Background
Francis was born on November 17, 1909 in New York City, United States to Alexander John Shields, a certified public accountant, and Alice Haggerty.
Francis was born on November 17, 1909 in New York City, United States to Alexander John Shields, a certified public accountant, and Alice Haggerty.
An all-around star athlete at Columbia Grammar School in the Bronx, he excelled at tennis, which was self-taught. Shields attended Roxbury School (later Cheshire Academy) in Connecticut.
Shields skyrocketed to recognition in 1924 by placing second in the National Boys Indoor Championship (his first tournament) and winning the National Boys (outdoor) Championship. His happy-go-lucky manner garnered him the moniker "Jolly School Boy. " His reputation soared in 1926 when he was U. S. boys indoor and outdoor singles and doubles and national doubles champion.
He was U. S. junior indoor singles and doubles champion in 1927 and national junior champion in 1927 and 1928. In 1930, at age twenty-one, he beat the legendary Bill Tilden at the Meadow Club Invitational, the first American to do so in two years. Shields moved to the men's circuit in 1928 and ranked in the U. S. top ten eight times, achieving number-one status in 1933, when he won nine tournaments. He lost on grass only once that year. Five times he ranked among the top eight players in the world, but never fully realized his potential, according to most tennis experts. He was consistent, with an average ranking of three from 1930 to 1935, but never won a major national singles title. He played on the 1931, 1932, and 1934 U. S. Davis Cup teams.
Johnny Doeg beat Shields in a brilliantly played, exhausting national finals in 1931 (10-8, 1-6, 6-4, 16-14) in the culmination of what Tennis magazine called "the greatest tournament of a generation. " The injury caused him to default the finals to Sidney Wood.
Shields's contacts proved instrumental to the success of the insurance business he headed for many years with former doubles partner Julius Seligson. Perhaps the best example of Shields's off-the-court celebrity took place in 1933. After an early round victory in the French championships, Shields attended a party aboard the ocean liner President Harding at Le Havre. Following the overextended celebration, he found himself, tuxedo-clad, en route for the United States with no luggage. The escapade, naturally, attracted much media attention.
Shields signed a seven-year acting contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and ceased full-time tennis following the 1934 tour. His time in Hollywood included many acting lessons, endless posing for still photographs, much social tennis, and small parts in a handful of films. The experience did lead to his acting in training films while serving in the Army Air Corps during World War II and some bit parts in Broadway plays during the late 1930's. Shields never strayed far from tennis.
In 1947, at the age of thirty-eight, he thrilled the crowd in the second round of the nationals by nearly upsetting young star Fred Kovaleski (13-11, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4). In 1951 he was named nonplaying captain (one of the youngest ever) of the U. S. Davis Cup team, taking the team to the finals against Australia in Sydney. In a controversial decision, Shields chose veteran Ted Schroeder over reigning Wimbledon champion Dick Savitt to play in two singles matches. Although the Australians went on to dominate Davis Cup competition through the mid-1950's, the event led Shields to decline consideration for the captaincy in 1952, citing personal business reasons.
When the Madison Square Boys Club in Manhattan needed a new building, Shields convinced the Palm Beach Company to sponsor golf's first "pro-am" tournament and persuaded many celebrities from the entertainment world to participate. The building eventually came to be known as "the house that Shields built. "
He died in New York City.
He was a strikingly handsome man. Although a fierce competitor with natural talent, Shields played for the fun of it, avoiding rigorous training. At six foot three and 190 pounds, the right-hander was known for his baseline play and was an above-average volleyer with an excellent forehand drive and a very sound overhead, though his sliced backhand was considered vulnerable.
Shields had his issues both with interactions with other players, and with alcohol.
Quotes from others about the person
Newsweek's story marking his death described him as a "dashing New York playboy. "
In 1932, Shields married Rebecca Tenney (1910–2005). Shields and Tenney divorced in 1940 on the grounds of his "habitual intemperance and cruelty" and in 1947 she married lawyer Donald Agnew.
In 1940, he married his second wife, Marina Torlonia di Civitella-Cesi (1916-1960). Shields had two children with Marina Torlonia: Francis Xavier Alexander, Jr. (1941–2003), Cristiana Marina Shields (b. 1943). Shields and Torlonia divorced and in 1950 she married Edward W. Slater.
In 1949, he married Katharine Mortimer (1923-2003), the daughter of financier Stanley Grafton Mortimer, Sr.