Irvin Dorfman
| Full name | Irvin Sherrod Dorfman |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  United States |
| Born | September 3, 1924 New York City, US |
| Died | October 8, 2006 (aged 82) Raleigh, North Carolina, US |
| Singles | |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| French Open | QF (1950) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (1950, 1952) |
| US Open | 3R (1947, 1953, 1956) |
| Doubles | |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | 2R (1950, 1952) |
| Mixed doubles | |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | 2R (1956) |
Irvin "Irv" Sherrod Dorfman (September 3, 1924 – October 8, 2006)[1] was an outstanding amateur American tennis player in the 1940s and 1950s. He was ranked No. 15 in singles in the United States in 1947, and No. 3 in doubles in the U.S. in 1948.
Early and personal life
[edit]He was born in Brooklyn, the son of Belle and Nat Dorfman, and was Jewish.[2][3] During World War 2, he was in the US Navy.[4] He was married to Eileen Merl Dorfman and Jane Randall (originally Rosenbaum),[5] with whom he had a daughter, Andrea Dorfman. He had a younger sister, Marcia Katz. His grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Poland and Russia.
Tennis career
[edit]Dorfman played his collegiate tennis at Yale University.[6] In 1946 he won the Eastern Intercollegiate Tennis Title.[7] He also won the 1947 Connecticut State Tournament in singles, men's doubles, and mixed doubles.[8] He graduated from that Ivy League school in 1947.[3][9]
At the Cincinnati Masters, Dorfman reached the 1948 singles final, only to fall to Herbert "Buddy" Behrens in a match that lasted 64 games: 5–7, 9–11, 6–2, 8–6, 4–6. To this day, it is the longest final in games in the history of the Cincinnati tournament, which started in 1899 and is now the oldest tournament played in its original city in the United States.
Dorfman also won the doubles title in 1948 in Cincinnati, partnering with future International Tennis Hall of Fame enshrinee Pancho Gonzalez.[10]
Dorfman reached the quarterfinal of the 1950 French Championships in which he lost to eventual champion and compatriot Budge Patty.
He died in Raleigh, North Carolina in 2006.[11]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Obituary, 15 October 2006.
- ^ "Jewish Post 11 July 1952 — Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana's Digital Historic Newspaper Program". newspapers.library.in.gov.
- ^ a b "Jewish Post 1 April 1949". newspapers.library.in.gov.
- ^ "Columbia Alumni News". Alumni Council of Columbia University. September 20, 1944 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Jewish Post 11 July 1952 — Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana's Digital Historic Newspaper Program". newspapers.library.in.gov.
- ^ "The Deseret News - Google News Archive Search". The Deseret News.
- ^ Wechsler, Bob (September 20, 2008). Day by Day in Jewish Sports History. KTAV Publishing House, Inc. ISBN 9780881259698 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Jewish Post 13 June 1947 — Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana's Digital Historic Newspaper Program". newspapers.library.in.gov.
- ^ Dorfman, Irv: Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum
- ^ "St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.au.
- ^ "Obituary: Irvin Sherrod Dorfman". The News & Observer. October 10, 2006.
External links
[edit]
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- American male tennis players
- Sportspeople from Brooklyn
- Tennis players from New York City
- Yale Bulldogs men's tennis players
- 1924 births
- 2006 deaths
- Jewish American tennis players
- American people of Russian-Jewish descent
- American people of Polish-Jewish descent
- United States Navy personnel of World War II
- 20th-century American Jews
- 21st-century American Jews
- Jews from New York (state)
- 20th-century American sportsmen
- American tennis biography stubs