{{short description|American tennis player (born 1946)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}} {{Infobox tennis biography | name = Butch Seewagen | image = | fullname = George Lansing Seewagen | country_represented = {{USA}} | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1946|6|13}} | birth_place = New York City, United States | death_date = | death_place = | plays = Right-handed | turnedpro = 1970 | retired = | careerprizemoney = | singlesrecord = 39–68 | singlestitles = 0 | highestsinglesranking = No. 87 (October 15, 1973) | currentsinglesranking = | AustralianOpenresult = | FrenchOpenresult = 1R (1970) | Wimbledonresult = 2R (1972) | USOpenresult = 3R (1967, 1971) | doublesrecord = 22–44 | doublestitles = 0 | highestdoublesranking = | currentdoublesranking = | AustralianOpenDoublesresult = | FrenchOpenDoublesresult = 2R (1973) | WimbledonDoublesresult = 2R (1970, 1972) | USOpenDoublesresult = 2R (1968, 1971, 1976) | Mixed = yes | AustralianOpenMixedresult = | FrenchOpenMixedresult = | WimbledonMixedresult = 4R (1972) | USOpenMixedresult = SF (1966) }} '''George Lansing "Butch" Seewagen''' (born June 13, 1946) is a former professional tennis player from the United States.
==Biography== He was born in New York City on June 13, 1946, to George and Clella Seewagen.<ref name="USTA">{{cite web|url=http://ustaeasternhalloffame.com/2005.htm|title=USTA Eastern Hall of Fame : 2005 Inductees|last=Gill McShea|first=Nancy|publisher=United States Tennis Association|accessdate=18 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005151544/http://ustaeasternhalloffame.com/2005.htm|archive-date=5 October 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> His father was the tennis coach at St. John’s University and a former player, who played against Don Budge at the 1936 U.S. National Championships.<ref name="USTA"/>
An Orange Bowl winner in 1959, Seewagen was only 17 when he made his first appearance at the US National Championships.<ref name="USTA"/> He was a member of the United States Junior Davis Cup team from 1963 to 1965.<ref name="USTA"/>
With Kathy Blake, he made the semi-finals of the mixed doubles at the 1966 US National Championships.<ref name="USTA"/>
At Rice University he twice received NCAA All-American honours, in 1967 and 1968.<ref name="USTA"/> He won the 1969 United States Amateur Championships in a closely fought final against Zan Guerry, which he won 6–4 in the fifth set.<ref name="USTA"/>
Seewagen, who turned professional in 1970, played against top seed Rod Laver in the first round at the 1970 Wimbledon Championships.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110328155 |title=Hat-Trick Attempt by Laver. |newspaper=The Canberra Times |location=ACT |date=23 June 1970 |accessdate=18 December 2015 |page=22 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
He defeated both Jimmy Connors and Jan Kodeš during the 1972 Grand Prix tennis season. His win over Connors came en route to a quarter-final appearance in the Tanglewood International Tennis Classic and he beat Kodeš in South Orange, where he also reached the quarter-finals.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=950&dat=19720728&id=REBQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uFcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4608,3515372&hl=en|title=Seewagen Still In Tanglewood Race|date=July 28, 1972|work=The Evening Independent|page=5C|accessdate=18 December 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19720823&id=knpYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UkMNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6818,1845592&hl=en|title=New Yorker Ousts Kodes In 3 Sets|date=August 23, 1972|work=Reading Eagle|page=61|accessdate=18 December 2015}}</ref> As a doubles player he was runner-up at two Grand Prix tournaments, the Swedish Open in 1971 and Roanoke International Tennis Tournament in 1973.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/18142172/|title=Connors keeps Roanoke title|date=January 22, 1973|work=Independent|page=32|accessdate=18 December 2015|location=Long Beach}}</ref>
In 1975 he suffered a groin injury which left him unable to walk for nine months.<ref name="USTA"/>
During his professional career he was also the head coach at Columbia University, of teams that included Vitas Gerulaitis and Eric Fromm.<ref name="USTA"/>
He was inducted into the USTA Eastern Hall of Fame in 2005.<ref name="USTA"/>
==Grand Prix career finals==
===Doubles: 2 (0–2)=== {|class="sortable wikitable" !style="width:40px"|Result !style="width:30px" class="unsortable"|W/L !style="width:65px"|Date !style="width:160px"|Tournament !style="width:55px"|Surface !style="width:150px"|Partner !style="width:150px"|Opponents !style="width:110px" class="unsortable"|Score |- | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss |0–1 |Jul 1971 |Båstad, Sweden |Clay |{{flagicon|CHI}} Jaime Pinto-Bravo |{{flagicon|ROM|1965}} Ilie Năstase<br />{{flagicon|ROM|1965}} Ion Țiriac |6–7, 1–6 |- | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss |0–2 |Jan 1973 |Roanoke, United States |Hard |{{flagicon|AUS}} Ian Fletcher |{{flagicon|USA}} Jimmy Connors<br />{{flagicon|ESP|1945}} Juan Gisbert, Sr. |0–6, 6–7 |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{ATP}} * {{ITF}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seewagen, Butch}} Category:1946 births Category:Living people Category:American male tennis players Category:Tennis coaches from New York (state) Category:Tennis players from New York City Category:Rice Owls men's tennis players Category:Columbia Lions men's tennis coaches Category:20th-century American sportsmen