The Texas Tennis Museum and Hall of Fame mourns the loss of 2006 inductee Bill Lust who passed away on Saturday, September 26, 2020 after a lengthy illness.
Bill Lust was born in Minnesota but reared in Old Mexico. He attended high school at El Paso High behind such greats as Dick Savitt, Bobby Goldfarb and Edgar Chew. He was a doubles finalist (with Rodolfo Gonzales) in the Texas Interscholastic League in 1946 and 1947. He continued to play in college as a part of the tennis team at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York where he reached the finals of the Eastern Intercollegiate Tournament in 1950, his senior year.
Lust's family moved to Tyler in 1947. In 1949, while still in college, he helped organize, sponsor and run the first East Texas Open. Lust remained faithful to overseeing and growing the event since its conception, including serving as tournament director for over 20 years. He also played in the East Texas Open, and in 1966, after winning the tournament three of the four previous years, had the privilege of retiring the trophy he had originally donated in honor of his father. Lust won the 1953 Dallas Open with his partner, 1989 Hall of Fame Inductee James "Mutt" Schulze. He went undefeated in tournament play from 1956 to 1958 with Schulze. He won the Texas Sectional Doubles Championship in 1958. In 1985, Lust won the Men’s Singles 55 National Grass Championship in Germantown, Pennsylvania. Lust won the Texas Section Men’s 75 singles and doubles titles in 2005, with partner Ray Beall.
Along with Walt Farrington, Harry Phillips and Bob Faulkner, Lust founded Tyler Tennis and Swim Club which served as the center of tennis in East Texas for many years.
Comments