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The Seabright Invitational Tournament also known as the Seabright Invitation was a men's and women's grass court tennis tournament staged annually at the Seabright Lawn Tennis and Cricket Club, Rumson, New Jersey, United States from 1884 to 1950.

History

The Seabright Lawn Tennis and Cricket Club is a historic private sports club in Rumson, Monmouth County, New Jersey in the United States. It was founded in 1877 and incorporated officially in 1886. In 1884, the club held its first Seabright Invitational Tournament, the men's singles was won Joseph Sill Clark Sr. The tournament continued to be staged annually until 1889 when it was discontinued.

In 1894 the tournament was reestablished, and in 1920 a permanent women's event was finally added to the schedule. The event was suspended from 1943 to 1945 because of World War II. It resumed in 1946 and continued to be held until 1949. In 1950, the organizing committee of Seabright Lawn Tennis and Cricket Club voted to discontinue the event, due to ongoing cost of the maintenance of the grass courts, and the budget needed to build new permanent spectator seating made it untenable. Contrary to official sources the other reason the tournament was ended was not because of funding, but because the members grew tired of the fuss of organizing the event.

Finals

Men's singles

(Incomplete roll)

Year	Winners	Runners-up	Score
1886	H.W. Bucknall	Richard W. Stevens	6–2, 6–1, 6–1.
1888	H. Alexander	W. Ward	6–2, 6–4.
1892	Richard W. Stevens	S.M. Allen	6–2, 6–1, 6–1.
1895	Bill Larned	John Howland	7–5, 4–6, 6–1, 6–2.
1919	Bill Larned (2)	Leonard Beekman	6–3, 3–6, 6–2, 6–1.
1920	Watson Washburn	Willis Davis	1–6, 6–4, 6–3, 6–3.
1921	Bill Johnston	Dick Williams	6–0, 6–4, 6–2.
1922	Bill Johnston (2)	Dick Williams	6–0, 6–2, 6–3.
1923	Bill Johnston (3)	Dick Williams	?
1924	Howard Kinsey	Bill Johnston	?
1925	Vinnie Richards	James Anderson	6–1, 4–6, 6–0, 6–0.
1926	Vinnie Richards (2)	Manuel Alonso Areizaga	6–2, 10–8.
1927	Bill Tilden II	Francis Hunter	6–4, 6–1, 8–6.
1928	John Van Ryn	Wilmer Allison	6–8, 6–1, 6–4, 4–6, 10–10, ret.
1929	John Doeg	Dick Williams	6–3, 7–5, 8–6.
1930	Sidney Wood	Ellsworth Vines	6–2, 6–2, 6–0.
1931	Ellsworth Vines	John Doeg	10–12, 6–8, 6–3, 8–6, 6–1.
1932	Sidney Wood (2)	Gregory Mangin	1–6, 6–2, 6–2, 6–4
1933	Frank Shields	Gregory Mangin	6–1, 6–3, 6–1
1934	Berkeley Bell	Bryan Grant	5–7 6–1 6–3 2–6 6–4.
1935	Gregory Mangin	Wilmer Hines	6–8, 6–4, 3–6, 6–2, 7–5.
1936	John McDiarmid	Joe Hunt	9–7, 6–2, 6–2.
1937	Bobby Riggs	Wilmer Allison	w.o.
1938	Bobby Riggs (2)	Elwood Thomas Cooke	6–1, 6–3, 6–1.
1939	Frank Parker	Don McNeill	6–3, 8–6, 6–0.
1940	Bobby Riggs (3)	Frank Kovacs	2–6, 0–6, 6–3, 11–9, 10–8.
1941	Bobby Riggs (4)	Ted Schroeder	6–4, 6–4, 6–0.
1942/1943	Not held (due to World War I)
1945	Bill Talbert	Gardnar Mulloy	6–2, 3–6, 6–2, 6–4.
1946	Jack Kramer	Gardnar Mulloy	6–4, 6–4, 6–4.
1947	Gardnar Mulloy	Frank Parker	w.o.
1948	Earl Cochell	Bill Talbert	9–7, 8–6, 6–4.
1949	Earl Cochell (2)	Gianni Cucelli	6–2, 2–6, 6–0, 6–1.

Women's singles

(Incomplete roll)

Year	Winners	Runners-up	Score
1888	Miss Clarkson	B. Lockwood	6–2, 6–0.
1917	Mary Browne	Miss Grundy	6–4, 1–6, 6–2.
1920	Marion Zinderstein	Eleanor Tennant	6–4, 6–2
1921	Molla Bjurstedt Mallory	Eleanor Goss	8–6, 6–3
1922	Molla Bjurstedt Mallory (2)	Leslie Bancroft	6–1, 6–2
1923	Molla Bjurstedt Mallory (3)	Mabel Davy Clayton	6–2, 6–3
1924	Mary Browne (2)	Mayme McDonald	6–0, 6–1
1925	Elizabeth Ryan	Helen Wills	6–3, 6–3
1926	Elizabeth Ryan (2)	Helen Wills	6–4, 6–1
1927	Molla Bjurstedt Mallory (4)	Helen Jacobs	6–2, 1–6, 6–1
1928	Helen Jacobs	Marjorie Gladman	9–7, 6–3
1929	Helen Jacobs (2)	Edith Cross	6–1, 6–2
1930	Anna McCune Harper	Josephine Cruickshank	6–4, 6–4
1931	Helen Wills-Moody	Helen Jacobs	6–0, 6–0
1932	Helen Jacobs (3)	Josephine Cruickshank	6–4, 6–3
1933	Sarah Palfrey	Helen Jacobs	6–1, 2–6, 7–5
1934	Carolin Babcock	Helen Jacobs	6–4, 6–2
1935	Ethel Burkhardt Arnold	Gracyn Wheeler	6–1, 6–0
1936	Alice Marble	Carolin Babcock	6–0, 6–3
1937	Alice Marble (2)	Jadwiga Jędrzejowska	6–3, 5–7, 8–6
1938	Alice Marble (3)	Dorothy Bundy	6–2, 6–2
1939	Helen Bernhard	Dorothy Workman	6–3, 7–5
1940	Alice Marble (4)	Mary Hardwick	6–2, 6–0
1941	Sarah Palfrey Cooke (2)	Helen Bernhard	6–,8 6–2, 7–5
1942/1943	Not held (due to World War I)
1944	Pauline Betz	Margaret Osborne	6–2, 2–6, 6–3
1945	Pauline Betz (2)	Louise Brough	10–8, 6–3
1946	Shirley Fry	Mary Arnold Prentiss	6–4, 3–6, 6–2
1947	Dorothy Head	Shirley Fry	7–5 6–4
1948	Gussie Moran	Louise Snow Isaacs	6–2, 6–2

Other tournaments

The club during the 1880s early 1890s also organised other tournaments usually as a one off events occasionally a couple of editions.

References

1. Gems, Gerald R.; Borish, Linda J.; Pfister, Gertrud (April 10, 2017). Sports in American History: From Colonization to Globalization. Champaign, Illinois, United States.: Human Kinetics. p. 273. ISBN 978-1-4925-8614-2.
2. ^ "Tournaments: Seabright Invitation". The Tennis Base. Tennismem SL. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
3. ^ National Historic Landmark Nomination: Seabright Lawn Tennis and Cricket Club, National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior. pp. 16, 19–21.
4. ^ Gems, Borish and Pfister. (2017) p.173.
5. "INVITATION TENNIS TOURNAMENT Well-known Players Competing SEABRIGHT (New Jersey), July 21. Many well-known lawn tennis Players figure in the 54th invitation tournament". Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore). Lahore, Pakistan: British Newspaper Archive. July 23, 1941. p. 14. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
6. "Sport: Too Much Fuss", Time, August 14, 1950. Accessed March 12, 2023.

• 1884 establishments in New Jersey
• 1950 disestablishments in New Jersey
• Grass court tennis tournaments
• Defunct tennis tournaments in the United States
• Rumson, New Jersey
• Tennis tournaments in New Jersey