September 3, 1881: The 1st U.S. Open

Richard D. Sears

September 3, 1881: The Singles Final of the 1st U.S. National Championships -- tennis' 1st U.S. Open -- is held at the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island. Richard Sears defeats William E. Glyn, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2. Both players were American: At the time, the tournament was only open to Americans.

Richard Dudley Sears was born on October 26, 1861 in Boston. He won the U.S. Open the 1st 7 times, 1881 to 1887. He also won its doubles tournament from 1882 to 1887, with James Dwight as his partner, except for 1885, when it was Joseph Clark. After that, he retired from tennis. He died in 1943.

In 1903, Laurence Doherty -- interestingly enough, a native of Wimbledon, in South London -- became the 1st non-American to win the U.S. Open. Sears' 7 wins have been matched by fellow Americans William Larned and Bill Tilden, but no player has managed to win an 8th. In fact, the next-most is 5, by Americans Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras, and Switzerland's Roger Federer.

The 1st women's tournament was held in 1887. It was won by Ellen Hansell, born in Philadelphia in 1869. She reached the Final again in 1888, but lost, and never got that far again. She lived until 1937. Mabel Cahill, from Ireland but competing for Great Britain, was the 1st non-American woman to win, in 1891. In the Final, she defeated Ellen Roosevelt, a 1st cousin of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Ellen Hansell

The woman with the most U.S. Open wins is Molla Bjurstedt Mallory, a Norwegian who came to America to live in 1915, and won 8 titles from that year until 1926. Helen Wills Moody won 7, Chris Evert won 6, and Serena Williams has also won 6.

The Newport Casino hosted the U.S. Open until 1914, and is the home of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. From 1915 to 1920, it was held at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, Queens. From 1921 to 1923, it was played at the Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia.

Newport Casino

In 1923, the West Side Tennis Club built a stadium that still stands, and hosted 2 concerts by The Beatles in 1964. That stadium hosted the U.S. Open from 1924 until 1977. In 1978, the Open moved 3 miles to Flushing Meadow-Corona Park, to the Singer Bowl, which was renamed Louis Armstrong Stadium: The jazz master lived nearby, in Corona, and was a big sports fan, including, unusually for a black man at the time, tennis. The complex was named the National Tennis Center by the United States Tennis Association (USTA).

Forest Hills Stadium

In 1997, a new main venue opened at Flushing Meadow, Arthur Ashe Stadium. Louis Armstrong Stadium was kept as a backup, before being torn down and replaced by a new stadium on the same site, with the same name, in 2018. In 2006, the entire complex was renamed the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Arthur Ashe Stadium

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September 3, 1881 was a Saturday. The only professional sports league in North America at that point was baseball's National League, and these games were played that day:

* The Boston Red Stockings beat the Worcester Ruby Legs, 3-2 at the 1st version of the South End Grounds in Boston. The Red Stockings eventually became the Braves. In 1883, the Ruby Legs moved, becoming the Philadelphia Phillies.

* The Providence Grays beat the Troy Trojans, 11-1 at the Haymakers' Grounds in Troy, New York, across the Hudson River from the State capital in Albany. In 1883, the Trojans moved, becoming the New York Giants. The Grays had won the NL Pennant in 1879, and would do so again in 1884, but went out of business just 1 year later.

* The Buffalo Bisons beat the Detroit Wolverines, 5-3 at Riverside Park in Buffalo. The Bisons went out of business after the 1885 season. The Wolverines won the Pennant in 1887, but went out of business just 1 year later.

* The Chicago White Stockings beat the Cleveland Blues, 4-2 at Kennard Street Park in Cleveland. The Blues went out of business after the 1884 season, while the White Stockings eventually became the Cubs.