarchives.com/tournament/midland counties championships

• Grass court tennis tournaments
• Defunct tennis tournaments in the United Kingdom
• Tennis tournaments in England