Kreigh Collins
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kreigh Collins was an outstanding tennis player from Chicago at the turn of the 20th Century. He was ranked No. 5 in singles in the United States in 1899, 1900, 1903 and 1904.
In 1903, he reached the doubles final with L. Harry Waidner at the U.S. National Championships (now known as the U.S. Open).
At the tournament now known at the Cincinnati Masters, the oldest tournament in the U.S. played in its original city, Collins won the singles title in 1903 and reached singles finals in 1901, 1902 and 1905. He also was a doubles finalist in 1901 and 1903 (both times with L. Harry Waidner), and a mixed doubles finalist in 1901 (with Carrie Neely).
He also won eight singles titles and four doubles titles at the Western Tennis Championship.
He married Ruth Howells Coffin in 1898. In 1906, he went with the United States Davis Cup team to England, but did not compete due to trouble with his eyesight. By the next year, his poor eyesight had forced him completely out of competitive tennis. He died in November, 1909, after being struck by an electric street car in Chicago.
He has been inducted into the USTA/Midwest Hall of Fame.
