Arnold Brown, Class of 2005

As a teenager in Detroit, Michigan, Arnie was a talented table tennis player. His talent for the game helped him to become a proficient tennis player as well. He attended Western Michigan University on a tennis scholarship, where he played No. 1 singles and was the team captain. After graduation, Arnie became serious about table tennis again and went on to win numerous state championships, including 26 Colorado state and Intermountain titles. 

Arnie moved to Denver to become an insurance agent. In the early 1960s he joined Cherry Hills Country Club as a tennis teaching professional. Under Arnie's guidance, Cherry Hills became one of the top clubs in Colorado for junior tennis. And while he was there for only five years, the mark he left on Colorado tennis is legendary.

Thanks to Arnie's efforts, Colorado tennis gained international recognition. He and Colorado Tennis Hall of Famer Gene Reidy arranged for the Davis Cup to come to Cherry Hills Country Club in 1963. The U.S. squad, led by Dennis Ralston, defeated Venezuela 5-0. Other members of the team included Marty Reissen, Eugene Scott, and a Davis Cup rookie named Arthur Ashe. It was the only time a Davis Cup match has been played in Colorado. While playing a key role in all aspects of hosting the Davis Cup, Arnie was also a top junior teaching pro in Colorado, producing numerous tournament players, many at the National level. Among them was 8-year-old Jake Warde, a 2002 Colorado Tennis Hall of Fame inductee. Arnie introduced Jake to tennis and ultimately developed him into one of the finest junior players ever to come from Colorado, becoming the first Coloradan to hold a national No. 1 ranking in any age division. During that time, Arnie founded the Cherry Hills Invitational, a tournament that brought in many nationally ranked junior players.

Word of Arnie's coaching success spread throughout the country, and with no indoor courts in Denver at the time, Arnie reluctantly moved to Boston where he could coach year-round. He spent time as a pro at various clubs throughout the Northeast including the Suburban Indoor Tennis Center outside of Boston, the Wianno Country Club on Cape Cod and the Belmont (Mass.) Country Club. He continued to produce top junior players including Ferdi Taygan, who went on to win the NCAA doubles title with Peter Fleming and reached career high professional rankings in the top 100 in singles and top 10 in doubles.