Spencer Gore – Gentlemen’s Singles Champion at Wimbledon in 1877

With Wimbledon now taking place, we thought we’d have a look in the Archive to see what stories we could find. Once again, we weren’t disappointed!

We found this report of the first men’s singles final – or as the newspapers originally called it, the Gentlemen’s Singles Final. We much prefer it being described as the Gentlemen’s Singles Final’; the Men’s Singles Final just does not have the same appeal to it.

We note that the prize money for winning the championship was £12 and 12 shillings, which has a nice symmetrical feel to it.

We also noticed that the losing finalist and one of the losing semi-finalists played a match to decide who was second. The prize money for second and third places is also included.

There are 100s of fascinating reports on Wimbledon, from its earliest days right up to 1950. So why not try a search for ‘tennis’ in the Archive and see what stories you can find?

London Standard – Friday 20 July 1877

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000183/18770720/032/0006

Morning Post – Friday 20 July 1877

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000174/18770720/009/0003