Fredrick Schroeder

Frederick Rudolph Schroeder, Jr. aka “Ted” was a professional tennis player from the United States. He was born on July 20, 1921 in Newark, New Jersey, United States. He was popular since he was the one who won the two prestigious amateur tennis titles: U.S. National Championships and Wimbledon.

Schroeder would have been an exact contemporary of the famous Jack Kramer if he was born on time instead of 10 days earlier. It is interesting to note that Kramer and Schroeder’s career were almost the same. They both were playing great before their game was interrupted by the eruption of World War II. In addition, the two of them were such good friends from start to end. In fact, Schroeder was known to have mortgaged his house just to be able to lend approximately $25,000 to Jack Kramer.

However, it was when Schroeder spent four years in college as well as Kramer proving that he was a slightly better player in the amateur ranks that set them apart. The biggest difference is that Kramer went to play professional where he was established as the best player in the world.

While Schroeder was offered a chance to play professionally by Riggs and Kramer, he was not able to win the contract as Pancho Gonzales stopped him in his tracks. Kramer, despite being a good friend till the end, has pointed out that he felt Schroeder subconsciously let himself be defeated since he did not really wish to play professionally.

Schroeder revealed that he never really intended to play professionally since he was an emotional tennis player. Nevertheless, his career as an amateur was as memorable as can be. He won Wimbledon as well as U.S. National Championship titles to mark his achievements. He passed away in May 26, 2006.