A tennis trophy won by Edinburgh-born Harold Mahony, the first Scottish-born Wimbledon winner 117 years before Sir Andy Murray, has fetched nearly £5,000 at auction.
Mahony, who was born in Charlotte Square, won the silver rose bowl for winning the Cheltenham Lawn Tennis Tournament in June 1890.
He lifted the “Residents Challenge Cup” first prize after beating Australian-born James Baldwin in four sets in the final.
Mahony, who was 23 years old, made his Wimbledon debut the following month, going on to win the men’s singles title six years later and set a precedent for a Scots-born player matched only by Murray in 2013.
The 1kg silver rose bowl, by 19th century silversmiths F. Sibray and J.F. Hall, had been part of a private Scottish collection.
It went under the hammer in Budds sale “Match Point: The Tennis Memorabilia Timed Auction, where it was expected to fetch £1000-1500.
It eventually went for £4960 – nearly five times the lower estimate.
David Convery, Budd’s head of sporting memorabilia, said: “This very handsome Victorian trophy was presented to Harold Mahony for winning the Cheltenham Lawn Tennis Tournament in 1890.
“Six years later he became the first Scottish-born player to win the men’s singles at Wimbledon, which is remarkable as the feat was only repeated by Sir Andy Murray 117 years later.
“We had considerable interest.”
Harold Segerson Mahony was born at 21 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, on 13 February 1867, but only lived in Scotland as a child, and spent most of his life in Ireland.
His father, Richard John Mahony, was a barrister whose main activities were the family estates and oyster-raising. He also had a home in Scotland — Dalmore Lodge in Leith.
At 6ft 3in, Harold Mahony was an early pioneer of serve and volley, known by opponents for his fearsome backhand.
He turned professional in 1890 and won the Cheltenham tournament in June that year, beating 31-year-old Baldwin 6-4, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4.
He made his Wimbledon debut just weeks later and won his only title there in 1896.
He was the only Scottish-born man to win a Grand Slam until Murray won the US Open in 2012 and the only one to win Wimbledon until Murray defeated Novak Djokovic in three sets in 2013.
Mahony also won two silver medals and a bronze in the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris.
He died in 1905, aged 38, in a cycling accident in Ireland.
The Cheltenham Lawn Tennis Championships were founded in 1879 and renamed the East Gloucestershire Championships in 1905. They ran until 1969.
A tennis trophy won in 1890 by Harold Mahony
A tennis trophy won in 1890 by Harold Mahony
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