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Francis Xavier Alexander Shields Sr. (November 18, 1909 – August 19, 1975) was an American amateur tennis player of the 1920s and 1930s, and an actor known for Hoosier Schoolboy (1937). He was ranked world No. 2 in 1931, and U.S. No. 1 in 1933.
In January 1928, Shields was runner-up to George Lott in the Canadian Covered Courts Championships at the Montreal Indoor Tennis Club, defeating Canadian No. 1 Dr. Jack Wright in a long five-set semifinal.
Shields was runner-up in the 1929 Canadian Open Championships at the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club on red clay, losing the final to Dr. Wright, who had earlier beaten John Doeg in the semifinal. Shields lost to Bill Tilden in the third round of the 1929 U.S. National Tennis Championships, but returned the favor the following season, defeating Tilden in the quarterfinals of the 1930 Southampton Invitation.
In June, 1930, Shields won the singles title at the Cincinnati Open, defeating Paul Kunkel in the semifinals and Emmett Paré in the final in five sets.
Shields defeated Wilmer Allison and Sidney Wood before losing to John Doeg in the final of the 1930 U.S. Championships. Shields defaulted to Sidney Wood in the singles final of Wimbledon in 1931 due to an ankle injury he had sustained in winning his semi-final match against France's "Musketeer" Jean Borotra, and this was the only time in the history of a Grand Slam event the singles final of that event was won by default.
His best season was 1933, when he won nine tournaments. He won the Canadian Covered Court Championships title in January, defeating J. Gilbert Hall in the final. Shields reached the fourth round at the 1933 French Championships at Roland Garros, where he lost to Christian Boussus. He did not play at Wimbledon that season. During the Wimbledon period, Shields played in the Eastern Clay Court Championships in Jackson Heights, Queens, N.Y., finishing runner-up to J. Gilbert Hall in the final. He also won the Southampton Invitation (Long Island) on grass, defeating Bitsy Grant in the semifinal and Frank Parker in the final, in three straight sets. Shields won the Newport Casino Invitational on grass, defeating Ellsworth Vines in the semifinal and Wilmer Allison in the final. At the Mason & Dixon Championships at The Greenbrier resort, Shields defeated Gregory Mangin in the final in four sets.
At the 1933 U.S. Championships, Shields was seeded No. 2 behind Vines. Vines lost to Grant in the fourth round, while Shields reached the semifinal, where he lost to Jack Crawford. Shields was ranked U.S. No. 1 for 1933 by the USLTA official ranking, and world No. 5 ahead of Vines by Bernard Brown.Brown, Bernard (1933-09-13). "ANZAC Net Star Has Best Record for '33 Season". Brooklyn Times-Union. p. 10.
In 1934, Shields defended his Canadian Covered Court Championships title by defeating J. Gilbert Hall in a close four-set semifinal and
/ref> on clay courts, defeating Allison in the final in three long, straight sets. Shields defended his Mason & Dixon title at The Greenbrier resort by defeating Grant in a close five-set match in the final. Shields reached the final of the Queen's Club Championships, where he lost to Sidney Wood. He reached the semifinal at Wimbledon, where he lost a close match to Crawford.
In 1935, Shields won the Ojai Tennis Tournament, defeating
/ref> tournament in San Diego, defeating Jack Tidball in the final.
He entered the 1950 US Open. However, he and Ginger Rogers were knocked out of the mixed doubles competition in the first round. He competed at the 1951 U.S. National Championships in New York City, but was defeated in the first round by South African Syd Levy in straight sets.
| 8–10, 6–1, 4–6, 14–16 |
| walkover |
| 13–11, 7–9, 7–9, 3–6 |
| Loss | 1930 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Marjorie Morrill | Edith Cross Wilmer Allison | 4–6, 4–6 |
In 1940, he married his second wife, Marina Torlonia di Civitella-Cesi (1916–1960)."Donna Torlonia Wed to Frank X. Shields", The New York Times, 14 July 1940 Marina was the daughter of Marino Torlonia, 4th Prince of Civitella-Cesi (1861–1933) and Mary Elsie Moore (1888–1941), an American heiress. Marina's brother was Alessandro Torlonia, 5th Prince di Civitella-Cesi (1911–1986), the husband of the Spanish Infanta Beatriz de Borbón (1909–2002). Shields had two children with Marina Torlonia:
In 1949, he married Katharine Mortimer (1923–2003), the daughter of financier Stanley Grafton Mortimer, Sr. and grand-daughter of Richard Mortimer. She had previously been married to Oliver Cadwell Biddle family, with whom she had a daughter, Christine Mortimer Biddle, who became a stepdaughter to Shields. Shields had three children with Mortimer:
Shields and Mortimer divorced, and in 1962, she married Richard Gillespie Blaine.
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