Mary Browne

Mary Browne would always be known as the first female tennis player who turned professional and one of the few to be champion in two sports – tennis and golf. Browne was born on June 3, 1891 in Ventura County, California. Her amateur career was splendid before she joined promoter C.C Pyle’s original troupe consisting of touring pros such as the great Suzanne Lenglen, Vinnie Richards, Howard Kinsey, Harvey Snodgrass and Paul Feret.

Browne had quite a record in the US Championships winning triple titles in singles, doubles and mixed, in the years 1912, 1913, and 1914. Another talent that amazed people who were watching the progress and success of Browne was her uncanny capability to transfer her great talents from tennis to the sport of golf. In fact, she entered the US Women’s Golf Championships and beat the legendary female golfer, Glenna Collet Vare to reach the final. However, Browne only played golf for a few years, and rather predominantly excelled in the sport of tennis.

In Tennis, Browne’s greatest victory came in one soggy afternoon in 1912 where she won all singles, doubles and mixed titles in the same day. For the singles, Browne defeated Eleo Sears; in doubles, she played together with Dorothy Green to win the title; and in mixed, she played with Dick Williams to conquer that title as well.

Mary Browne played a total of 82 games during her career. She ranked number one in the US in the years 1913 and 1914, number two in 1921 and 1924 and number 6 in the year 1925. In the World Rankings, she was ranked number six in 1926.

Mary Browne was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1957 and she died on August 19, 1971.