Barry MacKay (born August 31, 1935 in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States) is a retired professional tennis player and tournament director, and a current television broadcaster. He was the NCAA Men's Singles Champion and Doubles Finalist with Richard Potter in 1957, while playing for University of Michigan. He was a Doubles Finalist with Sammy Giammalva at the U.S. Championships in 1958. He was a Semifinalist at Wimbledon in 1959. Barry twice won what is now the SAP Open, including ten other tournaments in 1960.
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Playing career
MacKay enjoyed a 20-year career as both a top amateur and a professional tennis player. He started in the early 1950s as the Ohio High School Champion. From there, he attended the University of Michigan where he played under Michigan's legendary tennis coach William E. "Bill" Murphy. He won five Big Ten Conference Championships while at Michigan—Singles Championships in 1956 and 1957, and Doubles Championships with partner Richard Potter in 1955, 1956, and 1957. [1] In June 1957, MacKay won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Singles Title over Sammy Giammalva in five sets to help the Wolverines win their first and only National Team Championship. He was the first Big Ten player to win the NCAA Singles Title. He was runnerup in the Doubles with Richard Potter, losing in four sets to Crawford Henry and Ron Holmberg of Tulane. MacKay was also the first Michigan player to be named an NCAA All-American. He made five U.S. Davis Cup appearances (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959 and 1960) and was part of the 1958 Davis Cup Championship Team. In 1959 at Wimbledon, he lost in the Semifinals to Rod Laver in 87 games over five sets. In 1960, he gained the No.1 U.S. ranking after winning Eleven Tournaments: Atlanta, Buffalo, Dallas, River Oaks, River Forest (US Clay Courts), Rome (Italian), NY Indoors (Nationals), Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tuscaloosa, and Victoria, Australia; and was seeded No.1 at the French Championships. He spent three years on Jack Kramer's Pro Tour from 1961 to 1963.
Broadcasting career
Since the 1970s, MacKay has been a Tennis Broadcaster. Over his broadcasting career, MacKay has teamed with such notables as:Arthur Ashe, Bud Collins, Donald Dell, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Jimmy Connors, Chris Evert, John McEnroe, Pam Shriver, and Leif Shiras. He has become the voice U.S. fans listened to when watching the U.S. Open, Wimbledon, French Open, and many ATP/WTA Tournaments. He currently provides color commentary, play-by-play, and lead analysis for The Tennis Channel's coverage of top Tennis Tournaments around the world. He has also provided color commentary on Fox Sports Network. MacKay served as the play-by-play announcer for the NBC Sports coverage of Tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics in China.[1]
Directing tournaments
MacKay has served as Tournament Director and Promoter for more than 12 annual events, highlighted by promoting two U.S. Davis Cup finals. He is President of BMK Sports and on the Board of Directors for Youth Tennis Advantage in Northern California. MacKay promoted and ran what is now the SAP Open from 1970 until 1995, when he sold the tournament.
Comments
Interviewed in 2007 at the 50th reunion of the 1957 NCAA Tennis Championship in Ann Arbor, Michigan, MacKay recalled his playing career: "I won the NCAA Singles in Salt Lake City in June 1957. I missed my graduation at Michigan Stadium because of it, but I got my diploma later on. Then I played amateur tennis. In those days, there were two opportunities: the professional tennis tour and amateur tennis. There was no Open Tennis as we know it today. I played the amateur tennis circuit for three more summers and represented the United States on our Davis Cup team. I actually played my first Davis Cup match while I was still at Michigan in the summer of 1956. The United States won the Davis Cup in 1958 in Australia. I was ranked No. 1 in the United States in 1960, and then I turned professional in 1961. In those days, that meant you went on the Jack Kramer Professional Tennis Tour because it was the only professional tour. Matches were played in one city after another on a nightly basis across the country and around the world. It was a barnstorming type of tour. I signed a professional contract with Jack Kramer and played pro tennis from 1961 through 1963. In 1964, when I decided there no longer was a future for me in professional tennis, I migrated to California and started working for Jack on the International Professional Tennis Tour. I’ve been in California ever since. I worked with Jack until the late 1960’s. In 1970, I took control of the Pacific Coast Championships at Berkeley, in Northern California. Our first winner was Arthur Ashe; our next winner was Rod Laver. After that, this tournament became the major tennis event in Northern California. John McEnroe has won the most titles in the tournament. In 1973, I started my own company, named BMK Sports. The Company put on this major tennis event of the year, until I sold it in 1995. In addition, I did regular television commentary and many other promotions. They all fit well under the Company umbrella." [2]
Honors
- He was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 1980, as part of the third induction class
- He was inducted into the Cincinnati Tennis Hall of Fame in 2003.
- He was inducted into the NCAA Hall of Fame in 1987.
See also
References
External links
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