Legends of Sports

As visitors enter the All England Club to watch Wimbledon each summer, they walk past a statue of Britain's greatest Tennis hero. Fred Perry is the most successful British male Tennis star of all time. His achievements are all the more remarkable considering that he did not take up Tennis until he was eighteen years old; prior to being introduced to the sport, Perry had been a World Table Tennis Champion.

Born in Stockport in Cheshire in 1909, Perry went on to win each of the Grand Slam tournaments during the course of his career; the so-called Career Golden Grand Slam. He ranked amongst the top ten players in the world between 1931 and 1936, and was consistently ranked at Number One from 1934-6. Perry represented Great Britain a number of times in the Davis Cup, leading the team to the success which has alluded the national team in recent years. He died in Australia in 1995.