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Gottfried Von Cramm

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Tennis Player

The Resume

    (July 7, 1909-November 8, 1976)
    Born in Hanover, Germany
    German baron
    Two-time French Open champion (1934,1936)
    Three-time Wimbledon runner-up (1935-37)
    Ranked #1 in the world (1937)
    Died in a car crash in Egypt
    Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame (1977)

Why he might be annoying:

    His full name was the unwieldly Gottfried Alexander Maximilian Walter Kurt Freiherr von Cramm.
    He was married and divorced from Baroness Elisabeth von Dobeneck and Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton.
    He was jailed six months on morals charges for having a homosexual affair with an actor (1938).
    Because he was a convicted criminal, he was not allowed to play at Wimbledon or the US Open in 1939.
    He slipped into such obscurity that Boris Becker upon first winning Wimbeldon claimed, 'In Germany we never had an idol before in tennis.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was known for his gentlemanly conduct, fair play and impeccable dress.
    Sports Illustrated called him 'quite simply the most dashing figure tennis has ever known.'
    He refused to join the Nazi Party.
    He protested when a Jewish player, Daniel Prenn, was kicked off Germany's Davis Cup team.
    The Nazi regime punished him by preventing him from competing in the 1937 French Open, despite his being the defending champ.
    His morals charge conviction was another punishment from the Nazis for his insubordination.
    He suffered frostbite while serving on the Eastern Front in World War II.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 64 Votes: 67.19% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 178 Votes: 65.17% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 79 Votes: 56.96% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 16 Votes: 68.75% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 28 Votes: 46.43% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 67 Votes: 56.72% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 124 Votes: 57.26% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 196 Votes: 64.80% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 45 Votes: 84.44% Annoying