John Barrett has not missed a Wimbledon since 1946. It is believed that no living person has attended Wimbledon as often as Barrett. He attended from 1946 to 1949 as a schoolboy and then has only missed one day since 1950 – the day of his son’s graduation.
Barrett played at Wimbledon 19 times – losing three times to Ken Rosewall among others. His best result was a third round.
He has recently authored two more books – Wimbledon: The Official History and Wimbledon: The Singles Draws 1877-2012.
He is also a former Davis Cup player, Davis Cup captain, and writer who covered tennis for the Financial Times from 1963 until 2006. He was also a principal commentator on BBC TV coverage of tennis for many years.
Similarly noting tennis media longevity, 84-year-old Bud Collins, the celebrated and respected U.S. writer/broadcaster from Boston, attended his 50th Wimbledon this year.