‘Super-coach’ led USC tennis team

George Toley, one of the top tennis coaches in NCAA history who led the USC Trojans to 10 collegiate titles during his 27 years as the men’s coach at the university, has died. He was 91.

Toley died Saturday in Pasadena, according to a news release from the school’s athletic department.

The cause of death was not announced.

While coaching the Trojans from 1954 to 1980, Toley mentored scores of leading players, including Stan Smith, Dennis Ralston, Bob Lutz, Alex Olmedo and Rafael Osuna. Nine of Toley’s players won NCAA singles crowns, and 12 of his Trojan doubles teams took NCAA honors as well. His teams won eight of nine NCAA titles during one stretch. His career record was 430 wins, 92 losses and 4 ties.

Writing in The Times some years ago, columnist John Hall observed that because he was “caught in the shadow of the noisier football, baseball and basketball programs at USC, [Toley is] probably the least known super-coach in the country.”

Toley was raised in Los Angles and was a tennis star at Los Angeles High School before going on to USC, where he was a nationally ranked player in singles in 1940-41. He also briefly coached at the Beverly Hills Tennis Club and from 1947 to 1972 was coach at the Los Angeles Tennis Club.

He was known as the “father of tennis” in Mexico for his efforts to develop the game there. According to USC, he coached Mexico’s Davis Cup team and recruited some of that country’s top players for the Trojan program. He also held an annual summer tennis tournament for youngsters in Ensenada.

Toley is a member of the Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame, Southern California Tennis Hall of Fame and USC Athletic Hall of Fame.

In an interview with the Ventura County Star some years ago, Toley recalled that one of the thrills of his life was when his former Trojan players Ralston and Osuna captured the Wimbledon doubles title in 1960. The final match went to five sets and the pair won, 12-10. Toley received a telegram from them that listed the score and the words “We Won.”

He is survived by daughter Katie Dempster, her husband, Gary, and two grandchildren.

Services will be private.