James Scott "Jimmy" Connors is a former World No. 1 tennis player from the United States. Connors won eight Grand Slam singles titles and two Grand Slam doubles titles, and was a runner-up in seven Grand Slam singles finals, one Grand Slam doubles final and one Grand Slam mixed doubles final. He held the top ranking for a then-record 160 consecutive weeks from July 29, 1974 to August 22, 1977 and an additional eight times during his career for a total of 268 weeks. He was the first male player in the Open Era to rank No. 1 for more than five years in total and more than 200 weeks. He held a year-end top ten ranking for an Open Era record 16 years. Connors won 109 ATP-listed singles titles, more than any other male player in the open era and only male player in the open era with more than 100 titles. He won three year-end championships and 17 Championship Series titles, predecessors of the Masters 1000 series. In 1974 he became the second man in the open era to win at least three of the four Grand Slams in a calendar year, and is one of six men to achieve the feat. He is also the only person to win US Open singles championships on grass, clay, and hard courts. [More at Wikipedia]

September 2nd, 1952 in East St. Louis (Age 71)