Jim Dear


James Dear was an English racquets, court tennis, and squash player who effectively won world titles in three different sports during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

Rackets

Dear won the Rackets World Championships from 1947 to 1954, losing the title to Geoffrey Atkins.

Real tennis

He also won the Real tennis world championship from 1955 to 1957.

Squash

Dear also won the most prestigious title in squash, the British Open, in 1939, at a time when there was no official world championship and the British Open champion was acknowledged as the world's best. Dear was also the runner-up at the competition three times in the 1930s and twice in the late-1940s.

Awards

He was among seven British world champions honored at the inaugural Sports Writers' Association - which later became the Sports Journalists' Association in 1949.