Einer Ulrich

Einer Ulrich was a Danish tennis legend. Between 1924-38 he played Davis Cup for Denmark in 28 ties, winning 39 of 74 matches. His 74 Davis Cup matches was a Danish record until it was broken by his son, Torben Ulrich, who eventually played in 101 matches. Einer Ulrich won 30 Danish titles between 1923-47, including seven in singles from 1928-35. Torben’s son, Lars Ulrich, later achieved fame as the drummer and founder of Metallica, the well-known heavy metal band.

Ulrich started as a footballer, playing with Akademisk Boldklub, Kjøbenhavns Boldklub, and Hellerup Idræts Klub. He later served as a football referee for 25 years. Ulrich was on the board of directors of the Danish Lawn Tennis Federation from 1938-69, serving as chairman in the last five years of his life. His career was in advertising with his own company, Einer Ulrich Advertising, and later Ulrich and Parrilds Advertising, which they sold to American James Thompson.

In 1940 the Nazis took over Denmark, which left Ulrich at risk because his wife, Ulla, was Jewish. The family, without Einer, attempted a boat escape to Sweden, but were taken into custody by the Nazis at Elsinore. Einer was so well known that he went to the camp and convinced the Nazis to free his family. Six weeks later, they tried again and were successful. Einer joined them six weeks later, aided by Swedish Davis Cup tennis player Marc Wallenberg.