He attended Shoreline High School in Seattle, Washington where he was a high school tennis standout competing with and against other tennis great Tom Gorman. From 1966 to 1970 he attended the University of Washington where he was named Tennis Captain and the first U.W. National Collegiate Athletic Association Coaches All American.
He was inducted into the Husky Hall of Fame in 1995. One other notable moment in Knight’s career happened in a match against Mike Sprengelmeyer in Southampton, Long Island in 1967. This lengthy duel was featured later that year in a Sports Illustrated article by George Plimpton titled “What the Deuce is Going On?”
In 1972 Dick signed on with Nike as the young company’s first worldwide tennis promotions manager.
That same year, he signed on with the Seattle SuperSonics as tennis professional at the SuperSonics Racquet Club in Bellevue, Washington.
In 1984, Dick Knight and Doctor Mark Dedomenico founded Professional Recreation Organization, Incorporated. to purchase the club and changed the name to Public Relations Officer Sports Club. Over the past 20(+) years as President of Public Relations Officer Sports Club, the flagship Bellevue location has grown into a 500,000-square-foot (46,000 m2) facility with over 40,000 members.
As a tennis player his career highlights include four years Washington State Open champion, five years ranked in the top 60 in the United States. (1967-1971), four years ranked number one in Pacific Northwest, and competitor in Wimbledon (1972) and the first United States. Open (1968) where he lost in the first round to eventual tournament champion Arthur Ashe. The match lasted 5 ½ hours and 107 games which Dick eventually won 32-30, 3-6, 19-17.
