Pancho Gonzales
A self-taught tennis maverick with a ferocious serve, he dominated the professional circuit for years as the world's undisputed best player.
1928–1995 (age 67)·American tennis player·Birthday: May 9·The Silent Generation
Biography
Pancho Gonzales was American tennis's original angry young man, a talent so raw and powerful it reshaped the game. A child of Mexican immigrants who taught himself on public courts in Los Angeles, he stormed to the U.S. Championships title in 1948 and repeated in 1949. Bored by amateur tennis's shallow competition, he turned professional and entered a wilderness years for mainstream fame but a golden era of dominance. For nearly a decade, he was the king of the pro tour, beating all comers in grueling head-to-head matches. His game was built around a cannonball serve and an unbreakable competitive will; he was famous for his fiery temper and for winning matches he had no right to win, deep into his forties. Gonzales's legacy is that of the ultimate competitor, a player whose prime occurred away from the spotlight but whose greatness is unquestioned.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Pancho was born in 1928, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Pancho Was Born
The biggest hits of 1928
#1 Movie
The Singing Fool
Best Picture
Wings
Pancho's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1928Born
Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin; Mickey Mouse debuts
President: Calvin Coolidge"Ol' Man River" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: Wings
1933Started school
FDR's New Deal launches; Prohibition ends
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stormy Weather" — Ethel WatersBest Picture: Cavalcade
1941Became a teenager
Pearl Harbor attack brings the US into WWII
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,060Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Chattanooga Choo Choo" — Glenn MillerBest Picture: How Green Was My Valley
1944Could drive
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1946Could vote
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1949Turned 21
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1958Turned 30
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1968Turned 40
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1978Turned 50
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1988Turned 60
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1995Died at 67
Oklahoma City bombing; Windows 95 released
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $96,500Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Gangsta's Paradise" — CoolioBest Picture: Braveheart
Key Achievements
- Won the U.S. National Championships (now the U.S. Open) in 1948 and 1949 as an amateur.
- Was the world's top-ranked professional tennis player for an unprecedented eight consecutive years in the 1950s and early 1960s.
- Won the Tournament of Champions at Forest Hills, a major professional event, three times (1957, 1958, 1959).
Did You Know?
He was largely self-taught, learning the game by reading instruction manuals and practicing against a backboard.
At age 41, he beat the much younger Charlie Pasarell in a legendary 5-hour, 12-minute match at Wimbledon that spanned two days.
Gonzales was married six times.
“The better I play, the better I play. It's a habit of mine to keep going up.”
