Fred Perry

Frederick John Perry lived from 18 May 1909 – 2 February 1995 born in Stockport, Cheshire, he was a British tennis and table tennis player and three-time Wimbledon champion. He was the World No. 1 player for five years, four of them consecutive, 1934 to 1938, the first three years as an amateur.

As an eight-time Slam winner, Perry is the last British male player to win any of tennis's grand slam events, and one of only six men in history to have won all four grand slam events.

After three years as the World No. 1 amateur player, Perry turned professional in 1937. For the next two years he played lengthy tours against the powerful American player Elly Vines. In 1937 they played 61 matches in the United States, with Vines winning 32 and Perry 29. They then sailed to England, where they played a brief tour. Perry won six matches out of nine, so they finished the year tied at 35 victories each. Most observers at the time considered Perry to be the World No. 1 for the fourth year in a row, sharing the title, however, with both Vines and the amateur Don Budge. The following year, 1938, the tour was even longer, and this time Vines beat Perry 49 matches to 35. Budge, winner of the amateur Grand Slam, was clearly the World No. 1 player. In 1939 Budge turned professional and played a series of matches against both Vines and Perry, beating Vines 21 times to 18 and Perry by 18 victories to 11.