GEORGE Patrick Hughes, a member of the British Lawn Tennis Team which won the Davis Cup from 1933 to 1936, died recently in hospital aged 94. Known to thousands of tournament tennis players throughout the world because of his position as tennis manager and a director of Dunlop Sports Co. in London he was very kind and helpful to Irish players competing at Wimbledon in the period from 1946 to, 1975.
Pat Hughes was an honorary life member of Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club in recognition of the assistance he gave the club in inviting overseas world class players to take part in the Irish Championships which followed the All England Championships at Wimbledon. He also helped the Belfast Boat Club to invite players for the Ulster Championships.
Although born in Sutton Cold field in the English Midlands, Pat Hughes had a particular affinity with Ireland and Irish players. This may have been due to having lived in Belfast as a schoolboy for a few years.
As a player, he had the reputation of being one of the best doubles players in the world in the decade before the war. He won the Irish Men's Doubles with E. A. McGuire in 1928 and with H. G. N. Lee (a Davis Cup team colleague) in 1930. He was also runner up to Harold Lee in the Irish Singles in the same year, but his best singles performance was winning the 1931 Italian Championship, beating Henri Cochet of France in the final. Cochet had won Wimbledon in 1927 and 1929 and had been runner up in 1928, and was a five times winner of the French Championship.
Pat Hughes won the Men's Doubles at Wimbledon with Raymond Tuckey in 1936 and was runner up with Tuckey the following year. He was also runner up with Fred Perry in 1931 and won the French Doubles with Perry in 1933 and the Australian Doubles, also with Perry, in the following year.
He will be remembered with great affection by all Irish tennis players who were fortunate enough to play at Wimbledon after the war.