TicketsJune 4, 2007
CINCINNATI -- College and professional basketball legend Oscar Robertson and U.S. and world tennis champion Marion Anthony "Tony" Trabert will receive an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at the University of Cincinnati Commencement Ceremony at 9:30 a.m., Saturday, June 9, in Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center. Trabert is joined by Robertson who is also the featured speaker for the spring All-University Commencement Ceremonies.
A member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Trabert won the NCAA singles title and the U.S. Clay Court Championship while he was a student at UC (1948-52). He also played on the 1950-51 UC Men's Basketball Team. He claimed three of the four Grand Slam singles titles in 1955: the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
As a member of the U.S. Davis Cup Team from 1951-55, Trabert holds the record for the most victories by a captain. Trabert later became a successful tennis commentator for CBS Sports, where he was known as the voice of the U.S. Open.
He was named to the Hamilton County Hall of Fame in 1968; the National Lawn Tennis Hall of Fame in 1970; the College Tennis Hall of Fame in 1983; and the Cincinnati Tennis Hall of Fame in 2002. He was National Clay Court Singles Champion in 1951 and 1955; National Clay Court Doubles Champion in 1951, 1954 and 1955; National Hardcourt Champion (Singles in 1954 and Doubles in 1950 and 1953); and National Indoor Singles and Doubles Champion in 1955. He took the World Pro Doubles Title in 1956.
Born and raised in Bond Hill, Trabert attended Walnut Hills High School, where he played both basketball and was undefeated in tennis, winning the Ohio Singles Championship in 1946, 1947 and 1948.
In 1994, Trabert was honored with the William Howard Taft Medal - the highest honor from the UC Alumni Association. UC's new Trabert-Talbert Tennis Center in UC's Varsity Village is named in honor of Trabert and his childhood mentor and championship doubles partner, Bill Talbert, who was a UC tennis star in the late '30s.
Robertson earned a bachelor of business administration degree from the UC College of Business in 1960. The "Big-O" established 19 school records and 14 NCAA records during his college career, was voted College Player of the Year his sophomore, junior and senior years at UC, and led the nation in scoring. By the time he finished his college basketball career at UC, he recorded 2,973 total points for the Bearcats in an era where freshmen were ruled ineligible for varsity play. He is a member of the UC Hall of Fame and has had his jersey number retired. Robertson was also co-captain of the undefeated 1960 gold-medal U.S. Olympic team.
During his professional basketball career, Robertson played for the Cincinnati Royals (1960-1970, winning Rookie of the Year in 1961) and the Milwaukee Bucks (1970-1974). He was the NBA Most Valuable Player in 1963 and won the NBA Championship in 1971. Robertson is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and was named one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players of All Time. He was named "Indiana Living Legend" by the Indiana Historical Society in 1999, and received the Player of the Century Award from the National Association of Basketball Coaches in 2000.