Brian Marsden, 54; competed on tennis court, in boardroom

Whether he was competing in the boardroom or on the tennis court, Brian W. Marsden set an example for others.

''On the court, a lot of people can be great competitors, or they can be real gentlemen," said Bud Schultz, former director of tennis at Longwood Cricket Club in the Chestnut Hill section of Brookline. ''Brian walked that fine line very well."

Mr. Marsden, who died at his Hingham home on April 20, was 54 and had had a brain tumor for more than two years.

A real estate manager and senior vice president of DL Saunders Cos. of Boston, Mr. Marsden was responsible for bringing a number of upscale restaurants and commercial ventures to Boston.

''Brian was instrumental in the rebirth of Park Square," his brother, William H. of Cohasset, said yesterday. He played a role in bringing Smith & Wollensky steakhouse to the Park Square Castle building and found properties for Todd English's Bonfire and McCormick & Schmick's seafood restaurant to lease. ''Brian was a master at finding the right property for the right client," his brother said.

Had he not gone into real estate management, Mr. Marsden would have chosen to be a professional tennis player, his brother said. He was the number one tennis player in New England in his age division, from the age of 16 into his 50s, his brother said.

He met life, and his illness, with the same tenacity with which he met an oncoming tennis ball.

In his eulogy, Richard Porth of Woodbridge, N.J., Mr. Marsden's roommate at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., recalled how their head tennis coach described Mr. Marsden in competition: ''Brian came onto the court and rattled other players with his dark Fu Manchu moustache, red head bandana, fierce smile, and a tennis racquet held like a sword -- a buccaneer who was out to win."

''I remember the swagger Brian walked with," Porth said. ''He would always enter the room with an air of self-confidence and the will to win."

Mr. Marsden's determination on the tennis court earned him victories: three at the Middle Atlantic Conference Championships while he was at Franklin and Marshall College in 1971, 1972, and 1973, and the men's double Bermuda Open championships in 1980 and 1981.

Mr. Marsden was born in Hingham, son of William and Marie (Fitzgerald), and grew up in Cohasset. ''Brian learned how to be competitive from our father," William Marsden said. Together, they competed in many father-and-son tournaments at Longwood Cricket Club.

Mr. Marsden's passion for tennis was boundless. Rick Knapp of Hingham, a friend for 45 years, recalled how he and Mr. Marsden were ball boys for such legendary tennis players as Pancho Gonzales and Jack Kramer in Boston.

After graduating from Wilbraham Academy in 1969, Mr. Marsden went to Franklin and Marshall, where he was a four-year letterman in tennis, football, and basketball, and graduated in 1973.

He started his real estate career in Boston, worked with Hines Interests and the First Winthrop Corp. before joining D.L. Saunders in 1994.

Tennis remained dominant in his life.

In his early years, the 6-foot-1-inch Mr. Marsden was a spectator's favorite. While always a gentleman, Mr. Marsden, under the pressure of competitive tennis, would sometimes throw a racket or argue with an umpire -- ''all before John McEnroe," William Marsden said. As an adult, and somewhat more restrained, Mr. Marsden loved to play at the Hingham Tennis Club.

His proudest moment in tennis, his brother said, came in 2002 when he and his son, Brian Jr., of Hingham, finished fourth in the National Grass Court Father-Son Championships at Longwood. That fall, the USA Tennis New England honored Mr. Marsden for his lifelong commitment to tennis, both as a player and instructor.

While winning a tennis match was important to Mr. Marsden, friends said, it wasn't everything.

''Brian was a fierce competitor but a very compassionate person," Rick Knapp said. ''He was always thinking about the future, never dwelling on the past. The day before his first surgery in 2002, Brian won a tough three-set tennis match. The combination of these traits was magnetic."

Besides his son and brother, Mr. Marsden leaves his wife, Mary (Zakas); another son, Trevor of Hingham, and a sister, Beth Ellen Marsden-Gilman of Cohasset.

Services have been held.