Edgar J. Beck
Edgar J. Beck '54 Tennis
Ed Beck was a high school kid with a mild interest in tennis and no team to play on. Beck mulled over his life's desires for a year after graduating from West Tech, then decided to enroll in Fenn College in 1950. He went out for tennis at his first opportunity.
That began a golden era of tennis at Fenn with the blond-haired Back the most golden of the racket wielders.
In three seasons on the team, he starred at first singles and as a member of the No. 1 doubles team each year, sparking the squad to records of 9-2, 10-1, and 10-1.
He also engaged in a love match with a young lady named Ellen, whom he led down the aisle while still an undergraduate with his tennis partner, George Kappos, serving as best man. The marriage produced six children, the oldest of who, now Mrs. Diane Sunckle, became the first woman to play on the Cleveland State varsity tennis team in an era where there was no such thing as a varsity tennis team for women.
Beck graduated from Fenn in 1954 with a Bachelor of Science Degree. He became a research chemist, developing numerous patented processes during a long and successful career.
Meanwhile, he continued his tennis activities at a furious pace, winning several cities singles and doubles championships.
He subsequently teamed up with his second oldest child, John, to form one of the state's most prominent father-son tennis combinations.
The rest of the Beck clan, Perry, Mary, Jim, and Karen have played their tennis at a lesser level.
The lure of the sport has grown stronger than ever for Beck, who retired from his research position at Union Carbide Company after 31 years to launch a full time career as a tennis teacher at the Lakewood Indoor Tennis Club.
The Becks make their home in Fairview Park.
