Black Out in New York City

Althea Gibson who won the US Nationals in 1957, becoming the first Black person with what became the US Open, gets her just due in a moving tribute on Arthur Ashe Stadium tonight. We got on Wimbledon for not giving Althea her due this year, but she actually won Roland Garros in 1956 to become the first Black person to win a Slam and her anniversary last year was overlooked by all. Still, better late than never.

The telecast opened with Serena and Venus Williams in giving props to Althea. A Black hero. A woman's hero. A tennis idol. Goosebumps.





Billie Jean King, who received her own tribute last year whe the USTA Tennis Center was renamed in her honor, holds a plaque honoring Althea in the opening night ceremony. Althea was officially inducted into the US Open Court of Champions. She died broke in 2003. Too bad she wasn't around to experience all of this. Better late than never.



Aretha Franklin holds her arms aloft after putting down "Respect" for the rapt audience.



Rachel Robinson, widow of Jackie Robinson who integrated major league baseball, looks on.



Janet Jackson takes it all in from the Williams family box.



Jackie Joyner Kersey, back-to-back Olympic Gold Medalist in the heptathlon, and Carol Moseley Braun, first Black woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate (Illinois), hold court as pioneering Black women in their professions. Other women honored include Dr. Mae Jemison, first Black woman to travel into space; Dr. Debi Thomas, 1988 Olympic silver medalist in figure skating; Sharon Pratt, first Black woman elected major of a major U.S. city; Yolanda Adams, Grammy winning gospel singer; Vonetta Flowers, Olympic Gold Medalist, 2002 U.S. bobsledding team; Ella Bully-Cummings, first Black female chief of police, Detroit; Sheila Crump Johnson, co-founder Black Entertaiment Television (BET), owner of 3 professional sports franchises and sole owner of PGA Tour golf courses; Traci Green, first Black female tennis head coach at Harvard; Nikki Giovanni, award winning poet and activist; Loretta Claiborne, first Special Olympics athlete to win the ESPY and the first Black woman to win the Arthur Ashe Courage Award; Susan L. Taylor of Essence, winner of Henry Johnson Fisher Award, the highest award in magazine publishing; Lynette Woodard, first female member of Harlem Globetrotters; Cynthia Cooper, two-time WNBA most valuable player; Roberta Flack, first artist ever to win back-to-back Grammy's for Record of the Year; and Zina Garrison, first Black player to win Olympic tennis Gold Medal. Phylicia Rashad, the first Black woman to win a Tony for lead actress in a drama, gave a speech about Althea near the beginning of the tribute and introduced the other pioneers.



Oracene Price, mother of multiple Slam champions Serena and Venus, is ravishing with gold hair.



Donald Young wins his first Slam match, coming from a set down to defeat Chris Guccione of Australia 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.



Venus reacts to setting a new serve record for women. 129mph. Ouch. She also won her first-round match over Hungarian qualifier Kira Nagy 6-2, 6-1.



Miami native Ahsha Rolle musta felt the love. She upset No. 17 seed and 2006 quarterfinalist Tatiana Golovin of France 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 for her first win in Flushing Meadows.



Qualifier Scoville Jenkins isn't so lucky. He falls to Roger Federer 3-6, 2-6, 4-6 in his first round, bringing his US Open record to 1-3. Apparently, he was out of the game for a while with a wrist injury that forced him to wear a cast. He has enough talent to be a decent professional player but I still feel that before his injury he got too little help from the USTA. Perhaps his name and his cornrows aren't helping his cause. Just sayin.



Serena closes out the night, shaking off some rust, and subdues hard hitting lefty Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-3, 7-5. Serena gives the thumbs up after the match. She hit her backhand well. No sign of injury. Great sign moving forward.

Black History Month: Honoring Althea Gibson

In 1956, Althea became the first person of her race to win the French Championship by defeating England's Angela Mortimer, 6-3, 11-9.













The world of women's tennis had not seen a player with the athletic ability and stature displayed here by Althea in 1957 at Wimbledon.











Althea is being congratulated by her gracious opponent, Darlene Hard, after defeating her in the Wimbledon finals in 1957.













Receiving the 1957 Wimbledon Singles Championship trophy from England's Queen Elizabeth.














It was quite an honor when Althea was asked to sing at this 1957 Wimbledon ball.













Althea playing the saxophone given to her by her lifelong friend and supporter Sugar Ray Robinson.













After qualifying for the Ladies Professional Golf Association in 1964, Althea played in 171 LPGA Tournaments.












Althea was one of the longest hitters in the game, on occasion, driving the ball 325 yards "if she got a tail wind."
















Althea poses for a glamour shot.


Playing here during the State Department Goodwill Tour which took place in 1956.


Althea's parents, Daniel and Annie, look on as Althea is presented with the Medallion of the City by Mayor Wagner after the 1957 ticker tape parade given in recognition for her Wimbledon victory.

Althea Gibson
Born August 25, 1927 in Silver, SC. A right-hander, [she] grew up in Harlem. Her family was poor, but she was fortunate in coming to the attention of Dr. Walter Johnson, a Lynchburg VA physician who was active in the black tennis community. He became her patron as he would later for Arthur Ashe, the black champion at Forest Hills (1968) and Wimbledon (1975). Through Dr. Johnson, Gibson received better instruction and competition, and contacts were set up with the USTA to inject her into the recognized tennis scene.

A trailblazing athlete who become the first African American to win championships at Grand Slam tournaments such as Wimbledon, the French Open, the Australian Doubles and the United States Open in the late 1950s. Gibson had a scintillating amateur career in spite of segregated offerings earlier in the decade.

She won 56 singles and doubles titles during her amateur career in the 1950s before gaining international and national acclaim for her athletic prowess on the professional level in tennis.

Gibson won 11 major titles in the late 1950s, including singles titles at the French Open (1956), Wimbledon (1957, 1958) and the U. S. Open (1957, 1958), as well as three straight doubles crowns at the French Open (1956, 1957, 1958).

In 1957, she was the first black to be voted by the Associated Press as it Female Athlete of the Year. She won the honor again in 1958. After winning her second U.S. Championship, she turned professional. One year she earned a reported $100,000 in conjunction with playing a series of matches before Harlem Globetrotter basketball games.

There was no professional tennis tour in those days, so Gibson turned to the pro golf tour for a few years, but she didn't distinguish herself. She tried playing a few events after open tennis started in 1968, but she was in her 40's and too old to beat her younger opponents. She worked as a tennis teaching pro after she stopped competing.

She became New Jersey State Commissioner of Athletics in 1975, a post she held for 10 years. She then served on the State's Athletics Control Board until 1988 and the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness until 1992. On September 28, 2003 at the age of 76, Althea Gibson died in East Orange General Hospital.

The title of her autobiography, written in 1958, is "I Always Wanted to Be Somebody." To tennis fans, she always will be somebody very special. Though she didn't go looking for the role of pioneer, she was one. "If it hadn't been for her," says Billie Jean King, winner of 12 Grand Slam singles titles, "it wouldn't have been so easy for Arthur (Ashe) or the ones who followed."

Grand Slam Record
1957-1958 Wimbledon Singles Championship
1956-1958 Wimbledon Doubles Championship
1956-1958 Wimbledon Mixed-Doubles Finalist
1957-1958 USLTA Singles Championship
1957 USLTA Mixed-Doubles Championship
1957-1958 USLTA Doubles Finalist
1957-1958 USLTA Singles Championship
1957 Australian Doubles Championship
1957 Australian Singles Finalist
1956 French Singles Championship
1956 French Doubles Championship

Other Key Tournaments
1960 Pepsi Cola World Pro Tennis Singles Championship
1960 Pepsi Cola World Pro Tennis Doubles Championship
1959 Pan-American Singles Championship
1957-1958 U.S. Wightman Cup Team
1957-1958 Caribbean Championship
1957 USLTA Clay Court Championship
1957 USLTA Clay Court Women’s Doubles Championship
1956-1957 Pacific Southwest International Championship
1947-1957 American Tennis Assoc. Women’s Singles Championship
1956 Italian Singles Championship
1956, 1958 71st Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship
1956 Championship of International Tournament of Italy-Palermo
1956 All-India Championship
1956 German Indoor Championship
1956 French Indoor Championship
1956 Surrey Grass Court Championship
1956 West of England Lawn Tennis
1956 International Championship, Lyons, France
1956 International Championship, Cannes, France
1956 International Championship, Monte Carlo, Monaco
1956 Eastern Grass Court Championship
1955 Rose Taubele Memorial Championship
1954-1955 New York State Championship
1953-1954 Red Rose Championship
1951 International Championship, Dortmund, Germany
1951 Frinton-by-the-Sea Championship
1950 Good Neighbor Championship
1950 Eastern Indoor Championship
1950 Caribbean Championship

Selected Awards
International Tennis Hall of Fame
National Lawn Tennis Hall of Fame
International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame
New Jersey Sports Hall of Fame
Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame
International Scholar-Athletes Hall of Fame
Black Athletes Hall of Fame
South Carolina Hall of Fame
Florida Sports Hall of Fame
Associated Press Woman Athlete of the Year (1957-1958)
First Ladies Salute First Women Award
Who’s Who in American Women
Babe Zaharias Outstanding Women Athlete of the Year
NCAA Theodore Roosevelt Award
Sports Illustrated Top 100 Greatest Female Athletes
Florida A&M Athlete of the Century
Florida Women’s Hall of Fame

All photos and text taken from altheagibson.com

Black History Month: African Americans in Tennis

IN OBSERVANCE of Black History Month, I'll be posting tributes throughout February of Black players who have made their mark in tennis history. Since Black History Month is an American invention (well, there is a Black History Month in October in Britain as well, and who knows how many more in predominantly non-Black nations), my focus will be on Black players from the United States. However, whenever my research warrants it, I'll also pay tribute to Black players from other parts of the world.

This first entry focuses on American players through Arther Ashe. Many are missing, but I hope to fill in the gaps throughout the month.

Ora Mae Washington

American Tennis Association and Women's Basketball., January 23, 1898
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Ora Washington, who won eight ATA women's titles (1929-1937), was undefeated from 1924-1936. Washington was also a top-scoring center and coach for the African-American women's basketball team, the Philadelphia Tribunes.




American Tennis Association

Tennis Association, November 30, 1916
Washington, District of Columbia

The American Tennis Association is one of the oldest African-American sports organizations in the United States. Organized at a meeting held in the Washington, D.C., YMCA, it showcased talented African-American tennis players in the era of segregated tennis and is still an active organization. At its first championship in Baltimore in 1917, Tally Homes won the Men's Singles event and Lucy Slowe the Women's singles.

Oscar Johnson

United States Lawn Tennis Association, 1948
Los Angeles, California

In August 1948, African-American tennis junior, Oscar Johnson, played in the National Junior Public Parks championships in Griffith Park, Los Angeles; in December of the same year he competed in the National Junior Indoor championships in St. Louis.

Dr. Reginald Weir
U.S. Lawn Tennis Association, March 11, 1948
New York City, New York

Reginald Weir was the first African-American man to compete in the U.S. Indoor Lawn Tennis Championship.

Althea Gibson

U.S. Open, United States Lawn Tennis Association, August 28, 1950
Forest Hills, New York

Althea Gibson was the first African American ever to play in the U.S. Open. In 1956, she became the first African American to win a Grand Slam event, the clay surface French Open. She became the first African American to win a women's title at the U.S. Open in 1957 and repeated her victory in 1958. Althea Gibson also was the first African American to win the All-England Lawn Tennis Women's Singles Championship at Wimbledon in 1957 and repeated in 1958. After retiring from tennis, she became the first African-American woman to earn her card in the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), in 1964.

Reginald Weir and George Stewart
U.S. Open, United States Lawn Tennis Association, August 29, 1952
Forest Hills, New York

Two years after Althea Gibson integrated the U.S. Open for women, African-American men participated. Reginald Weir became the first of the two men to compete in the first round of the Open; George Stewart played the next day.

Arthur Ashe
Davis Cup, United States Professional Tennis Association, August 1, 1963
Richmond, Virginia

Arthur Ashe was the first African-American man to dominate men's professional tennis, even though Jim Crow laws prevented him from playing on the public courts of his native Richmond. After holding championships in the American Tennis Association (the African American tennis league) from the age of 12 onwards, and winning the national intercollegiate championship as a UCLA student, he was named as the first African American to integrate the Davis Cup team. He won the U.S. National Championship and the U.S. Open in 1968, the only tennis player to accomplish this feat. He was the first African-American man to win the Australian Open (1970) and Wimbledon (1975). His three-volume history of African-American athletes, Hard Road to Glory (1988) is one of the most comprehensive studies of this subject.

Source

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