Alexander Wellford

Who was Alexander Wellford?

Alexander Wellford was an American tennis player who played in the 1953 Wimbledon singles championships. He was, at age 42, perhaps the oldest player in the draw.

That year, he won the Tennessee state men's singles title. In the spring at St. Augustine, Florida, he played a good match against Vic Seixas, who won Wimbledon in June 1953. In the first set against Seixas, Wellford took the ball on the rise and passed Seixas at the net a number of times. When Seixas was down 5–2, Wellford won eleven of the next thirteen games. This was a time of amateur tennis, and it was not unusual for a player who was not always the best in his own city or state to play a competitive match against one of the world's top players.

In 1953, Wellford took on the job of Chairman of the Board for a group seeking to establish a private boy's school in Memphis, Tennessee. He was Chairman of the Board for Memphis University School until 1978.

In 1952, he was one of the founding members of the Memphis Tennis Association, serving as its first president. He was inducted into the Tennessee and Southern Tennis Halls of Fame.