Born August 27, 1933, Jack Neer came from a family of athletes. Tennis became his sport.
A state high school champion, Jack attended the University of Portland where he posted an eye-popping singles and doubles record: 105 to zero.
In the 1954-55 NCAA championships, he made it to the quarterfinals. Along the way, he beat players from tennis powerhouses such as UCLA. He laughs, “They couldn’t believe they’d been beaten by someone from the university of what!?”
After college, Jack tried his luck on the “amateur” tennis circuit. The top players got compensated off the record. The other players got tennis equipment and clothing; and they got fed so long as they remained in the tournament.
Today’s top pros have their own jets. In Jack’s case, he didn’t even have a car, so he had to hitch rides to each tournament. “The top players would stay in houses,” he says. “But for guys like me, it was bedding down on the court.”
To stick around in tournaments – and stay fed – Jack played in every category he could – singles, doubles and mixed doubles. He remembers a time when he lost his last tournament match, “I quickly shook my opponent’s hand and ran like hell to the snack bar. I ordered a bunch of food before they took my name off the list!”
Jack had the opportunity to play singles and doubles with some of the top players in the world, including Tony Trabert, Ken Rosewall, Lew Hoad, Vic Seixas and Roy Emerson.
Jack’s professional playing career ended around the time that tennis let go of the amateur notion and tournaments began offering prize money. Compared to Novak Djokovic’s current career earnings of $184,000,000.00, Jack’s is a bit more modest: $38.16. He still wonders, “Why the 16 cents?”
You’ll notice that in the two recent photos accompanying this article, Jack’s wearing the same gray sweater. I’ve never seen him in anything else. “$38.16 doesn’t go too far,” he says.
Jack continued to play a lot close to home, winning the Oregon Men’s Open singles championship eight times, and the Portland City Open 11 times. He also won four State of Washington championships. From 1967 to 1969, he was the top ranked player in the Pacific Northwest.
Jack also competed in senior events, including winning the Oregon Senior Championship 15 times, a Canadian National Senior Championship and the Nike World Championship in the age 65-plus group.
Jack had opportunities to play exhibition matches with legends of the sport, including Pancho Gonzales, Margaret Smith Court, Maureen Connolly and Jimmy Connors. He’s a member of the University of Portland Hall of Fame, where he was named as one of its 10 top athletes of the 20th century, and the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame.
After college, Jack joined the Air Force, eventually attaining the rank of Captain. During this time, he won the Air Force tournament in doubles and finished second in singles. “I had fun,” he says, “scorching a bunch of cocky pilots who thought they could also play tennis.”
Jack ran into the base commander on a squash court. The commanding general challenged Jack to a match. Not one to give deference to authority, Jack crushed him. Instead of getting mad, the general offered him the position as his aide-de-camp. Jack makes it clear that this was not necessarily a prestigious job. “I mostly served drinks to officers’ wives,” he says.
Jack acknowledges that in his early competitive days, he sometimes got angry and misbehaved, “but not as bad as McEnroe,” he adds. Jack admits to having bent, broken and thrown several rackets over time. Once he became so frustrated with himself that he hit a tennis ball as hard as he could. The ball sailed out of the court and smashed into a neighbor’s window. “I apologized,” he says.
In 1977, the Portland Athletic Club (PAC) opened. Its owner, Marion Blackburn, asked Jack to become a tennis instructor. He’s been there ever since.
For several years, Nike founder Phil Knight and his family were PAC members. Jack can’t describe Phil’s game since he never saw him play. However, Jack does recall seeing his wife Penny and kids playing matches and getting lessons at the club.
Jack has a fun story about Phil. Long before creation of the Nike megalopolis, Phil was an ambitious, energetic shoe salesman. He brought a whole bunch of shoes to the U.S. Open, which at the time was held in Forest Hills, New York. Phil saw Jack and called out to him.
“Jack, can you get me into where the players are?”
“Sure,” Jack said, who was playing in the tournament.
Phil grabbed a big bag filled with shoes and accompanied Jack through the gate. Phil headed straight to the men’s locker-room where he schmoozed with and gave shoes to the top players including Rod Laver. Jack notes, “I got free shoes too,” and he played a match in them, although he doesn’t remember if he won or lost.
Jack likes to think he played a part in the growth and development of the Nike empire.
During his years as a coach, Jack would sometimes bring groups of young local players to play in tournaments in different states. Aside from being the coach, Jack served as chaperone and driver.
He recalls a trip to Southern California at the John Wayne Tennis Club. Jack does not recall the Duke swinging a racket, but remembers seeing him in action at a card table. Wayne also put up some of the kids at his nearby home.
In 1977, Jack was invited to do a series of clinics in Saudia Arabia with other accomplished athletes in tennis and water sports. The fellow in the middle of the picture in a light brown suit is Don Schollander, the first swimmer to win four gold medals at the Olympics (Tokyo 1964.) In the picture, Jack’s second from the right – in the dorky three-piece suit. I asked Jack if that was his Bar Mitzvah suit. He replied that he wasn’t Jewish.
At 91, Jack continues to coach at PAC. I know this personally, having been on the receiving end of his advice. Recently, I asked him how I could improve my tennis game.
“Switch to golf,” he said.
So much for the notion that one mellows with age!
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