LAWRIE CUNNINGHAM

Steve Virgen

During the late 1960s, when men’s tennis was on the rise, Lawrie

Cunningham savored every moment and drew inspiration. When the sport

started to become popular, Cunningham did his best to help Newport

Harbor High also take its game to the next level.

In his junior year, he contributed to the Sailors’ CIF Southern

Section title. As an important part of the Long Gray Line, Newport’s

1967 boys tennis crown was the first CIF team championship in school

history. The Sailors’ boys water polo team won a CIF title in the

fall of 1967.

In 1968, Cunningham’s senior year, the Sailors reached the CIF

title match, and lost to Rolling Hills.

“When I started playing tennis, it wasn’t the most popular sport,”

Cunningham said. “If you played tennis, you didn’t get much respect.

But we were getting good when tennis was hitting its stride. With

[Jimmy] Connors and [Bjorn] Borg the sport started to rise. We were

at the forefront of the rise of tennis. In a sense, I was on

something that was groundbreaking.”

Cunningham referred to the CIF title as his “main memory,” during

his high school years. In addition to the impact of that achievement,

Coach Wayne Horowitz was also important to Cunningham. The Newport

coach served as a great leader for the Sailors, who were undefeated

in 1967.

“He couldn’t play a lick of tennis, but he was an inspirational

coach, and players liked playing for him,” Cunningham said. “He was

the one who kept us together. He showed us what it meant to coach

without getting in your face. He was very enthusiastic. One of the

things I got out of high school was how he coached.”

Throughout high school, Cunningham, who first started playing

tennis when he was 12, competed in singles and doubles. His doubles

partner was Jim Ogle.

After graduating from Newport Harbor, Cunningham moved to the

Pacific Northwest and played for one year at Seattle University.

Ultimately, he decided, “it wasn’t for me.” So, he transferred to

Orange Coast College, where he again teamed with Ogle in doubles.

Cunningham played for one year at OCC and then went into the Navy

reserves. He was stationed in Southeast Asia for two years before

coming back to the U.S. He then met up with his younger brother, Rob,

and played for two years at the University of Arizona.

The Cunningham brothers went undefeated in doubles for two years

in the Western Athletic Conference. They reached the quarterfinals of

the NCAA doubles tournament in 1974, when the duo also won the

Adoption Guild doubles title.

“I won a lot of tournaments in my junior year [at Arizona],”

Cunningham said. “Frankly, I don’t know where the trophies are at.”

When Cunningham’s tennis-playing days ended, he became the head

tennis pro at the Indian Wells Racquet Club. However, he truly found

his niche when he went into his family business of selling nursery

stock and plant material. Since 1977, he and his brother and his

sister, Sue, have been managing D.L. Cunningham Inc.

Cunningham, 53, and the latest Daily Pilot Hall of Fame honoree,

lives in Laguna Niguel with his wife of 24 years, Connie. They have

three children, Ashley, 21, Trevor, 19, and Doug, 16. Ashley and

Trevor are attending Arizona, while Doug is competing in swimming and

water polo at Aliso Niguel High.