Marshall Happer at the 1987 French Open
serving the GAME Marshall Happer’s passion for tennis and influence on the sport by A.J. CARR
T
hroughout the wide world of tennis, Marshall Happer’s footprint is indelibly etched in multiple places. A standout player on high school and college teams, this longtime Raleigh resident found a way to turn his talent into both a hobby and career — and, at 83 and despite a torn rotator cuff, is still enjoying playing tennis, now in the North Venice, Florida, sunshine. “We played everything and I lived across the street from a public park that included tennis,” says Happer, who picked up a racquet at an early age. 32 | WALTER
With extraordinary versatility and verve, Happer left his mark as a player, promoter and tournament director. He was also a founder of Raleigh Racquet Club, an executive with the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and administrator of the Men’s Tennis Council. In 2021, Happer wrote perhaps the biggest book in the sport’s history: Pioneers of the Game: the Evolution of Men’s Professional Tennis. It was 1,800 pages thick until he edited it down to 871. “I was the only person who had this history,” Happer says, explaining why he embraced the project. The intensity of his
research could be likened to that of a scientist. He read the New York Times every day for years to find tennis information. He read the London Times. He collected minutes from meetings and files from the Men’s Tennis Council. But before all this, Happer was a big achiever in his hometown of Kinston: an Eagle Scout at age 12, honor student and two-sport star in tennis and basketball. Without any professional instruction, Happer developed a solid all-court game fueled with competitive fervor. He played on the men’s town team as a 12-year-old, won two state high school titles and
photo by Russ Adams / courtesy Rich Adams
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