On Friday August 23, US Squash honored Newton B. Meade, Jr. with the A. Carter Fergusson Grand Master Honor Roll. The 23rd was Meade’s 101st birthday.
Newt Meade was a lifelong Philadelphian, born on North 10th Street in Philadelphia. A versatile athlete, he started playing squash regularly in the late 1940s, making him perhaps one of the last people alive today who personally witnessed the post-Second World War revival of the game in the United States. Meade was a many times club champion at Cynwyd Club and captured three national age-group doubles titles: the 50+ with Has Griffin in 1970 in NYC, the 50+ Treddy Ketcham in 1974 in Philadelphia; and the 60+ in 1984 with Tom Schweizer in Denver. He was also the husband and first coach of Betty Meade, a member of the U.S. Squash Hall of Fame who died in 1990.
Meade was an excellent tennis player. He played on the U.S. Junior Davis Cup squad and led Simon Gratz High School to three straight Philadelphia Public School Championships. In 1967 he and his wife Betty won the U.S. national husband & wife title, beating Larry and Billie Jean King. He won other age-group national titles in both singles and doubles, including the 2004 men’s 80+ indoors. In 2005 he was inducted into the USTA’s Middle States Hall of Fame.
Cynwyd Club, where Meade was president in the 1960s, hosted a birthday luncheon for him and his wife Beverly. In attendance were the club’s manager Shane Coleman and club historian Sandy Harrison. Ned Edwards, the executive director of the U.S. Squash Foundation, presented Meade with the Fergusson Award. During the lunch, Meade was asked what his favorite squash memory was, and he answered, “playing.”
“It doesn’t get any better than that,” responded Edwards. “We’re so honored to be able to recognize community members such as Newt for all he’s done in the sport and brought to squash.”
Meade spoke about how squash and tennis complemented one another, providing variety throughout the year. His close Cynwyd Club friend, Vic Seixas, a Wimbledon and US Open Champion, felt the same way about squash and tennis together as they both took special pride in winning national age-group championships in squash. Seixas, born a week after Meade, died last month at age 100.
Listen to the Outside the Glass Podcast episode 94 featuring Meade.
The A. Carter Fergusson Grand Master Honor Roll, founded in 2010, recognizes a lifetime of contributions and accomplishments, honoring those have demonstrated unbounded enthusiasm, competitive spirit and great sportsmanship and skill. The Fergusson celebrates the US Squash’s motto of “Fit For Life,” as honorees set the standard for a life and lifetime in squash. Carter Fergusson, a national champion and College Squash Association Hall of Famer, famously played in the National Singles for sixty-two consecutive years. With Meade joining the honor roll, there are twenty-two Fergusson honorees.
