Francisco Olegario Segura, better known as Pancho "Segoo" Segura, was a leading tennis player of the 1940s and 1950s, both as an amateur and as a professional.
59 Facts About Pancho Segura
2.
Pancho Segura was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, but moved to the United States in the late 1930s.
3.
Pancho Segura won the inaugural professional Tournament of Champions at Sydney in 1957.
4.
Pancho Segura won the L A Masters tournament in 1958.
5.
Pancho Segura played collegiate tennis for the Miami Hurricanes at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.
6.
Pancho Segura was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, the first of seven children of Domingo Pancho Segura Paredes and Fransisca Cano.
7.
Pancho Segura almost died at his premature birth, then suffered from hernias and malaria.
8.
Pancho Segura won the National Collegiate Singles Championship for three straight years: in 1943,1944, and 1945.
9.
Pancho Segura lost in the second round of the US Championships to Bryan Grant in five sets.
10.
Pancho Segura was a strong crowd favorite but Grant drew a ringing round of applause for his comeback in the final set after Segura seemingly had him beaten down.
11.
At the New Jersey state tournament the following week, Pancho Segura beat Vic Seixas and Budge Patty before a win in three straight sets over Hecht in the final when he didn't lose a single game.
12.
Pancho Segura beat Mulloy to win the Longwood Bowl in August 1942.
13.
At the US Championships, Pancho Segura beat Talbert before losing to Parker in the semi-finals.
14.
Pancho Segura lost to Talbert in five sets in the semi-finals of the US Championships.
15.
At US Championships, Pancho Segura beat Bob Falkenburg before losing again to Talbert in the semi-finals.
16.
Pancho Segura lost in the third round of Wimbledon to Tom Brown.
17.
Pancho Segura lost to Drobny in the first round of Wimbledon.
18.
Pancho Segura didn't speak English well, he had a freak shot, and on the grass while scooting around in his long white pants with his bowlegs, he looked like a little butterball.
19.
Pancho Segura lost to Parker in the quarter-finals of the US Championships.
20.
Long before Open Tennis, Pancho Segura turned professional in 1947 and was an immediate crowd-pleaser with his winning smile, infectiously humorous manner, and unorthodox but deadly game.
21.
At the US Pro championships at Forest Hills in June 1948, Pancho Segura lost in the quarter-finals against Frank Kovacs.
22.
Yet it was the gallant little Pancho Segura who faltered and allowed the champion to crawl home.
23.
Pancho Segura was rated the US number one professional for 1950 by the US Professional Lawn Tennis Association as a result of this win.
24.
Pancho Segura was ranked US No 1 professional by the PTPA.
25.
In 1953, Pancho Segura was reduced to playing the preliminary match on the World Series tour, where he beat the Australian Ken McGregor 72 matches to 24.
26.
Pancho Segura participated in a World Series tour with Gonzales, Sedgman and Budge.
27.
Gonzales won the series with Pancho Segura finishing in second place.
28.
Pancho Segura was ranked second in 1954 by International Professional Tennis Association.
29.
Pancho Segura faced Gonzales in the final at Cleveland in April 1955.
30.
Pancho Segura toured Europe with Gonzales, McGregor and Fred Perry in the summer of 1955.
31.
Pancho Segura was ranked second in 1955 by International Professional Tennis Association.
32.
In February 1957, Pancho Segura won the inaugural Ampol Tournament of Champions at White City, Sydney, the richest tournament of the year.
33.
Pancho Segura beat Pails in a North American tour that was the undercard tour for the World Series.
34.
Pancho Segura defeated all six opponents in a round robin format, Gonzales, Hoad, Rosewall, Trabert, Sedgman, and Hartwig.
35.
On October 25,1959, Pancho Segura won the Ramat Gan tournament at Tel Aviv in Israel, beating Anderson, Ashley Cooper and Mervyn Rose.
36.
Pancho Segura defeated Hoad three times that year in the series, at Melbourne for 3rd place, at Wembley in the 2nd round, and in the final event at Kooyong in the round robin.
37.
Pancho Segura participated in a 4-man World series with Gonzales, Rosewall and Alex Olmedo.
38.
Pancho Segura lost to Buchholz in the Cleveland final in May 1962 when he was nearly 41 years old.
39.
Pancho Segura won the California Pro at Monterrey in August 1965.
40.
Pancho Segura won the Fresno tournament in October 1965 At Binghamton Pro in July 1966,45 year old Segura beat Rosewall in the semi-finals before losing in the final to Rod Laver.
41.
At the Fresno tournament in October 1966, Pancho Segura retained his title.
42.
Pancho Segura won the USPLTA title at Milwaukee in November 1966 beating Mike Davies in the final.
43.
Pancho Segura entered the US Open in 1968 and lost in the third round to Laver.
44.
Pancho Segura considered Segura to be the fifth best of these ten great players, behind, in order, Budge, Kramer, Gonzales, and Rod Laver.
45.
Pancho Segura ranked above Bobby Riggs, Ken Rosewall, Lew Hoad, Frank Sedgman, and Tony Trabert.
46.
Vines gives an expert's analysis of Pancho Segura's unusual playing style:.
47.
Now put a gun to my head, and I'd have to say that the Pancho Segura's forehand was better, because he could disguise it so well, and hit so many more angles.
48.
Pancho Segura never learned to exploit his great forehand weapon because he used it too often.
49.
Pancho Segura didn't know how to pace himself and pick his spots.
50.
Pancho Segura probably hit his forehand four times as much as his backhand.
51.
In 1962, on the recommendation of good friend Mike Franks, Pancho Segura became the teaching professional at the Beverly Hills Tennis Club, replacing Carl Earn.
52.
Pancho Segura is widely credited with having mentored and structured the playing game of Jimmy Connors, starting at age 16, in 1968, when his mother, Gloria, brought him to Pancho in California for lessons.
53.
When King won the match, Pancho Segura declared disgustedly that Riggs was only the third-best senior player, behind himself and Gardnar Mulloy.
54.
Pancho Segura challenged King to another match, which King refused.
55.
Pancho Segura retired from playing Singles after the 1970 US Open at Forest Hills at age 49.
56.
Pancho Segura was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1984.
57.
Pancho Segura died on November 18,2017, at the age of 96 at his home in Carlsbad, California, from complications related to Parkinson's disease.
58.
Spencer Pancho Segura was master of ceremonies, with 10 featured speakers including Burt Bacharach, Jimmy Connors, Mike Franks, Cliff Richey, Charlie Pasarell, Tracy Austin, and David Kramer.
59.
Pancho Segura joined the professional tennis circuit in 1948 and as a consequence was banned from competing in the amateur Grand Slams until the start of the Open Era at the 1968 French Open.