RICHARD E. "DICK" LAND

CLASS OF 2009

Dick Land was born in Oklahoma City in 1927.  He started playing tennis at age 9.  In addition to playing tennis at Capitol Hill High School, he also played basketball.  His 1944 high school basketball team won the State High School Championship with a 35-0 record.  This team then won their first 14 games the following year to complete a 49-game win streak. 

Land lettered in tennis at the University of Oklahoma in 1949, 1950, and 1951.  He won the Tulsa City Singles title in 1953.  He played his first USTA National Tournament in 2001.  Since then, he has won two Gold Balls (1st place in a USTA National Tournament).  He won the Men's 75 Indoors Doubles title in 2004 and the Men's 80 Indoors Doubles title in 2007.  He also won a Bronze medal in the Men's 80 Singles in 2007 and a Bronze medal in Doubles.  He has now climbed to the top of the Super Senior Division in the United States, being ranked nationally # 3 in 2004 and # 2 in 2007.  In 1999, he won the Singles and Doubles titles at the National Public Parks Tournament in the Men's 70 division.  He also won the Men's 65 Doubles title at the 1999 Missouri Valley Sectional Tournament.  Land captured the Men's 70 Doubles title at the Huntsman World Senior Games in 2001 and the Men's 75 Singles and Doubles titles in 2002.  He won the Men's 75 Singles and Doubles titles at the Senior Olympics in 2005.  He won the Men's 75 Doubles title at the Category II tournament in Walden, Texas, in 2003 and 2004.  In 2007 Dick placed third in the Men's 80 Doubles at the National Grass Court Championships.  In 2008, he received National rankings of # 11 in Men's 80 Singles; # 4 in Men's 80 Doubles with Bob Meyerdierks; and # 14 in Men's 80 Doubles with Joe Pitts.