Helen Homans

{{Infobox tennis biography

| name = Helen Homans McLean

| image = File:HelenHHomans1907.tif

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| caption = Helen H. Homans, from a 1907 publication.

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| country_represented = {{USA}}

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| birth_date = February 8, 1877U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007

| birth_place = Englewood, New Jersey, USA1880 United States Federal Census

| death_date = {{dda|1949|3|29|1877|2|8}}

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| USOpenresult = W (1906)

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| USOpenDoublesresult = W (1905)

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| USOpenMixedresult = SF (1905)

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Helen Houston Homans McLean (February 8, 1877 – March 29, 1949) was an American tennis champion.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/03/30/archives/mrs-mleabl-held-u-s-tennis-titles-i-former-helen-homans-dies.html |title=Mrs. McLean, Held U. S. Tennis Titles |newspaper=The New York Times |date=30 March 1949 |access-date=17 January 2019}}

Career

Homans won the women's doubles title at the 1905 U.S. National Championship{{cite book |author=Bud Collins |author-link=Bud Collins |title=The Bud Collins History of Tennis |year=2010 |publisher=New Chapter Press |location=New York City |isbn=978-0942257700 |edition=2nd}}{{rp|479}} and the singles title the next year.{{rp|467}}

Homans played mixed doubles with Marshall McLean as early as 1902[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1902/06/05/101273114.pdf Kings County Tennis.] (5 Jun 1902). New York Times. p. 10 and married him in New York City in 1907.[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1907/06/28/106756825.pdf Marriage Announcement] at NYTimes.com. Retrieved on October 20, 2009 In mixed doubles, she reached the semifinals partnering Harry F. Allen in 1905.{{cite book |author1=Alessandro Albiero |author2=Andrea Carta |title=The Grand Slam Record Book Vol. 2 |year=2011 |publisher=Effepi Libri |location=Monte Porzio Catone |isbn=978-88-6002-023-9 |page=919}}

Also in 1905, she reached the women's singles All-Comers final at Cincinnati before falling to May Sutton. (Sutton then defeated Myrtle McAteer in the Challenge Round to claim the title.) Homans won the 1905 women's doubles title in Cincinnati with McAteer, and was a 1905 mixed doubles finalist with Robert LeRoy.

In 1911, she won three of the New Jersey State Championships titles.{{cite news |title=Mrs. Marshall McLean Wins In Three New Jersey Championships |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1911/09/17/archives/great-tennis-record-mrs-marshall-mclean-wins-in-three-new-jersey.html |quote=By a remarkable show of her old driving game, Mrs. Marshall McLean of the West Side Tennis Club captured three of the New Jersey State championships on the ... |work=New York Times |date=September 17, 1911 |access-date=2010-09-25 }}

In 1913, she regained her title when she defeated Marie Wagner at the Morristown Field Club in Morristown, New Jersey.{{cite news |title=Indoor Champion Loses New Jersey Tennis Title on Morristown Courts |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1913/09/13/archives/mrs-mlean-wins-from-miss-wagner-indoor-champion-loses-new-jersey.html |quote=Mrs. Marshall McLean, formerly champion woman tennis player of New Jersey, regained her title yesterday, when she defeated Miss Marie Wagner, the indoor champion, on the courts of the Morristown Field Club at Morristown, N.J., in two straight sets, by the score of 6 - 4, 8 - 6. |work=New York Times |date=September 13, 1913 |access-date=2010-09-25}} On September 19, 1913, she was defeated by Clare Cassell at the Montclair Athletic Club.{{cite news |title=Miss Clare Cassell Plays Plucky Game in Montclair Tourney.

|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1913/09/18/archives/sprains-ankle-but-wins-tennis-match-miss-clare-cassell-plays-plucky.html |quote=Miss Clare Cassell and Mrs. Marshall McLean joined Miss Marie Wagner, the national indoor tennis champion, yesterday in the semi-final round of the women ... |work=New York Times |date=September 18, 1913 |access-date=2010-09-25 }}

In 1915, Molla Bjurstedt of Norway, the national indoor champion, defeated McLean in the final round of the Class A tennis singles at the West Side Tennis Club.{{cite news |title=Miss Bjurstedt Defeats Mrs. McLean in Hard Match on West Side T.C. Courts. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1915/05/09/archives/indoor-champion-wins-outdoor-final-miss-bjurstedt-defeats-mrs.html |quote=Miss Molla Bjurstedt of Norway, national indoor champion defeated Mrs. Marshall McLean in the final round of Class A singles on the West Side Tennis Club courts at Forest Hills, L.I., yesterday in straight sets by the score of 6 - 3, 8 - 6. Miss Bjurstedt showed little ill effects of her accident, which injured her ankle three days ago, and played very close to her real form. |work=New York Times |date=May 9, 1915 |access-date=2010-09-25 }} She finished second in the U.S. National Championships women's doubles with Augusta Bradley Chapman in 1915.{{cite web |url=http://www.rcshf.org/inductees/inductees_C.html |title=Augusta Bradley Chapman |access-date=2010-09-26 |quote=... finished second in the U.S. Open women’s doubles with partner Mrs. Marshall McLean in 1915 ... won the 1917 Patriotic Tennis Tournament doubles with McLean, the equivalent of the U.S.Open that year ... |publisher=Rockland County Sports Hall of Fame |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203050903/http://www.rcshf.org/inductees/inductees_C.html |archive-date=2010-12-03 |url-status=dead }}

McLean was still ranked fourth in 1913 and third in 1915 in the U.S. national ranking.{{cite web |url=http://www.usta.com/About-USTA/Organization/Yearbook/23261_2008_USTA_Yearbook__Top_10_US_Womens_Rankings__page_1/ |title=USTA Yearbook - Top 10 U.S. Women's Rankings |website=usta.com |publisher=United States Tennis Association |access-date=August 27, 2014}}{{dead link|date=March 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} In 1915, she won the U.S. Indoor Championships.

Personal life

She was married to Marshall McLean (1869–1952), a New York City attorney.{{cite news |title=Marshall McLean, Attorney, 82, Dies. Member of Firm Here Devoted Career to Conservation Served State and U. S. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/04/07/archives/marshall-mlean-attorney-82-dies-member-of-firm-here-devoted-career.html |work=New York Times |date=April 7, 1952 |access-date=2010-09-26}}