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John Zimmerman

Induction Year: 2017

 

John Zimmerman (1934-2020) was involved in tennis and other athletics in Texas his whole life. He, his wife Joyce and sister Charlotte all won State Singles Championships while attending Cuero High School. At Cuero, he played football, basketball, baseball and tennis. He graduated valedictorian and entered Rice University on a football scholarship. At Rice, he played both football and tennis in his freshman and sophomore years and then concentrated on tennis his junior and senior years.  In his senior year, he upset the number two seeded player in the Southwest Conference Tennis Championships. Zimmerman was the 26th winner of the Rice University Bob Quinn Award - the most prestigious athletic award at Rice. Zimmerman became the first tennis player to win the award since 1941. After college, Zimmerman spent time in the Marine Corp before moving back to Houston then to Corpus Christi.

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Zimmerman and Joyce spent many years competing in local and sectional tournaments and volunteering for community and sectional committees and organizations. After moving to Corpus Christi, John became actively involved in the Corpus Christi Tennis Association and the USTA Texas Tennis Association, serving as president of both organizations. Zimmerman received the W.T. Caswell Award after being president, which is the highest award for USTA Texas. He later became actively involved in the United States Tennis Association and served for many years as chairman of its Budget and Finance Committee and Circuits Committee, and vice chairman of the Awards Committee. The Zimmerman family was recognized as the USTA Texas Section Family of the Year. Zimmerman and Joyce were ranked #1 in Husband and Wife Doubles in Texas and were inducted into the Cuero Gobbler Hall of Fame in 2008.

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