Anne Arundel County Tennis Hall of Fame

Donald “Don”
FAIRHEAD

Class of 2025
Posthumous

Biography

Born in Lorain, Ohio, Don came to Annapolis with his young family in the early 1960s. He was a project leader in the Survivability Office at the Naval Surface Warfare Center at David Taylor (1969 to 1990) and was responsible for development of ship survivability software used in the design of US Navy Ships.

Don was a serious contender in local men’s tournaments. Beginning in 1967, he competed at the upper levels of the AACTA ladders. His greatest achievement as a player was the tournament he won after defeating 3 consecutive players who were highly ranked in their age group by the Maryland Tennis Association & the Mid-Atlantic Tennis Association. Don exemplified the best in tennis sportsmanship and was always complimentary of his opponents no matter what the outcome of his matches.

Don served as an Officer & Board Member since the early years of the Anne Arundel County Tennis Association (AACTA). He served as Tournament Director for many AACTA tournaments, single-handedly created and managed AACTA Team Tennis, that became incredibly popular for many years and in which over half the AACTA membership participated. At its peak, AACTA Team Tennis consisted of 12-14 teams of about 15 players each. Don held the draft at his house, reserved the courts, created the bylaws, made the schedule, went to every venue (6-7 high schools and Truxtun Park) every Monday evening to make sure matches were being played as they should be, and arbitrated disputes. By Wednesday of each week, Don published all the results from the Monday matches, along with updated standings.

Don was an endless contributor to GreenScape (Truxtun Park beautification project). He volunteered for over 20 years to help in beautifying Truxtun Park (trees, shrubs, flowers, cleanup) both in the spring & fall. He tackled the hardest job – digging holes for trees to be planted around the courts. More than 40 of those trees survive today and serve as a reminder of his commitment to the Annapolis tennis community.

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