How Ken McGregor became one of sport's few two-event players
THOSE who watched Ken McGregor closely always mention his overhead, or smash, one of the tennis shots that requires the most athleticism.
THOSE who watched Ken McGregor closely always mention his overhead, or smash, one of the tennis shots that requires the most athleticism.
He would back-peddle from his net position and spring off the ground like few others, but also managed to generate substantial power when his body momentum was going backwards.
MORE: READ ABOUT ALL OF THE HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
McGregor was a strapping 191cm, 6'3'' in the old language, and a competitive beast. But for all of his international success in tennis, all McGregor really wanted to do was play football.
In partnership with Frand Sedgman, he had chalked up seven consecutive Grand Slam doubles titles. He had been a Wimbledon runner-up and Australian Open champion.
And he had joined Jack Kramer's groundbreaking professional tour with Sedgeman before quit the tour to return to West Adelaide.
His move from international tennis to football at the age of 25 caused much stir - his achievement on the courts were such that he would later be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.
He'd been an influential member of Australia's Davis Cup team, beating players of acclaim such as Ted Schroeder and had been initially been convinced to chose tennis by Davis Cup captain Harry Hopman.
MORE: SEE ALL OF THE WINNERS AND NOMINEES HERE
But football was in McGregor's blood; his father, Bruce, had been a West Adelaide champion in the 1920s, when he picked up two Magarey Medals, and it didn't take Ken long to make an impression when he switched sports.
He played in Westies' three grand finals in 1954, '56 and '58 and his tremendous overhead in tennis was converted to one of the best marks in the league.
McGregor also made the South Australian carnival team in 1958.
But McGregor's football career was short, like those of so many of his contemporaries, when he suffered a severe knee injury.
Later in life, when he lived down at Somerton Park, he spoke fondly of both of his sports.
He was doing a bit of tennis coaching, running around after his grand children and had a laugh at some of his highlights.
He reckoned his best memory was walking on to the centre court for the 1952 Winbledon final against Dick Savitt and cracked you up with what he saw as his weakness.
"Thinking about playing football when I should have been thinking about playing tennis,'' he said.