1950 : Althea Gibson becomes first African-American on U.S. tennis tour
On this day in 1950, officials of the United States Lawn Tennis
Association (USLTA) accept Althea Gibson into their annual
championship at Forest Hills, New York, making her the first
African-American player to compete in a U.S. national tennis
competition.
Growing up in Harlem, the young Gibson was a natural athlete. She
started playing tennis at the age of 14 and the very next year won her
first tournament, the New York State girls' championship, sponsored by
the American Tennis Association (ATA), which was organized in 1916 by
black players as an alternative to the exclusively white USLTA. After
prominent doctors and tennis enthusiasts Hubert Eaton and R. Walter
Johnson took Gibson under their wing, she won her first of what would
be 10 straight ATA championships in 1947.
In 1949, Gibson attempted to gain entry into the USLTA's National
Grass Court Championships at Forest Hills, the precursor of the U.S.
Open. When the USLTA failed to invite her to any qualifying
tournaments, Alice Marble--a four-time winner at Forest Hills--wrote a
letter on Gibson's behalf to the editor of American Lawn Tennis
magazine. Marble criticized the "bigotry" of her fellow USLTA members,
suggesting that if Gibson posed a challenge to current tour players,
"it's only fair that they meet this challenge on the courts." Gibson
was subsequently invited to participate in a New Jersey qualifying
event, where she earned a berth at Forest Hills.
On August 28, 1950, Gibson beat Barbara Knapp 6-2, 6-2 in her first
USLTA tournament match. She lost a tight match in the second round to
Louise Brough, three-time defending Wimbledon champion. Gibson
struggled over her first several years on tour but finally won her
first major victory in 1946, at the French Open in Paris. She came
into her own the following year, winning Wimbledon and the U.S. Open
at the relatively advanced age of 30.
Gibson repeated at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open the next year but soon
decided to retire from the amateur ranks and go pro. At the time, the
pro tennis league was poorly developed, and Gibson at one point went
on tour with the Harlem Globetrotters, playing tennis during halftime
of their basketball games. In the early 1960s, Gibson became the first
black player to compete on the women's golf tour, though she never won
a tournament. She was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame
in 1971.
Though she once brushed off comparisons to Jackie Robinson, the
trailblazing black baseball player, Gibson has been credited with
paving the way for African-American tennis champions such as Arthur
Ashe and, more recently, Venus and Serena Williams. After a long
illness, she died in 2003 at the age of 76.
history.com/tdih.do
1485 : Battle of Bosworth Field
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5281
1851 : U.S. wins first America's Cup
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6997
1864 : International Red Cross founded
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5282
1922 : Michael Collins assassinated
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5283
1992 : Incident at Ruby Ridge
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5284
##########################################
On this day in 1950, officials of the United States Lawn Tennis
Association (USLTA) accept Althea Gibson into their annual
championship at Forest Hills, New York, making her the first
African-American player to compete in a U.S. national tennis
competition.
Growing up in Harlem, the young Gibson was a natural athlete. She
started playing tennis at the age of 14 and the very next year won her
first tournament, the New York State girls' championship, sponsored by
the American Tennis Association (ATA), which was organized in 1916 by
black players as an alternative to the exclusively white USLTA. After
prominent doctors and tennis enthusiasts Hubert Eaton and R. Walter
Johnson took Gibson under their wing, she won her first of what would
be 10 straight ATA championships in 1947.
In 1949, Gibson attempted to gain entry into the USLTA's National
Grass Court Championships at Forest Hills, the precursor of the U.S.
Open. When the USLTA failed to invite her to any qualifying
tournaments, Alice Marble--a four-time winner at Forest Hills--wrote a
letter on Gibson's behalf to the editor of American Lawn Tennis
magazine. Marble criticized the "bigotry" of her fellow USLTA members,
suggesting that if Gibson posed a challenge to current tour players,
"it's only fair that they meet this challenge on the courts." Gibson
was subsequently invited to participate in a New Jersey qualifying
event, where she earned a berth at Forest Hills.
On August 28, 1950, Gibson beat Barbara Knapp 6-2, 6-2 in her first
USLTA tournament match. She lost a tight match in the second round to
Louise Brough, three-time defending Wimbledon champion. Gibson
struggled over her first several years on tour but finally won her
first major victory in 1946, at the French Open in Paris. She came
into her own the following year, winning Wimbledon and the U.S. Open
at the relatively advanced age of 30.
Gibson repeated at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open the next year but soon
decided to retire from the amateur ranks and go pro. At the time, the
pro tennis league was poorly developed, and Gibson at one point went
on tour with the Harlem Globetrotters, playing tennis during halftime
of their basketball games. In the early 1960s, Gibson became the first
black player to compete on the women's golf tour, though she never won
a tournament. She was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame
in 1971.
Though she once brushed off comparisons to Jackie Robinson, the
trailblazing black baseball player, Gibson has been credited with
paving the way for African-American tennis champions such as Arthur
Ashe and, more recently, Venus and Serena Williams. After a long
illness, she died in 2003 at the age of 76.
history.com/tdih.do
1485 : Battle of Bosworth Field
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5281
1851 : U.S. wins first America's Cup
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6997
1864 : International Red Cross founded
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5282
1922 : Michael Collins assassinated
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5283
1992 : Incident at Ruby Ridge
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5284
##########################################
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