Dick Knight (tennis)

Dick Knight
Born (1948-05-15) May 15, 1948
Residence Redmond, WA
Occupation President, PRO Sports Club

Dick Knight (born May 15, 1948 in Los Angeles, California) attended Shoreline High School in Seattle, Washington where he was a high school tennis standout competing with and against other tennis great Tom Gorman. From 1966 to 1970 he attended the University of Washington where he was named Tennis Captain and the first U.W. NCAA Coaches All American. He was inducted into the Husky Hall of Fame in 1995.

As a tennis player his career highlights include four years Washington State Open champion, five years ranked in the top 60 in the U.S. (1967–71), four years ranked number one in Pacific Northwest, and competitor in Wimbledon (1972) and the first U.S. Open (1968) where he lost in the first round to eventual tournament champion Arthur Ashe. One other notable moment in Knight’s career happened in a match against Mike Sprengelmeyer in Southampton, Long Island in 1967. The match lasted 5 ½ hours and 107 games which Dick eventually won 32-30, 3-6, 19-17. This lengthy duel was featured later that year in a Sports Illustrated article by George Plimpton titled “What the Deuce is Going On?”[1]

In 1972 Dick signed on with Nike as the young company’s first worldwide tennis promotions manager. That same year, he signed on with the Seattle SuperSonics as tennis professional at the SuperSonics Racquet Club in Bellevue, Washington. In 1984, Dick Knight and Dr. Mark Dedomenico founded Professional Recreation Organization, Inc. to purchase the club and changed the name to PRO Sports Club . Over the past 20(+) years as President of PRO Sports Club, the flagship Bellevue location has grown into a 500,000-square-foot (46,000 m2) facility with over 40,000 members.

Currently Dick Knight resides in Redmond, Washington with his wife Karen. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

References

  1. ↑ Plimpton, George (September 18, 1967). "WHAT THE DEUCE IS GOING ON?". Sports Illustrated. 27 (12). Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  2. ↑ "Sports | Flashback | Knight and tennis remain a perfect match | Seattle Times Newspaper". Community.seattletimes.nwsource.com. September 19, 2006. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Schrempf, Football Legends Part of 1995 Hall of Fame". Washington.edu. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  4. ↑ Smith, Craig (March 17, 1994). "Sports | Knight's 107-Game Marathon - Redmond Resident Remembers Record Victory In Tennis | Seattle Times Newspaper". Community.seattletimes.nwsource.com. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ "Bellevue health club may become nation's largest". Seattlepi.com. December 6, 2001. Retrieved October 5, 2010.


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