Key Biscayne

Map of Key Biscayne
Geography
Location	Miami-Dade County, Florida
Coordinates	25°41′25″N 80°09′54″W / 25.690329°N 80.165118°W / 25.690329; -80.165118Coordinates: 25°41′25″N 80°09′54″W / 25.690329°N 80.165118°W / 25.690329; -80.165118
Length	5 mi (8 km)
Width	1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Highest elevation	5 ft (1.5 m)
Country
United States

Key Biscayne is an island located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. It is the southernmost of the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast of Florida, and lies south of Miami Beach and southeast of Miami. The Key is connected to Miami via the Rickenbacker Causeway, originally built in 1947.

The northern portion of Key Biscayne is home to Crandon Park, a county park. The middle section of the island consists of the incorporated Village of Key Biscayne. The southern part of the island is in Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, and is adjacent to Biscayne National Park, one of the two national parks in Miami-Dade County.

Geography[link]

Key Biscayne, although named a "key", is not geologically part of the Florida Keys, but is a barrier island composed of sand eroded from the Appalachian Mountains, carried to the coast by rivers and then moved along the coast from the north by coastal currents.^[1] There is no hard bedrock near the surface of the island, only layers of weak "shelly sandstone" to depths of 100 feet (30 m) or more.^[2] The coastal transport of sand southward ends at Key Biscayne. In the 1850s Louis Agassiz noted that "[s]outh of Cape Florida no more silicacious sand is to be seen."^[3] (The beaches in the Florida Keys consist primarily of finely pulverized shells.)^[4] Geologists believe that the island emerged around 2000 BCE, soon after the sea level stopped rising, as the sand built up to form new barrier islands on the southern Florida coast.^[5]

Key Biscayne is elongated in the north-south direction, tapering to a point at each end. It is approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) long and 1 mile (1.6 km) to 2 miles (3.2 km) wide. The northern end of the island is separated from another barrier island, Virginia Key, by Bear Cut. The southern end of the island is Cape Florida. The Cape Florida Channel separates the island from the Safety Valve, an expanse of shallow flats cut by tidal channels that extends southward about 9 miles (14 km) to the Ragged Keys, at the northern end of the Florida Keys. Only Soldier Key, approximately 200 yards (200 m) by 100 yards wide (100 m), lies between Key Biscayne and the Ragged Keys.^[6] The Cape Florida Channel (ten to eleven feet [three to three-and-a-half meters] deep in 1849) and Bear Cut (four feet [a little more than one meter] deep in 1849) are the deepest natural channels into Biscayne Bay, and provided the only access for ocean-going vessels to Biscayne Bay until artificial channels were dredged starting early in the 20th century. In 1849 the island had a fine sandy beach on the east side, and mangroves and lagoons on the west side.^[7] The average elevation of the island is less than five feet (1.5 m) above sea level.^[8]

Key Biscayne is located at 25°41′25″N 80°9′54″W / 25.69028°N 80.165°W / 25.69028; -80.165 (25.690329, -80.165118).^[9]

History[link]

Early history[link]

The first known inhabitants of Key Biscayne were Tequestas. Shells, bones and artifacts found on the island indicate extensive use of it by the Tequesta, and there are indications of a large community on the island between 1,500 and 2,000 years ago. In 1992 Hurricane Andrew scoured much of the vegetation from the southern end of Key Biscayne. An archaeological survey of the exposed ground found evidence of extensive habitation, indicating that Key Biscayne once held the largest known Tequesta community.^[10]

Juan Ponce de León charted Key Biscayne on his first mission to the New World in 1513. He christened the island Santa Marta and claimed it for the Spanish Crown. He reported that he found a fresh water spring on the island.^[11] Ponce de León called the bay behind the island (Biscayne Bay) Chequescha, a variant form of Tequesta.^[12]

The next European known to have visited the Key Biscayne area was Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. In 1565 his ship took refuge from a storm in Biscayne Bay. Relations were established with the Tequesta, and in 1567 a mission was established on the mainland across the bay from Key Biscayne. The mission was abandoned three years later, in 1570. A second mission was established on the mainland in 1743, but was withdrawn a few months later.^[13]

Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda related that a sailor from the Bay of Biscay called the Viscayno or Biscayno had lived on the lower east coast of Florida for a while after being shipwrecked, and a 17th-century map shows a Cayo de Biscainhos, the probable origin of Key Biscayne.^[12]

The first known European settlers on Key Biscayne were Pedro Fornells and his family and household. Fornells and his wife Mariana were Minorcan survivors of the New Smyrna colony in northern Florida. Pedro and Mariana had joined other Minorcans in seeking refuge at St. Augustine after leaving New Smyrna, and stayed in the city after the Spanish regained Florida in 1783. Fornells received a Royal Grant for 175 acres (about 71 hectares) on the southern end of Key Biscayne in 1805. The grant required Fornells to live on the island and establish cultivation within six months. He moved his household to the island, but after six months the family returned to St. Augustine, leaving only a caretaker named Vincent on the island.^[14]

Territorial years[link]

Florida became a U.S. territory in 1821. In 1824 Mary Ann Channer Davis, who had moved to St. Augustine with her husband in 1821, bought the Fornells claim to Key Biscayne from one of the Fornells' heirs for US$100. Mary and her husband William Davis, a deputy U.S. Marshal, probably were aware of plans to build a lighthouse on the Florida coast somewhere between St. Augustine and Key West, and knew that Key Biscayne was a likely location for it. Mary and William sold three acres (about one-and-a-quarter hectares) of their newly acquired land at the southern tip of the island (Cape Florida) to the U.S. government for US$225. The federal government built the Cape Florida lighthouse on that land in 1825.^[15]

During the early 1820s an estimated 300 Black Seminoles found passage from Key Biscayne to Andros Island in the Bahamas on seagoing canoes and Bahamian boats. In 1820 one traveler reported seeing 60 "Indians", 60 "runaway slaves", and 27 boats of Bahamian wreckers preparing to leave Cape Florida. Although Key Biscayne was less suitable as a departure point after the lighthouse was built, the Bahamas remained a haven for escaping slaves. In a notorious case in 1844, Jonathan Walker was caught "within sight of Cape Florida" with seven runaway slaves on his boat. His punishment included having his hand branded with the initials "SS" (for "slave stealer"). John Greenleaf Whittier's poem The Branded Hand was inspired by this incident.^[16]

The first U.S. citizens to take up permanent residence on Key Biscayne were Captain John Dubose, his wife Margaret and their five children in 1825, when Dubose became the first keeper for the new Cape Florida Light, a post he held until the lighthouse was burned in 1836. The family was also accompanied by two former slaves of Margaret's brother. The Dubose household grew during that time and was reported in 1833 to consist of "eleven whites and several negroes".^[17] During his tenure as lighthouse keeper, Dubose received hundreds of plants and seeds from Dr. Henry Perrine, United States Consul in Campeche, Mexico, which he planted on the island. In 1835 a major hurricane struck the island, damaging the lighthouse and the keeper's house, and putting the island under three feet of water, which killed almost all the plants that Dr. Perrine had sent from Mexico.^[18]

War with the Seminoles[link]

In 1836, during the Second Seminole War, Seminoles attacked and burned the Cape Florida lighthouse, severely wounding the assistant lighthouse keeper in charge, and killing his black assistant.^[19] The lighthouse was not repaired and put back into commission until 1847.^[20]

A military post was established on Key Biscayne in March 1838. Its first commander was Lt. Col. James Bankhead, and it is variously reported that the fort was initially known as Fort Dallas^[21] or Fort Bankhead, but it was eventually renamed Fort Russell for Captain Samuel L. Russell, who was killed when the Seminoles ambushed two boats on the Miami River in February 1839. In the summer of 1839 there were 143 soldiers and sailors stationed at Fort Russell.^[22] Some of the Seminoles captured during the war were held at Fort Russell until they could be placed on ships to take them to western lands.

A hospital was established at Fort Russell to care for U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps personnel. In the month of August, 1840, the Army surgeon at the hospital treated 103 patients, including 23 for fever and 26 for dysentery. Dysentery was the leading cause of death, followed by malaria, tuberculosis, gunshot wounds and alcoholism.^[23]

Colonel Bankhead was replaced by Lieutenant Colonel William S. Harney in 1839. As the result of two earlier encounters with Seminoles, the first a battle in which Chief Arpeika eluded capture, and a second in which Harney escaped in only his shirt and drawers from an early morning attack (the Harney Massacre) on his camp led by Chief Chakaika, Harney instituted an intensive training program in swamp and jungle warfare for his men. After Chakaika led the raid on Indian Key in August 1840, Harney set out into the Everglades after Chakaika, and killed him in his own camp. The war quieted down after that, with active pursuit of the Seminoles ending in 1842, although some of the Seminoles remained hidden in the Everglades.^[24]

While the war against the Seminoles was proceeding, Mary and William Davis made plans to develop a town on Key Biscayne. They had a plan for the town printed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The island was touted as an ideal destination "for the recovery of the health". When Indian Key had been named the seat for the newly created Dade County in 1836, there had been a provision for the county court to meet on Key Biscayne once a year. In late 1839 the United States Postmaster General approved a post office for Key Biscayne. The first two lots of the new town were sold to Lt. Col. Harney for a total of US$1,000. There is no evidence, however, that the post office ever opened, and in 1842 the Postmaster General noted that the appointed postmaster had not completed any of the requirements for opening the post office.^[19] There were no further sales of town lots after Harney's purchase.

A complication in the Davises' plans arose when Venancio Sanchez of St. Augustine purchased for US$400 a half share in the old Fornells grant from another surviving heir, who lived in Havana. A feud quickly developed between Sanchez and the Davises, with Sanchez demanding a division of the property, and the Davises refusing to acknowledge that Sanchez had any claim to the island. The Davises had hoped that a restored lighthouse would be the centerpiece of their town, but all attempts to repair the lighthouse failed while the war was on. Shortly after the end of the war, the Davises gave up on Key Biscayne and moved to Texas, where their older son, Edmund J. Davis, eventually became governor.^[25]

Surveys and lighthouses[link]

The large number of ship wrecks along the southeast coast of Florida from Key Biscayne to the Dry Tortugas was a cause for concern. Between the late 1840s and the late 1850s more than 500 ships were wrecked on the Florida Reef. The Assistant United States Coast Surveyor reported that in the period from 1845 through 1849 almost one million (United States) dollars worth of vessels and cargos were lost on the reef.^[26] In 1849 the United States Board of Engineers conducted a preliminary survey of the coast of Florida. In a report written by Lieutenant Colonel Robert E. Lee, the Board recommended that Key Biscayne be made a military reservation, and the United States Secretary of War so ordered in March 1849. Later in 1849 the United States Army Corps of Topographical Engineers set up a camp with an astronomical/magnetic station to serve as a datum base for a survey of the Florida Keys and the Great Florida Reef.

U.S. Coast Survey Base Marker

The triangulation survey was conducted by the U.S. Coast Survey with men detailed from the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy. There were approximately forty men based at Cape Florida working on the survey when Alexander Dallas Bache, Superintendent of the U.S. Coast Survey, went to Key Biscayne in 1855 to take personal charge of the survey. The survey eventually included Key Biscayne, Biscayne Bay, the Florida Keys from south of Key Biscayne to the Marquesas Keys, and Florida Bay from the Keys to Cape Sable. The survey base marker at Cape Florida eventually ended up under water as the south end of the island eroded away, although it could still be seen at low tide as late as 1913. In 1988 the Cape Florida base marker was recovered from under water and installed near the Cape Florida lighthouse.^[27][28] The north base marker for Key Biscayne was discovered in 1970 as workers were clearing land. It was at first mistaken as a gravestone for someone named A. D. Bache.^[29]

To learn more about the Great Florida Reef that paralleled the Florida Keys and was so dangerous to shipping, Alexander Bache invited Louis Agassiz to study the reef. The U.S. Coast Survey sent Agassiz to Key Biscayne in 1851. He wrote a detailed report for Bache on the reefs stretching from Key Biscayne to the Marquesas Keys.^[3]

In 1846, US Congress appropriated $23,000 to rebuild the Cape Florida lighthouse and work was completed in 1847. In 1861, Confederate militants sabotaged the lighthouse so that it could not guide Union sailors during the blockade of Confederate Florida. The lighthouse was repaired and re-lit again in 1866. In 1878 the Cape Florida Light was replaced by the Fowey Rocks Light, seven miles (11 km) southeast of Cape Florida. From 1888 to 1893, the Cape Florida lighthouse was leased by the United States Secretary of the Treasury for a total of US$1.00 (20 cents per annum) to the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club for use as its headquarters. It was listed as the southernmost yacht club in the United States, and the tallest in the world. After the lease expired, the yacht club moved to Coconut Grove, where it still exists.^[30]

In 1898, in response to the growing tension with Spain over Cuba that resulted in the Spanish-American War, the Cape Florida lighthouse was briefly made U.S. Signal Station Number Four, one of 36 along the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast from Maine to Texas. The Signal Stations were established to provide an early warning of any approach of the Spanish fleet.^[31]

Development[link]

Key Biscayne and coconuts have had a strong connection. The earliest possible mention of coconuts on Key Biscayne is a Spanish account from 1568, although the reference may be to cocoplums rather than coconuts. It is recorded that mature coconut trees were on Cape Florida by the 1830s, likely grown from coconuts sent from Mexico by Henry Perrine to the first lighthouse keeper, John Dubose.^[32]

In the 1880s Ezra Asher Osborn and Elnathan T. Field of New Jersey started an enterprise to develop the Florida coast from Key Biscayne to Jupiter by clearing native vegetation, leveling Indian mounds and beach dunes, and planting coconuts. Osborn and Field imported 300,000 unhusked coconuts from the Caribbean, of which 76,000 were planted on Key Biscayne. Unfortunately for the planters, most of the shoots from the coconuts on Key Biscayne were eaten by rats and marsh rabbits (Sylvilagus palustris). As a result of their efforts, in 1885 Osborn and Field were allowed to purchase Key Biscayne and other oceanfront land from the Florida Internal Improvement Fund for 70 cents an acre.^[33]

Mary Ann Davis, who had bought the Fornells grant on Key Biscayne in 1821, died in Galveston, Texas in 1885. Her son Waters Smith Davis began taking steps to assert the family title to the island. In 1887 he purchased the rights of the other Davis heirs and received a new deed in his name. He could not get a clear title, however. Venancio Sanchez still claimed a half share of the Fornells Grant, two of the town lots had been sold to William Harney around 1840, and Osborne and Field had their deed from the Florida Internal Improvement Fund. Davis received quitclaims from Osborn and Field, and on the Harney lots, but was unable to settle with Sanchez. He finally received a patent from the United States government for his land in 1898. In 1903 Davis bought the abandoned Cape Florida lighthouse from the United States Treasury for US$400.^[34]

Davis started a pineapple plantation on Key Biscayne; six acres (two-and-a-half hectares) had been cleared and planted in pineapples in 1893–94. Davis also directed his caretaker to plant one-half to one acre (two-tenths to four-tenths of a hectare) of bananas. By 1898, a great variety of tropical fruit trees had been planted on the island. Davis also had a large dwelling built for his use. It was a two-story cottage with five bedrooms and verandas on three sides, raised ten feet above the ground on pilings to protect against storm surges.^[35]

In the late 1890s Davis hired Ralph Munroe to oversee his Key Biscayne property. Munroe had begun visiting Biscayne Bay in 1877. He soon built a home, the Barnacle, on land on the mainland in Coconut Grove that he bought from John Frow, keeper of the Cape Florida Light and Fowey Rocks Light. Munroe engaged in wrecking in the waters around Key Biscayne, built sailboats, worked as a pilot for the Cape Florida Channel and opened a pineapple cannery, to which Davis sent his pineapples. Before mail service to the Miami area improved, Munroe would camp out on Key Biscayne every Tuesday evening so that he could sail out to the edge of the Gulf Stream early Wednesday morning to retrieve a package of newspapers and magazines dropped for him in waterproof pouches by a passing steamship. Munroe was also one of the founding members of the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club.^[36]

In 1896 Henry Morrison Flagler brought the Florida East Coast Railway to Miami. Mary Ann and William Davis had dreamed of building a city on Key Biscayne. Now their son Waters was a retired millionaire, and interested only in preserving Key Biscayne as a quiet retreat for his family. For a while Flagler's arrival did disturb their quiet, as Flagler brought in dredges to deepen the Cape Florida Channel and the approaches to the mouth of the Miami River, muddying the formerly clear waters of Biscayne Bay. Soon, however, a shorter route from the ocean to Miami was dredged through the southern end of what is now Miami Beach, at Government Cut, and the Cape Florida Channel was allowed to return to a natural state.^[37]

Coconut plantation and would-be resort[link]

In 1902 William John Matheson, who had made his fortune in the aniline dye business, visited Biscayne Bay on his yacht. He soon built a winter home in Coconut Grove overlooking Biscayne Bay. In 1908 Matheson began buying up the property on Key Biscayne north of the Davis holdings, all the way to Bear Cut, over 1,700 (about 690 hectares) acres. Matheson created a plantation community, employing 42 workers by 1915, and 60 later. There was housing for the workers and their families, packing houses, docks, a school, a big barn, windmills, and 15 miles (24 km) of (unpaved) roads. The plantation had 36,000 coconut trees, and a variety of other tropical fruits. In 1921 Matheson introduced the Malay Dwarf coconut to the United States. This is now the most common variety of coconut found in Florida, after lethal yellowing killed off most of the Jamaican Tall coconut trees and many other varieties. The Matheson coconut plantation was at least twice as large as any other in the United States. By 1933, the world price for coconut products had dropped to about two-fifths of its 1925 level, and the plantation stopped shipping.^[38][39]

Waters Davis decided to sell his Key Biscayne property in 1913 (he died the following year). He appointed Ralph Munroe to act as his broker. Although William Matheson bid on the property, Munroe arranged a sale, for US$20,000, to James Deering, International Harvester heir and owner of Vizcaya in Miami. In 1914 Deering decided to develop his new land on the island as a tropical resort. He felt that Cape Florida's future lies in making sales for homes.^[40] Land was cleared and marshes and mangroves were filled in. Jetties were built on the ocean side in the belief that they would protect the beaches from erosion.^[41]

One stipulation that Waters Davis had made in the sale to Deering was that the Cape Florida lighthouse be restored. Deering wrote to the U.S. government seeking specifications and guidelines for the lighthouse. Government officials were taken aback by the request, wondering how a lighthouse could have passed into private hands. It was soon discovered that an Act of Congress and two Executive Orders, in 1847 and 1897, had reserved the island for the lighthouse and for military purposes. Patient legal work eventually convinced the U.S. Congress and President Woodrow Wilson to agree to recognize Matheson's and Deering's ownership of Key Biscayne.^[42]

In 1920 the heirs of Venancio Sanchez filed a lawsuit against James Deering, claiming an undivided half interest in his Cape Florida property. This brought development of the resort on Cape Florida to a halt. After many legal battles, the suit was finally decided in Deering's favor by the United States Supreme Court in 1926. The decision came too late for Deering, however; he had died the previous year.^[43]

1920s to 1950s[link]

In February 1926 William Matheson entered into an agreement with D. P. Davis (a land developer, not related to Waters Davis) to develop and re-sell the northern half of Key Biscayne, including all of what is now Crandon Park and about half of the present Village of Key Biscayne. Davis had experience with turning submerged or partially submerged land into prime real estate, having created the Davis Islands in Tampa and Davis Shores near St. Augustine. Later in 1926 the City of Coral Gables incorporated with Key Biscayne included in its boundaries. There were dreams of a bridge to the island, making Key Biscayne the seaside resort for Coral Gables that Miami Beach had become for Miami.^[44]

Obstacles to the project soon appeared. In March 1926 the U.S. government auctioned off some lots on Key Biscayne that had been retained when the rest of the island was transferred to the State of Florida. The Mathesons wanted to have clear title to all of their land, and determined to outbid other interested parties for the land. They ended up paying US$58,055 for a total of 6.84 acres (2.77 hectares) of land, a record price per acre for the auction of U.S. government land up to that date. Then, on September 18, 1926, the Great Miami Hurricane crossed over Key Biscayne on its way to Miami. Although no lives were lost on the island, most of the buildings on Key Biscayne were destroyed or badly damaged, and many of the plantings were lost, including half of the coconut trees.

The Mathesons rushed to restore their plantation, replanting and buying new equipment to replace what was lost in the hurricane, and soon had 30,000 coconut trees replanted on 900 acres (365 hectares). Unfortunately, D. P. Davis was not able to meet his end of the contract; he declared bankruptcy and then disappeared en route to Europe by ship. The Florida Land Boom was over. There was no bridge built and no land development on Key Biscayne for the next two decades. William Matheson died in 1930, leaving the island to his children. There was a flurry of interest in 1939, when the U.S. Navy approved a proposal to develop Virginia Key as an air base and sea port. There was even talk of putting an air base on the north end of Key Biscayne.^[45]

In 1940 William Matheson's heirs donated 808.8 acres (327.3 hectares) of land (including two miles (3.2 km) of beach on the Atlantic Ocean) on the northern end of Key Biscayne to Dade County to be used as a public park (Crandon Park). The county commissioner who negotiated the gift, Charles H. Crandon, had offered for the county to build a causeway to Key Biscayne in exchange for the land donation. Planning for the air and sea complex on Virginia Key was still proceeding, and construction on a causeway to Virginia Key started in 1941. The Attack on Pearl Harbor and the entry of the United States into World War II stopped all work on the causeway and the development of Virginia Key.

During the war Key Biscayne's tropical ambience was put to use by the film industry, with the island standing in for the Philippines in all of the exterior shots in They Were Expendable. The final scene in the movie depicts a C-47 flying past the Cape Florida lighthouse.

After the war Crandon pushed on with the project. He got financier Ed Ball to buy six million (U.S.) dollars worth of bonds financing the construction of the causeway. The causeway was named for Eddie Rickenbacker, World War I flying ace and founder and president of Miami-based Eastern Air Lines. Starting in 1951, the Mackle Construction Company offered new homes on the island for US$9,540, with just US$500 down. A U.S. Post Office contract branch was opened, the Community Church started holding services, and the Key Biscayne Elementary School opened in 1952.^[46]

Cape Florida becomes a state park[link]

Key Biscayne is home of the Sony Ericsson Open, an ATP 1000 and WTA Premier Mandatory tennis tournament

In 1948 José Manuel Áleman, who had fled Cuba in the wake of scandals surrounding his service as education minister in the administration of Ramón Grau San Martín, bought the Cape Florida property from the Deering estate. His offer to donate the lighthouse and ten acres (four hectares) of land around it to the National Park Service was not accepted.

In 1950 the Dade County Planning Board announced a plan to build a highway connecting Key Biscayne with the Overseas Highway on Key Largo. The project envisioned a series of bridges connecting artificial islands, to be built on the Safety Valve and existing small keys to Elliott Key and on to Key Largo. Áleman was expected to donate the right-of-way for a road running down the middle of the island to the first bridge at Cape Florida. With the prospect of a major highway passing through his property, Áleman rushed to prepare his new property for development by having it completely cleared, leveled and filled in. A seawall was constructed along all of the western (Biscayne Bay) side of the Cape Florida property.

Áleman died in 1951, and the County soon backed down from the plan. Áleman's widow, Elena Santeiro Garcia, added to her Cape Florida property by buying an ocean-to-bay strip that had been part of the Matheson property. This strip included a canal that had been dug by William Matheson in the 1920s, and which extended from the bay across most of the island. The land north of this canal was developed as part of what is now the Village of Key Biscayne. Garcia sold the Cape Florida property in 1957 for US$9.5 million, but the buyer defaulted and died the next year. Garcia sold the property again, this time for US$13 million. Development started on a model community of luxury homes and resort properties. By 1962 the new developers were in financial trouble, and the property reverted again to Garcia in 1963. Dade County began considering the purchase of 50 acres (200,000 m²) around the Cape Florida lighthouse for a park in 1964. Bill Baggs, editor of The Miami News, started campaigning for all of the Cape Florida property to be preserved in a park. U.S. Interior Secretary Stewart Udall inspected the property and recommended that it be preserved, although not with Federal funds. In 1966 Bill Baggs brokered a deal between Elena Santeiro Garcia and the state of Florida, in which Florida bought the property for US$8.5 million, of which US$2.3 million came from the U.S. government. This land became Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, which opened January 1, 1967.^[47]

References[link]

Notes

Bibliography

Jimmy Connors

Country	United States
Residence	Santa Barbara, California
Born	(1952-09-02) September 2, 1952 (age 59) East St. Louis, Illinois
Height	5 ft 9 1⁄2 in (1.77 m)
Weight	150 lb (68 kg; 11 st)
Turned pro	1972, international debut in 1970
Retired	1996
Plays	Left-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	US$8,641,040
Int. Tennis HOF	1998 (member page)
Singles
Career record	1241–277 (81.75% at ATP Tour, Grand Prix tour, WCT tour, and Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	148 including 109 listed by the ATP Players' Guide
Highest ranking	No. 1 (July 29, 1974)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	W (1974)
French Open	SF (1979, 1980, 1984, 1985)
Wimbledon	W (1974, 1982)
US Open	W (1974, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1983)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	W (1977) WCT Finals (1977,1980)
Doubles
Career record	173–78 (68.9% at ATP Tour, Grand Prix tour, WCT tour, and Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	15
Highest ranking	No. 370 (March 1, 1993)
Grand Slam Doubles results
French Open	F (1973)
Wimbledon	W (1973)
US Open	W (1975)
Last updated on: August 28, 2007.

James Scott "Jimmy" Connors (born September 2, 1952, in East St. Louis, Illinois)^[1] is a former world no. 1 tennis player from the United States. He is regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.^[2][3]

Connors won eight Grand Slam singles titles and two Grand Slam doubles titles with Ilie Năstase. He was also a runner-up seven times in Grand Slam singles, a doubles runner-up with Năstase at the 1973 French Open, and a mixed doubles runner-up with Chris Evert at the 1974 US Open. He held the top ranking for a then-record 160 consecutive weeks from July 29, 1974 to August 22, 1977 and an additional eight times during his career for a total of 268 weeks

In 1974, Connors became the second male in the open era to win three or more Grand Slam singles titles in a calendar year (Rod Laver being the first in 1969 and having been joined since by Mats Wilander, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic). Connors is also the only man to win U.S. Open singles championships on grass, clay, and hard courts.

Connors' career win-loss record of 1241-277 (81.75%) is third after Björn Borg (82.7%) and Ivan Lendl (81.8%), and he holds the record for total number of wins for a male player.

Connors won three year-end championship titles, including two WCT Finals and one Masters Grand Prix. He also won 18 Championship Series titles (1973–1984). He was the first male player to rank no. 1 for more than 200 weeks in total and the first male player to be no. 1 for more than five years in total. He is the only male player to win more than 100 singles titles during his career. He also holds the records for the most Grand Slam semifinals (31) and most Grand Slam quarterfinals (41) reached.

Career[link]

Early years[link]

Connors grew up in Belleville, Illinois, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. He played in his first U.S. Championship, the U.S. boys' 11-and-under of 1961, when he was only eight years old. Connors' mother, Gloria, took him to Southern California to be coached by Pancho Segura, starting at age 16, in 1968.^[4]

In 1970, Connors recorded his first significant victory in the first round of the Pacific Southwest Open in Los Angeles, defeating Roy Emerson.

In 1971, Connors won the NCAA singles title while attending the University of California, Los Angeles and attaining All-American status. He turned professional in 1972 and won his first tournament at Jacksonville.

Connors was acquiring a reputation as a maverick in 1972 when he refused to join the newly formed Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the union that was embraced by most male professional players, in order to play in and dominate a series of smaller tournaments organized by Bill Riordan, his manager and a clever promoter. However, Connors played in other tournaments and made his first big splash by winning the 1973 U.S. Pro Singles, his first significant title, toppling Arthur Ashe in a five-set final, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6. 6-2.

Peak years[link]

Connors won eight Grand Slam singles championships: five U.S. Opens, two Wimbledons, one Australian Open. He did not participate in the French Open during his peak years (1974–78) only played in two Australian Opens in his entire career, winning it in 1974 and reaching the final in 1975.

Connors reached the final of the US Open in five straight years from 1974 through 1978, winning three times with each win being on a different surface (1974 on grass, 1976 on clay and 1978 on hard). He reached the final of Wimbledon four out of five years during his peak (1974, 1975, 1977 and 1978). Despite not being allowed to play in the French Open in his prime, he was still able to reach the semifinals four times in his later years.

In 1974, Connors was by far the most dominant player. He had a stunning 99-4 record that year and won 15 tournaments, including all the Grand Slam singles titles except the French Open. The French Open did not allow Connors to participate due to his association with World Team Tennis (WTT). However, he won the Australian Open, defeating Phil Dent in four sets. He also beat Ken Rosewall in straight sets in the finals of both Wimbledon and the US Open. His exclusion from the French Open may have prevented him from becoming the first man player since Rod Laver to win all four Major singles titles in a calendar year.

In the open era, Connors is one of only six men to win three or more Grand Slam singles titles in a calendar year. Others include: Rod Laver who won the Grand Slam in 1969; Mats Wilander won the Australian, French and US Open in 1988; Roger Federer won the Australian, Wimbledon and US Open in 2004, 2006 and 2007; Rafael Nadal won the French, Wimbledon, and US Open in 2010; and Novak Djokovic won the Australian, Wimbledon, and US Open in 2011.

Connors reached the world no. 1 ranking on July 29, 1974 and held it for 160 consecutive weeks (a record until it was surpassed by Roger Federer on February 26, 2007). He was considered the year-end no. 1 player from 1974 through 1978 and held the world no. 1 ranking for a total of 268 weeks during his career.

Contemporaries and rivalries[link]

Contemporaries included Eddie Dibbs, Brian Gottfried, Raúl Ramírez, Harold Solomon, Dick Stockton, Roscoe Tanner, and Guillermo Vilas. Older rivals included Arthur Ashe, Phil Dent, Rod Laver, Ilie Năstase, John Newcombe, Manuel Orantes, Ken Rosewall, and Stan Smith. Younger opponents included Björn Borg, Vitas Gerulaitis, Ivan Lendl, and John McEnroe.

Björn Borg[link]

During his best years of 1974 through 1978, Connors was challenged the most by Borg, with twelve matches on tour during that timeframe. Borg won only four of those meetings, but two of those wins were in the Wimbledon finals of 1977 and 1978. Connors lost his stranglehold on the top ranking to Borg in early 1979 and eventually ended up with a tour record of 8-15 against Borg. However, Borg is four years younger than Connors and had a losing record against Connors until Borg won the last ten times they met. Head to head in major championship finals, they split their four meetings, Borg winning two Wimbledons (1977 & 1978) and Connors winning two US Opens {(1976 & 1978).

Ilie Năstase[link]

Nastase was another rival in Connors' prime, with Connors winning five of their eight meetings from 1974 through 1978. Interestingly, they only met once in 1974, which was Connors' best year. The two would team up to win the doubles championships at the 1973 Wimbledon and the 1975 US Open.

Manuel Orantes and Guillermo Vilas[link]

As the world no. 1, Connors went 7-2 against Orantes, but Orantes beat Connors in the final of the 1975 US Open. Connors was 2-2 against Vilas during those years, but Vilas won the 1977 US Open final against Connors.

Rod Laver and John Newcombe[link]

In 1975, Connors won two highly-touted "Challenge Matches", both arranged by Riordan and televised nationally by CBS Sports from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The first match, in February and billed as $100,000 ($431,911 today) winner-takes-all, was against Laver. Connors won that match, 6–4, 6–2, 3–6, 7–5. In April, Connors met Newcombe in a match billed as a $250,000 winner-takes-all. Connors won the match, 6–3, 4–6, 6–2, 6–4. Connors would end his business relationship with Riordan later in 1975.

Connors played Newcombe in only two tour events from 1974 to 1978, with Newcombe winning the 1975 Australian Open and Connors taking the 1978 Sydney Indoor. Connors won all three meetings with Rod Laver in tour events.

Maverick[link]

In 1974, Connors and Riordan began filing lawsuits, amounting to $10 million, against the ATP and its president, Arthur Ashe, for allegedly restricting his freedom in the game. The lawsuits stemmed from the French Open banning Connors in 1974 after he had signed a contract to play World Team Tennis (WTT) for the Baltimore Banners. Connors was seeking to enter the French Open, but the ATP and French officials opposed WTT because of scheduling conflicts, so the entries of WTT players were refused between 1974 and 1978. Connors dropped Riordan and the lawsuits shortly thereafter^[when?].

Despite this turnabout, Connors remained an independent character. At Wimbledon in 1977, he refused to participate in a parade of former champions to celebrate the tournament's centenary and was booed when he played in the final the following day. He lost in five sets to Borg, who a month later was able briefly to interrupt Connors's long hold on the world no. 1 ranking. Connors also irritated sponsors and tennis officials by shunning the end-of-year Masters championship from 1974 through 1976. However, he entered this round-robin competition in 1977 when it moved to New York City. Although Connors lost a celebrated late-night match to Vilas, 4-6, 6-3, 5-7, he took the title by defeating Borg in the final, 6–4, 1–6, 6–4.

Later years[link]

Connors had shining moments against John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl, both of whom rose to prominence after Connors peaked in the mid-1970s. He would continue to compete against much younger players and had one of the most remarkable comebacks for any athlete when he reached the semifinals of the 1991 US Open at the age of 39.

John McEnroe[link]

Connors' best win during 1979-81 was the 1980 WCT Finals, when he defeated the defending champion, John McEnroe. McEnroe and Borg were battling for the top spot in those years, while Connors played the role of the spoiler. However, in 1982, at age 29, Connors was back in the Wimbledon singles final, where he faced McEnroe, who by then was established firmly as the world's top player. Connors recovered from being three points away from defeat in a fourth-set tie-break (at 3–4) to win the match, 3–6, 6–3, 6–7(2), 7–6(5), 6–4, and claim his second Wimbledon title, eight years after his first. Although Connors' tour record against McEnroe is 14-20, McEnroe is six years younger than Connors and had a losing record against Connors until he won 12 out of their last 14 meetings. Head to head in major championship finals, they split their two meetings, Connors winning the 1982 Wimbledon and McEnroe winning the 1984 Wimbledon.

Ivan Lendl[link]

Connors defeated another of the next generation of tennis stars, Ivan Lendl, in the 1982 U.S. Open final and soon regained the world no. 1 ranking. Connors has a tour record of 13-22 against Lendl, but Lendl is seven years younger than Connors and had a losing record against Connors until he won their last seventeen matches from 1984 through 1992, well after Connors' prime. Head to head in major championship finals, Connors took both meetings, winning the 1982 and 1983 U.S. Opens.

A low point in Connors' career occurred on February 21, 1986, when he was defaulted in the fifth set of a semifinal match against Lendl at the Lipton International Players Championships in Boca Raton, Florida after being angered by the officiating. He paid a $20,000 fine and accepted a ten-week suspension from the professional tour, starting March 30. He was forced to miss the French Open. He subsequently lost in the first round at Wimbledon and the third round at the US Open, a tournament where he had reached at least the semifinals for twelve consecutive years.

Respected elder[link]

Connors gradually transformed himself into a respected elder of the tennis world in the later years of his career. He continued to compete forcefully against much younger men until he was well into his 41st year.

In the fourth round of the 1987 Wimbledon Championships, Connors defeated Mikael Pernfors, ten years his junior, 1–6, 1–6, 7–5, 6–4, 6–2, after having trailed 4–1 in the third set and 3–0 in the fourth set. In July 1988, Connors ended a four-year title drought by winning the Sovran Bank Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C. It was the 106th title of his career. Connors had played in 56 tournaments and 12 finals since his previous victory in the Tokyo Indoors against Lendl in October 1984.

At the 1989 US Open, Connors defeated the third seed (and future two-time champion), Stefan Edberg, in straight sets in the fourth round and pushed sixth-seeded Andre Agassi to five sets in a quarterfinal.

His career seemed to be at an end in 1990, when he played only three tournament matches (and lost all three), dropping to no. 936 in the world rankings. However, after surgery on his deteriorating left wrist, he came back to play 14 tournaments in 1991. An ailing back forced him to retire from a five-sets match in the third round of the French Open against Michael Chang, the 1989 champion. Ironically, Connors walked off the court after hitting a winner against Chang.

The defining moment of Connors' later career came when he made an improbable run to the 1991 US Open semifinals at the age of 39. On his birthday, he defeated 24-year-old Aaron Krickstein, 3–6, 7–6(8), 1–6, 6–3, 7–6(4), in 4 hours and 41 minutes, coming back from a 2–5 deficit in the final set. Connors then defeated Paul Haarhuis in the quarterfinals before suffering a defeat to Jim Courier.

Connors participated in his last major tournament in the 1992 US Open, where he beat Jaime Oncins, 6–1, 6–2, 6–3, in the first round, before losing to Lendl (then ranked no. 7), 6–3, 3–6, 2–6, 0–6, in the second round.

In September 1992, Connors played Martina Navratilova in the third Battle of the Sexes tennis match at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. Connors was allowed only one serve per point and Navratilova was allowed to hit into half the doubles court. Connors won, 7–5, 6–2.

However, this would not be the end of his playing career. As late as June 1995, three months shy of his 43rd birthday Connors beat Sébastien Lareau, 6–4, 7–6, and Martin Sinner, 7–6, 6–0, to progress to the quarterfinals of the Halle event in Germany. Connors lost this quarterfinal, 6–7, 3–6 to Marc Rosset. Connors' last match on the main ATP tour came in April 1996, when he lost, 2–6, 6–3, 1–6, to Richey Reneberg in Atlanta.^[5]

Distinctions and honors[link]

Connors won a male record 109 singles titles.^[6] He also won 15 doubles titles (including the men's doubles titles at Wimbledon in 1973 and the US Open in 1975).

In his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, ranked Connors as one of the 21 best players of all time.^[7]

Connors won more matches (1,337) than any other male professional tennis player in the open era. His career win-loss record was 1,337–285 for a winning percentage of 82.4. He played 401 tournaments and through many years it was a record until Fabrice Santoro overcame it in 2008.^[8]

Connors was the only player to win the US Open on three different surfaces: grass, clay, and hard. Connors was also the first male tennis player to win Grand Slam singles titles on three different surfaces: grass (1974), clay (1976), and hard (1978).

Connors reached the semifinals or better of Grand Slam Men's Singles events a total of 31 times, an all time record. This achievement is particularly remarkable considering that he entered the Australian Open Men's Singles only twice and that he did not enter the French Open Men's Singles for five of his peak career years. Roger Federer holds the record for most consecutive semifinal appearances at these events and is one semifinal away from equalling Connors' total career number in this category.

Connors was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1998 and Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Hall of Fame in 1986.

Playing style[link]

Larry Schwartz on ESPN.com said about Connors, "His biggest weapons were an indomitable spirit, a two-handed backhand and the best service return in the game. It is difficult to say which was more instrumental in Connors becoming a champion. ... Though smaller than most of his competitors, Connors didn't let it bother him, making up for a lack of size with determination."^[9] Of his own competitive nature Connors has said, "[T]here's always somebody out there who's willing to push it that extra inch, or mile, and that was me. (Laughter) I didn't care if it took me 30 minutes or five hours. If you beat me, you had to be the best, or the best you had that day. But that was my passion for the game. If I won, I won, and if I lost, well, I didn't take it so well."^[1]

His on-court antics, designed to get the crowd involved, both helped and hurt his play. Schwartz said, "While tennis fans enjoyed Connors' gritty style and his never-say-die attitude, they often were shocked by his antics. His sometimes vulgar on-court behavior—like giving the finger to a linesman after disagreeing with a call or strutting about the court with the tennis racket handle between his legs; sometimes he would yank on the handle in a grotesque manner and his fans would go wild or groan in disapproval—did not help his approval rating. During the early part of his career, Connors frequently argued with umpires, linesmen, the players union, Davis Cup officials and other players. He was even booed at Wimbledon – a rare show of disapproval there—for snubbing the Parade of Champions on the first day of the Centenary in 1977."^[9] His brash behavior both on and off the court earned him a reputation as the brat of the tennis world. Tennis commentator Bud Collins nicknamed Connors the "Brash Basher of Belleville" after the St Louis suburb where he grew up.^[10] But Connors himself thrived on the energy of the crowd, positive or negative, and manipulated and exploited it to his advantage in many of the greatest matches of his career.

Connors was taught to hit the ball on the rise by his teaching-pro mother, Gloria Connors, a technique he used to defeat the opposition in the early years of his career. Gloria sent her son to Southern California to work with Pancho Segura at age 16. Segura advanced Connors' game of hitting the ball on the rise which enabled Connors to reflect the power and velocity of his opponents back at them. Segura was the master strategist in developing Jimmy's complete game. In the 1975 Wimbledon final, Arthur Ashe countered this strategy by taking the pace off the ball, giving Connors only soft junk shots (dinks, drop shots, and lobs) to hit.

Ashe and Connors did not get along, as Ashe frequently criticized Connors for playing in lucrative exhibitions instead of representing his country in Davis Cup competition.^{[citation needed]} Connors' racial insensitivity also played a role; while playing Ashe in an exhibition in South Africa, he derisively complained that the pro-Ashe crowd reminded him of Harlem.^{[citation needed]} He was denied the opportunity to play the French Open and sued Ashe, et al., due to Ashe's role in the ban.^{[citation needed]} They settled out of court after Ashe defeated Connors in the 1975 Wimbledon final. The enmity Connors held for Ashe continued even after Ashe's death, as Connors refused to attend the US Open Champions Ceremony during the christening of Arthur Ashe Stadium in 1997.^{[citation needed]}

In an era where serve and volley was the norm, Björn Borg excepted, Connors was one of the few players to hit the ball flat, low, and predominantly from the baseline. Connors hit his forehand with a continental grip and with little net clearance. Some^[who?] considered his forehand to be his greatest weakness, especially on extreme pressure points, as it lacked the safety margin of hard forehands hit with topspin. His serve, while accurate and capable, was never a great weapon for him as it did not reach the velocity and power of his opponents.

His lack of a dominating serve and net game, combined with his individualist style and maverick tendencies, meant that he was not as successful in doubles as he was in singles, although he did win Grand Slam titles with Ilie Năstase and Chris Evert and amassed 15 doubles titles during his career.

Racket evolution[link]

At a time when most other tennis pros played with wooden rackets, Connors pioneered the Wilson T2000 steel racket, which utilized a method for stringing devised and patented by Lacoste in 1953.^[11] "The T2000 set the wood racquet traditionalists on their ears with its lightweight steel construction. It didn't need a racket-press (it didn't warp), and its slender framework meant less wind resistance."^[12]

He played with this chrome tubular steel racket until 1984, when most other pros had shifted to new racket technologies, materials, and designs. The T2000 in the eighties "had the aura of a dinosaur – it had been introduced in 1968."^[12]

In 1984, Connors switched to the new Wilson ProStaff that had been designed especially for him. But 1985 again found Connors playing with the T2000. Not until 1987 did he finally switch to a graphite racket when he contracted with Slazenger to play their Panther Pro Ceramic. In 1990 Connors signed with Estusa.^[12]

Connors used lead tape which he would wind around the racquet head to provide the proper "feel" for his style of game.

Commentating[link]

Connors did commentary with NBC in 1990 and 1991, during their coverage of the French Open and Wimbledon tournaments. During the Wimbledon tournaments of 2005, 2006 and 2007, Connors commentated for the BBC alongside John McEnroe (among others), providing moments of heated discussion between two former arch-rivals. Connors has also served as a commentator and analyst for the Tennis Channel since the 2009 US Open tournament.^[13]

Coaching[link]

On July 24, 2006, at the start of the Countrywide Classic tournament in Los Angeles, American tennis player Andy Roddick formally announced his partnership with Connors as his coach. On March 6, 2008, Roddick announced the end of that 19-month relationship.

Personal life[link]

In 1968, Connors' mother Gloria sent her son to work with Pancho Segura in Southern California. Segura refined his game, mentored him, and provided the court strategy that made Jimmy great.

In 1979, Connors married Playboy model Patti McGuire. They have two children and live in the Santa Barbara, California area.^[14]

In the 1990s he joined his brother John Connors as investors in the Argosy Gaming Company which owned riverboat casinos on the Mississippi River. The two owned 19 percent of the company which was headquartered in the St. Louis metropolitan area of East Alton, Illinois.^[15] Argosy narrowly averted bankruptcy in the late 1990s and Jimmy's brother John personally sought Chapter 7 bankruptcy. In the liquidation, Jimmy, through his company, Smooth Swing, acquired the Alystra Casino in Henderson, Nevada, for $1.9 million from Union Planters Bank, which had foreclosed on John. John had opened the casino in 1995 with announced plans to include a Jimmy Connors theme area.^[16] It was shuttered in 1998 and became a magnet for homeless and thieves who stripped its copper piping. The casino never reopened under Jimmy's ownership and it was destroyed in a May 2008 fire.^[17]

In October 2005, Connors had successful hip-replacement surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

On January 8, 2007, Connors's mother and long-time coach, Gloria, died at the age of 82.^[18]

On November 21, 2008, Connors was arrested outside an NCAA Basketball game between the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and University of California at Santa Barbara after refusing to comply with an order to leave an area near the entrance to the stadium.^[19] The charges were dismissed by a judge on February 10, 2009.^[20][21]

In December 2010, Douglas Henderson Jr., a long-time Connors associate and close friend, published Endeavor to Persevere, his book detailing his relationship with Connors and Arthur Ashe.[1]

Career statistics[link]

Singles performance timeline[link]

Key

Won tournament, or reached Final, Semifinal, Quarterfinal, Round 4, 3, 2, 1, played in Round Robin or lost in Qualification Round 3, Round 2, Round 1, Absent from a tournament or Participated in a team event, played in a Davis Cup Zonal Group (with its number indication) or Play-off, won a bronze or silver match at the Olympics. The last is for a Masters Series/1000 tournament that was relegated (Not a Masters Series).

Records[link]

• These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.
• Combined tours included Association of Tennis Professionals, Grand Prix Circuit, World Championship Tennis.
• Records in bold indicate peer-less achievements.
• ^ Denotes consecutive streak.

Professional awards[link]

• ITF World Champion: 1982
• ATP Player of the Year: 1982
• ATP Comeback Player of the Year: 1991

See also[link]

Tennis portal

• List of open era tennis records
• List of Grand Slam related tennis records
• ATP World Tour records
• Tennis male players statistics
• World number one male tennis player rankings
• Borg-Connors rivalry
• Connors–McEnroe rivalry

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Sabin, Francene (1978). Jimmy Connors, King of the Courts. New York: Putnam. ISBN 0-399-61115-0. 
• Henderson Jr., Douglas (2010). Endeavor to Persevere: A Memoir on Jimmy Connors, Arthur Ashe, Tennis and Life. Untreed Reads. ASIN B004EYTBHG. 
• Seebohm, Caroline, (2009), Little Pancho

Video[link]

• Charlie Rose with Jimmy Connors (August 7, 1995) Studio: Charlie Rose, DVD Release Date: October 5, 2006, ASIN: B000JCF3S8
• BIOGRAPHY: Jimmy Connors DVD A&E 2002.
• JIMMY CONNORS PRESENTS TENNIS FUNDAMENTALS: Comprehensive, Starring: Jimmy Connors; Chris Evert, Foundation Sports, DVD Release Date: May 1, 2006, Run Time: 172 minutes, ASIN: B000FVQWCY.
• Wimbledon 1975 Final: Ashe vs. Connors Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: October 30, 2007, Run Time: 120 minutes, ASIN: B000V02CTQ.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jimmy Connors

• Jimmy Connors at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Jimmy Connors at the International Tennis Federation
• Jimmy Connors at the Davis Cup
• Jimmy Connors at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
• Official Wimbledon website profile
• BBC profile