CalendarZ

  1. Home
  2. On This Day
  3. October
  4. 15
  5. Roscoe Tanner

Births on October 15

Roscoe Tanner
1951Oct, 15

Roscoe Tanner

Roscoe Tanner, American tennis player
Leonard Roscoe Tanner (born October 15, 1951) is a retired American tennis player, who turned professional in 1972 and reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4 on July 30, 1979.

Tanner was famous for his big left-handed serve, which was reportedly clocked at 153 miles per hour (246 km/h) at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California on February 19, 1978 during the 1978 American Airlines Tennis Games singles final against Raúl Ramírez.

He is also known for winning the men's singles title at the first of two Australian Open tournaments held in 1977. Tanner won the tournament held in January, Vitas Gerulaitis won the December tournament. Tanner reached the Wimbledon final in 1979, losing to Björn Borg in five sets.

After his retirement, Tanner received media attention in the 2000s for legal problems that included stretches of imprisonment, arrests for missing child support payments, allegations of financial misdeeds, and bankruptcy.

References

Choose Another Date

Events on 1951

  • 11Apr

    President Truman's relief of General Douglas MacArthur

    Korean War: President Harry Truman relieves General of the Army Douglas MacArthur of overall command in Korea.
  • 22Apr

    Battle of Kapyong

    Korean War: The Chinese People's Volunteer Army begin assaulting positions defended by the Royal Australian Regiment and the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry at the Battle of Kapyong.
  • 25Apr

    Battle of Kapyong

    Korean War: Assaulting Chinese forces are forced to withdraw after heavy fighting with UN forces, primarily made up of Australian and Canadian troops, at the Battle of Kapyong.
  • 3May

    Harry Truman

    The United States Senate Committee on Armed Services and United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations begin their closed door hearings into the dismissal of General Douglas MacArthur by U.S. President Harry Truman.
  • 15Oct

    Combined oral contraceptive pill

    Mexican chemist Luis E. Miramontes conducts the very last step of the first synthesis of norethisterone, the progestin that would later be used in one of the first three oral contraceptives.