A celebration of the life of Jim McManus, the late ATP Tour pioneer who died on Jan. 18 of medical complications following a battle with cancer, was held on Feb. 5 at the ATP Headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
McManus, who was 70, was a fixture at the Berkeley Tennis Club in Northern California and a leader who was in the tennis arena for more than 50 years as a player and administrator. As a founding member of the ATP in ’72, he spent 28 years in men’s pro tennis, working in a variety of capacities, including the ranking system, tournament representation and development, pension plan, player entry department, senior tour and alumni services.
Growing up in NorCal, McManus’ interest in playing came from his parents. He learned the game at the BTC from a series of coaches, the most prominent being Tom Stow, who also tutored Don Budge. He later attended Cal, where he attained All-American honors and reached the NCAA doubles final. Before the advent of the ATP rankings, the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame and USTA NorCal Tennis Hall of Fame member was twice ranked in the top 10 in the U.S., and twice No. 2 in doubles (with Bill Hoogs in ’63 and Jim Osborne in ’69). He reached the ’68 U.S. Open semis with Osborne.
In a touching tribute, longtime ATP colleague Weller Evans remembered, “So many of his fine qualities have already been discussed, but one of the things Jim did not have as a strength was a fashion sense. When I was first hired by Jim, he quickly discovered that I didn’t own even a simple wool blazer, which Jim demanded I wear at place like Wimbledon. So one of our tasks the week before he sent me on a 17-week trip traversing the world was to go the local mall and purchase a blue blazer. Little did I know that the two of us would be the inspiration for the movie ‘Dumb and Dumber.’ We emerged from this clothing store a very painful 45 minutes later with a 100 percent polyester blazer, which I have to say certainly served me well for the many years I traveled representing the ATP. The ATP has come very far since those days. We used to do the acceptance lists for the tournaments by hand, using different color highlighters. We’re a long way from that and Jim is a big reason why. He was a fantastic individual. Not only did he share a tremendous passion for the sport, but also for life. He’s been an inspiration and a guy who, even though he’s no longer with us, will stay in my memory, in my heart, and will always bring a smile to my face.”
“From his early days as a player, and later as a founding member of the ATP, Jim was always regarded as a true pioneer of the game,” said ATP President Adam Helfant. “On behalf of the ATP, I can say that men’s tennis has truly lost one of its greatest and most significant figures.”
The Berkeley Tennis Club is scheduled to host another gathering on March 26, when many of McManus’ fellow Californians will gather to honor his memory.
“He was upbeat — very much so. Never negative,” recalled Don Jacobus, a lifelong friend and occasional doubles partner with whom he shared a pair of California State Open doubles titles. “And he was a hard worker. He was probably the best-conditioned athlete of anyone at that club. He ran marathons. He all but lived at the Berkeley Tennis Club. That was his home base.”
“The kids really respected him because he was an upstart, a really good player,” Jacobus added. “They used to follow him on his runs up Tunnel Road. They loved to run with him because they looked up to him. None of them, of course, could keep up with him. He had the lungs.”
“I had a chance to speak with Jim the week before he passed away and we talked about his love of Cal, his contributions to tennis worldwide,” said Cal head coach Peter Wright.
McManus is survived by his wife, Carole, of 30 years, and their two children, Kate and Jordy.
