Gibson, Althea

From New World Encyclopedia
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[Image:Althea Gibson NYWTS.jpg|thumb|200px|Althea Gibson in 1956.]]
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{{epname|Gibson, Althea}}
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[[Image:Althea Gibson NYWTS.jpg|thumb|250px|Althea Gibson, ''World Telegram & Sun'' photo by [[Fred Palumbo]] in 1956.]]
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'''Althea Gibson''' (August 25, 1927 – September 28, 2003) was an [[United States|American]] sportswoman who, on August 22, 1950, became the first [[African-American]] woman to be a competitor on the world [[tennis]] tour. Supremely athletic, Gibson honed her talent to capture eleven [[Grand Slam]] championships during her career.
  
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'''Althea Gibson''' ([[August 25]], [[1927]] – [[September 28]], [[2003]]) was an [[United States|American]] sportswoman who, on [[August 22]], [[1950]], became the first [[African-American]] woman to be a competitor on the world [[tennis]] tour. She is sometimes referred to as "the [[Jackie Robinson]] of tennis" for breaking the "[[Racial segregation|color barrier]]".  
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Faced with difficult obstacles from early in her life, she was able to rise above [[racial discrimination|racial adversity]], and is sometimes referred to as "the [[Jackie Robinson]] of tennis" for breaking the "[[Racial segregation|color barrier]]." Graceful in victory and in defeat, she won many accolades during her life, and was named the Woman Athlete of the Year by the [[Associated Press]] both in 1957 and 1958, and was inducted into the [[International Tennis Hall of Fame]] in 1971.
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{{toc}}
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Though she shied away from the title of trailblazer, she is often cited as a pioneer for the [[African- American]] athletes that followed, including [[Arthur Ashe]], [[Venus Williams]], and [[Serena Williams]].
  
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==Biography==   
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==Early life==   
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Born in Silver, [[South Carolina]], Gibson was the daughter of [[sharecroppers]] and was raised in [[Harlem]], [[New York City]]. She and her family were on [[Welfare (financial aid)|welfare]]. Gibson had trouble in school and was often truant. She ran away from home quite frequently. She excelled in [[horsemanship]] but also competed in [[golf]], [[basketball]], and [[paddle tennis]]. Her talent for and love of paddle tennis led her to win tournaments sponsored by the [[Police Athletic League]] and the [[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation]]. Musician [[Buddy Walker]] noticed her playing [[table tennis]] and introduced her to [[tennis]] at the [[Harlem River Tennis Courts]]. [[Dr. Walter Johnson]], a [[Lynchburg, Virginia]] physician who was active in the black tennis community, helped with her training.
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Gibson was born to poor sharecropping parents in Silver, [[South Carolina]] and was raised in [[Harlem]], [[New York City]]. She and her family were on [[Welfare (financial aid)|welfare]]. Gibson had difficulty in school and was often truant. She ran away from home quite frequently. Despite her troubles as a youth, she showed promise as an athlete. She excelled in [[horsemanship]] and also competed in [[golf]], [[basketball]], and [[paddle tennis]]. Her talent and affinity for paddle tennis led her to win tournaments sponsored by the Police Athletic League and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. She was first introduced to [[tennis]] at the Harlem River Tennis Courts by musician [[Buddy Walker]], who noticed her playing table tennis. [[Dr. Walter Johnson]], a [[Lynchburg]], [[Virginia]] [[physician]] and Dr. [[Hubert Eaton]] of [[Wilmington]], [[North Carolina]], who were both avid tennis players, helped with her training.
  
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With the assistance of a sponsor, Gibson moved to [[Wilmington, North Carolina]] in [[1946]] for tennis training, and in [[1947]] at the age of 20, she won the first of 10 consecutive national championships run by the [[American Tennis Association]], the then-governing body for black tournaments. Forced to play in what was basically a [[Racial segregation|segregated]] sport, at age 23 Gibson was finally given the opportunity to participate in the [[1950]] [[U.S. Open (tennis)|U.S. Championships]] after [[Alice Marble]] had written an editorial for the [[July 1]], [[1950]], edition of ''American Lawn Tennis Magazine''.  Marble said, "Miss Gibson is over a very cunningly wrought barrel, and I can only hope to loosen a few of its staves with one lone opinion. If tennis is a game for ladies and gentlemen, it's also time we acted a little more like gentlepeople and less like sanctimonious hypocrites.... If Althea Gibson represents a challenge to the present crop of women players, it's only fair that they should meet that challenge on the courts." Marble said that if Gibson were not given the opportunity to compete, "then there is an uneradicable mark against a game to which I have devoted most of my life, and I would be bitterly ashamed."<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Billie Jean King]] with Cynthia Starr |title=We Have Come a Long Way: The Story of Women's Tennis |publisher=McGraw-Hill |location=New York |year=1988 |pages= 76|isbn=0-07-034625-9 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref>
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==Tennis career==
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{{readout||right|250px|Althea Gibson was the first African-American woman to play on the world [[tennis]] tour, winning eleven Grand Slam titles}}
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Gibson received sponsorship and moved to [[Wilmington]], [[North Carolina]] in 1946 to continue her tennis training. The following year, at the age of 20, she won the first of ten consecutive national championships run by the [[American Tennis Association]], the then-governing body for black tournaments. Limited to these tournaments due to [[racial segregation]], Gibson was not able to transcend the color barrier until age 23, when fellow player [[Alice Marble]] wrote an editorial for the July 1, 1950, edition of ''American Lawn Tennis Magazine'':
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<blockquote>"Miss Gibson is over a very cunningly wrought barrel, and I can only hope to loosen a few of its staves with one lone opinion. If tennis is a game for ladies and gentlemen, it's also time we acted a little more like gentlepeople and less like sanctimonious [[hypocrite]]s …. If Althea Gibson represents a challenge to the present crop of women players, it's only fair that they should meet that challenge on the courts." Marble said that if Gibson were not given the opportunity to compete, "then there is an ineradicable mark against a game to which I have devoted most of my life, and I would be bitterly ashamed."<ref>Billie Jean King with Cynthia Starr, ''We Have Come a Long Way: The Story of Women's Tennis'' (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988, ISBN 0070346259), 76.</ref></blockquote>
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Gibson was subsequently given the opportunity to participate in the 1950 [[U.S. Open (tennis)|U.S. Championships]].
  
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Gibson continued to improve her tennis game while pursuing an education. In [[1953]], she graduated from [[Florida A&M University]] on a tennis and basketball scholarship and moved to [[Jefferson City, Missouri]] to work as an athletic instructor at [[Lincoln University (Missouri)|Lincoln University]].
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Gibson continued to improve her tennis game while pursuing an education. In 1953, she graduated from [[Florida A&M University]] on a tennis and basketball scholarship and moved to [[Jefferson City]], [[Missouri]] to work as an athletic instructor at [[Lincoln University (Missouri)|Lincoln University]].
  
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Gibson was now able to compete against the best players from around the world because the color barrier had been broken. Gibson's game improved to where she won the [[1955]] [[Rome Masters|Italian Championships]].  The following year, she won her first [[Grand Slam in tennis|Grand Slam]] titles, capturing the [[French Championships]] in singles and in doubles with her partner, [[Jew]]ish Englishwoman [[Angela Buxton]]. Buxton had run into discrimination from other players and the tennis establishment along the same lines as those experienced by Gibson, so the two joined forces and achieved great success. Buxton was the first Jewish champion at Wimbledon, and Gibson was the first champion of [[African]] descent. An English newspaper reported their victory at Wimbledon under the headline "Minorities Win."
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After having been given opportunities for integrated tournament play, Gibson was able to compete against the world's best players. In 1955, she won the [[Rome Masters|Italian Championships]], and in 1956, she won her first [[Grand Slam in tennis|Grand Slam]] titles, capturing the [[France|French]] Championships in singles and in doubles with her partner, [[Jew]]ish [[Great Britain|English]]woman [[Angela Buxton]]. Buxton had run into discrimination from other players and the tennis establishment along the same lines as those experienced by Gibson, and found an empathetic ally in Gibson. The two noteworthy women formed a successful doubles tandem. An English newspaper reported their victory in 1956 at [[Wimbledon]] under the headline "Minorities Win." Their victory at Wimbledon made Buxton the first Jewish champion at Wimbledon, and Gibson the first champion of [[African]] descent. Their famous partnership would bring them two Grand Slam titles before Buxton was forced to retire at age 22 due to a serious hand injury.
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[[File:Althea-Gibson-Queen-Elizabeth-Wimbledon-1957.jpg|thumb|300px|Photograph of Queen Elizabeth II presenting Althea Gibson with the Venus Rosewater Trophy at the 1957 Wimbledon Women's Singles Championships. Gibson defeated Darlene Hard (left), her doubles partner; Hard and Gibson were the 1957 Wimbledon Women's Doubles Champions.]]
  
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She followed up by becoming the first black person to win a title at [[Wimbledon Championships|Wimbledon]], again capturing the doubles title with Buxton. At the U.S. Championships that year, she reached the singles final where she lost to [[Shirley Fry Irvin]].
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In 1957, Gibson became the first black person to win the singles title at Wimbledon, defeating [[Darlene Hard]] in the final. She also defended her doubles title, this time partnering with Hard. Following the tournament, when she returned to the United States, Gibson was given a ticker-tape parade in [[New York City]] and an official welcome at [[New York City Hall]]. She went on to win the U.S. Championships that summer. For her accomplishments that year, Gibson earned the No. 1 ranking in the world and was named the [[Associated Press]] Female Athlete of the Year.
  
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In [[1957]], Gibson lost in the singles final of the [[Australian Open|Australian Championships]], again to Irvin.   The two women, however, teamed to capture the doubles title, as Buxton had retired prematurely at the age of 22 due to a serious hand injury.  
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In 1958, after successfully defending her Wimbledon singles title and winning her third consecutive Wimbledon women's doubles title, Gibson again won the singles title at the U.S. Championships. She was named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive year. It was also the year she retired from amateur tennis.  
  
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At Wimbledon, Gibson won her first of two consecutive singles championships and, upon returning to the United States, was given a ticker-tape parade in New York City and an official welcome at [[New York City Hall]]. She responded by winning the U.S. Championships. For her accomplishments that year, Gibson earned the No. 1 ranking in the world and was named the [[Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year]].
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Before the [[open era]] of tennis began in 1968, players competed under [[amateur]] status, and did not receive [[endorsement]] deals or any prize money, other than an expense allowance. After her retirement, Gibson earned little from tennis, aside from a few exhibition tours, because at that time there was no professional tennis tour for women.
  
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In [[1958]], after successfully defending her Wimbledon singles title and winning her third consecutive Wimbledon women's doubles title, Gibson again won the singles title at the U.S. Championships. She was named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive year. That year, Gibson retired from amateur tennis. Before the [[open era]] began, there was no prize money, other than an expense allowance, and no endorsement deals. To begin earning prize money, tennis players had to give up their amateur status. As there was no professional tour for women, Gibson was limited to playing in a series of exhibition tours.
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===Golf===
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There was however a women's professional golf tour. In 1964 she became the first [[African-American]] woman to play in the [[LPGA|Ladies Professional Golf Association]].
  
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In retirement, Gibson wrote her autobiography and in [[1959]] recorded an album, ''[[Althea Gibson Sings]]'', as well as appearing in the motion picture, ''[[The Horse Soldiers]].'' In [[1964]], she became the first African-American woman to play in the [[LPGA|Ladies Professional Golf Association]]. However, she was too old to be successful and only played for a few years.
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Already in her late thirties when she turned to golf her best finish on the LPGA Tour came at the 1970 Len Immke Buick Classic, where she lost in a three-way playoff and tied for second. Gibson posted nine other top-10 finishes in her LPGA career. Over the course of her golf career, she earned $19,250.25, although she was one of the LPGA's top 50 money winners for five years.<ref> Anya Alvarez, [http://www.espn.com/espnw/culture/article/18724493/the-lesser-known-history-althea-gibson-golfer The lesser-known history of Althea Gibson the golfer] ''ESPNW'', February 20, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2019.</ref>
  
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In [[1971]], Gibson was inducted into the [[International Tennis Hall of Fame]], and in [[1975]], she was appointed the [[New Jersey]] state commissioner of athletics. After 10 years on the job, she went on to work in other public service positions, including serving on the governor's council on physical fitness.  In later years, she suffered two [[cerebral aneurysm]]s and a [[stroke]].
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==Retirement and later life==
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In later years, Gibson suffered two [[cerebral aneurysm]]s and in 1992 she suffered a [[stroke]]. A few years later, she found herself still in poor health and living on welfare, unable to pay for rent or medication. She called her former doubles partner and lifelong friend [[Angela Buxton]] and told her she was on the brink of [[suicide]]. Buxton secretly arranged for a letter to appear in a [[tennis]] [[magazine]] to urge the world to help Gibson. Nearly $1 million was collected for Gibson from letters from around the world.<ref>Nate Bloom, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120603125024/http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/20720/celebrity-jews-in-the-news/ Celebrity Jews in the News] ''Jweekly'', October 10, 2003. Retrieved September 24, 2019.</ref>
  
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Tennis players made no money in the ‘50s, and Gibson’s finances worsened over the years.  In 1992, she suffered a stroke.  A few years later, Gibson called Buxton and told her she was on the brink of suicide.  Gibson was living on welfare, and unable to pay for rent or medication. Buxton arranged for a letter to appear in a tennis magazine. Buxton told Gibson nothing about the letter, but Gibson figured it out when her mailbox started to bulge with envelopes full of checks from around the world.  Eventually nearly $1 million came in.[http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/923/edition_id/7/format/html/displaystory.html]
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Gibson died on September 28, 2003, in East Orange, [[New Jersey]] at the age of 76, due to [[respiratory failure]]. She was interred at the Rosedale Cemetery in Orange, New Jersey.  
  
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In [[2003]], at the age of 76, Gibson died in [[East Orange, New Jersey]] due to [[respiratory failure]] and was interred there in the [[Rosedale Cemetery, Orange, New Jersey]].
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Gibson was married twice: to William Darben, married October 17, 1965 and divorced August, 1976; and to her former tennis coach, Sydney Llewellyn, married April 11, 1983, divorced after 3 years. She then rekindled her friendship with her first husband, and they remained close until his death. She had no children.
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==Legacy==
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In 1958, Gibson wrote her autobiography called ''I Always Wanted To Be Somebody.'' The following year, she recorded an album, ''Althea Gibson Sings,'' and appeared in the motion picture ''[[The Horse Soldiers]].''
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[[File:Althea Gibson statue.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Statue of Althea Gibson, in Branch Brook Park, Newark, NJ]]
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In 1971, Gibson was inducted into the [[International Tennis Hall of Fame]] and the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 1980. In 1975, she was appointed the [[New Jersey]] state commissioner of athletics, a position she would hold for ten years. She was the first woman in the nation to serve in such a position. Later, she served in other public service roles, including a position with the governor's council on [[physical fitness]].
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In 1991, the [[NCAA]] honored Gibson with the [[Theodore Roosevelt]] Award, the organization's highest honor. She was the first woman to ever receive it.
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In 1988 she presented her Wimbledon trophies to the [[Smithsonian Institution]]'s National Museum of American History. In 2000 the National First Ladies' Library and the Smithsonian saluted Gibson at their Second Annual ''First Ladies Salute First Women'' awards dinner and cited her leadership in creating opportunities for minority athletes. Unable to attend the ceremony Ms. [[Fran Gray|Fran Clayton-Gray]], CEO of the Althea Gibson Foundation, received the award on her behalf. Gray, a longtime friend and co-founder of the Althea Gibson Foundation, said of Gibson, "Her contribution to the [[Civil rights|civil rights]] movement was done with her tennis racket."<ref>Deepti Hajela, [https://www.apnews.com/167f2d807eeb092e9428dbc73eb878f7 Black Tennis Pioneer Althea Gibson Dies] ''Associated Press'', September 28, 2003. Retrieved September 24, 2019.</ref>
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In 2001 the [[Wheaties]] ("Breakfast of Champions") [[cereal]] box featured a special-edition [[Black History Month]] package commemorating the career and accomplishments of Gibson at the Althea Gibson Early Childhood Academy in East Orange. The Wheaties package also featured information about the Althea Gibson Foundation that was established in 1998.
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In 2018, the USTA unanimously voted to erect a statue honoring Gibson at Flushing Meadows, site of the US Open. That statue was unveiled in 2019.<ref>Anne Branigin, [https://theglowup.theroot.com/althea-gibson-the-first-black-athlete-to-integrate-ten-1837591629 Althea Gibson, the First Black Athlete to Integrate Tennis, Finally Gets Her Flowers With New Statue] ''The Root'', August 26, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.</ref> Gibson's statue is only the second statue on the grounds of the U.S. Open erected in honor of a champion.
  
 
==Grand Slam finals==
 
==Grand Slam finals==
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|width="150"|'''Score in Final
 
|width="150"|'''Score in Final
 
|-bgcolor="#EBC2AF"
 
|-bgcolor="#EBC2AF"
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| [[1956]] || [[French Open|French Championships]]||{{flagicon|GBR}} [[Angela Mortimer Barrett]] || 6-0, 12-10
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| 1956 || [[French Open|French Championships]]||{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Angela Mortimer Barrett]] || 6-0, 12-10
 
|-bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
 
|-bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
−
| [[1957]] || [[The Championships, Wimbledon|Wimbledon]] || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Darlene Hard]] || 6-3, 6-2
+
| 1957 || [[The Championships, Wimbledon|Wimbledon]] || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Darlene Hard]] || 6-3, 6-2
 
|-bgcolor="#FFFFCC"
 
|-bgcolor="#FFFFCC"
 
| 1957 || [[U.S. Open (tennis)|U.S. Championships]] || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Louise Brough Clapp]] || 6-3, 6-2
 
| 1957 || [[U.S. Open (tennis)|U.S. Championships]] || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Louise Brough Clapp]] || 6-3, 6-2
 
|-bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
 
|-bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
−
| [[1958]] || Wimbledon <small>(2)</small> || {{flagicon|GBR}} Angela Mortimer Barrett || 8-6, 6-2  
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| 1958 || Wimbledon <small>(2)</small> || {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} Angela Mortimer Barrett || 8-6, 6-2  
 
|-bgcolor="#FFFFCC"
 
|-bgcolor="#FFFFCC"
 
| 1958 || U.S. Championships <small>(2)</small> || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Darlene Hard]] || 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
 
| 1958 || U.S. Championships <small>(2)</small> || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Darlene Hard]] || 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
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|width="150"|'''Score in Final
 
|width="150"|'''Score in Final
 
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
 
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
−
| [[1957]] || [[Australian Open|Australian Championships]] || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Shirley Fry Irvin]] || 6-3, 6-4
+
| 1957 || [[Australian Open|Australian Championships]] || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Shirley Fry Irvin]] || 6-3, 6-4
 
|-bgcolor="#FFFFCC"
 
|-bgcolor="#FFFFCC"
−
| [[1956]] || [[U.S. Open (tennis)|U.S. Championships]] || {{flagicon|USA}} Shirley Fry Irvin || 6-3, 6-4
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| 1956 || [[U.S. Open (tennis)|U.S. Championships]] || {{flagicon|USA}} Shirley Fry Irvin || 6-3, 6-4
 
|}
 
|}
  
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|width="100"|'''Score/Final
 
|width="100"|'''Score/Final
 
|-bgcolor="#EBC2AF"
 
|-bgcolor="#EBC2AF"
−
| [[1956]] || [[French Open|French Championships]] || Women's doubles || {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Angela Buxton]] || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Darlene Hard]]<br>{{flagicon|USA}} [[Dorothy Head Knode]] || 6-8, 8-6, 6-1
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| 1956 || [[French Open|French Championships]] || Women's doubles || {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Angela Buxton]] || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Darlene Hard]]<br/>{{flagicon|USA}} [[Dorothy Head Knode]] || 6-8, 8-6, 6-1
 
|-bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
 
|-bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
−
| 1956 || [[The Championships, Wimbledon|Wimbledon]] || Women's doubles || {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Angela Buxton]] || {{flagicon|UK}} [[Fay Muller]]<br>{{flagicon|UK}} [[Daphne Seeney]] || 6-1, 8-6
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| 1956 || [[The Championships, Wimbledon|Wimbledon]] || Women's doubles || {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Angela Buxton]] || {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Fay Muller]]<br/>{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Daphne Seeney]] || 6-1, 8-6
 
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
 
|-bgcolor="#CCCCFF"
−
| [[1957]] || [[Australian Open|Australian Championships]] || Women's doubles || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Shirley Fry Irvin]] || {{flagicon|AUS}}[[Mary Bevis Hawton]]<br>{{flagicon|UK}}[[Fay Muller]] || 6-2, 6-1
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| 1957 || [[Australian Open|Australian Championships]] || Women's doubles || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Shirley Fry Irvin]] || {{flagicon|AUS}}[[Mary Bevis Hawton]]<br/>{{flagicon|United Kingdom}}[[Fay Muller]] || 6-2, 6-1
 
|-bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
 
|-bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
−
| 1957 || Wimbledon <small>(2)</small> || Women's doubles || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Darlene Hard]] || {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Mary Bevis Hawton]]<br>{{flagicon|AUS}} [[Thelma Coyne Long]] || 6-1, 6-2
+
| 1957 || Wimbledon <small>(2)</small> || Women's doubles || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Darlene Hard]] || {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Mary Bevis Hawton]]<br/>{{flagicon|AUS}} [[Thelma Coyne Long]] || 6-1, 6-2
 
|-bgcolor="#FFFFCC"
 
|-bgcolor="#FFFFCC"
−
| 1957 || [[U.S. Open (tennis)|U.S. Championships]] || Mixed doubles || {{flagicon|DEN}} [[Kurt Nielsen]] || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Darlene Hard]]<br>{{flagicon|Australia}} [[Robert Howe (tennis)|Bob Howe]] || 6-3, 9-7
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| 1957 || [[U.S. Open (tennis)|U.S. Championships]] || Mixed doubles || {{flagicon|DEN}} [[Kurt Nielsen]] || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Darlene Hard]]<br/>{{flagicon|Australia}} [[Robert Howe (tennis)|Bob Howe]] || 6-3, 9-7
 
|-bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
 
|-bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
−
| [[1958]] || Wimbledon <small>(3)</small> || Women's doubles || {{flagicon|BRA}} [[Maria Bueno]] || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Margaret Osborne duPont]]<br>{{flagicon|USA}} [[Margaret Varner]] || 6-3, 7-5
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| 1958 || Wimbledon <small>(3)</small> || Women's doubles || {{flagicon|Brazil}} [[Maria Bueno]] || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Margaret Osborne duPont]]<br/>{{flagicon|USA}} [[Margaret Varner]] || 6-3, 7-5
 
|}
 
|}
  
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|width="100"|'''Score/Final
 
|width="100"|'''Score/Final
 
|-bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
 
|-bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
−
| [[1956]] || [[The Championships, Wimbledon|Wimbledon]] || Mixed doubles || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Gardnar Mulloy]] || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Shirley Fry Irvin]]<br>{{flagicon|USA}} [[Vic Seixas]] || 2-6, 6-2, 7-5
+
| 1956 || [[The Championships, Wimbledon|Wimbledon]] || Mixed doubles || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Gardnar Mulloy]] || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Shirley Fry Irvin]]<br/>{{flagicon|USA}} [[Vic Seixas]] || 2-6, 6-2, 7-5
 
|-bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
 
|-bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
−
| [[1957]] || Wimbledon || Mixed doubles || {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Neil Fraser]] || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Darlene Hard]]<br>{{flagicon|Australia}} [[Mervyn Rose]] || 6-4, 7-5
+
| 1957 || Wimbledon || Mixed doubles || {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Neil Fraser]] || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Darlene Hard]]<br/>{{flagicon|Australia}} [[Mervyn Rose]] || 6-4, 7-5
 
|-bgcolor="#FFFFCC"
 
|-bgcolor="#FFFFCC"
−
| 1957 || [[U.S. Open (tennis)|U.S. Championships]] || Women's doubles || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Darlene Hard]] || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Louise Brough Clapp]]<br>{{flagicon|USA}} [[Margaret Osborne duPont]] || 6-2, 7-5
+
| 1957 || [[U.S. Open (tennis)|U.S. Championships]] || Women's doubles || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Darlene Hard]] || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Louise Brough Clapp]]<br/>{{flagicon|USA}} [[Margaret Osborne duPont]] || 6-2, 7-5
 
|-bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
 
|-bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
−
| [[1958]] || Wimbledon || Mixed doubles || {{flagicon|DEN}} [[Kurt Nielsen]] || {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Lorraine Coghlan|Lorraine Coghlan Green]]<br>{{flagicon|Australia}} [[Bob Howe]] || 6-3, 13-11
+
| 1958 || Wimbledon || Mixed doubles || {{flagicon|DEN}} [[Kurt Nielsen]] || {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Lorraine Coghlan|Lorraine Coghlan Green]]<br/>{{flagicon|Australia}} [[Bob Howe]] || 6-3, 13-11
 
|-bgcolor="#FFFFCC"
 
|-bgcolor="#FFFFCC"
−
| 1958 || U.S. Championships || Women's doubles || {{flagicon|Brazil}} [[Maria Bueno]] || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Darlene Hard]]<br>{{flagicon|USA}} [[Jeanne Arth]] || 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
+
| 1958 || U.S. Championships || Women's doubles || {{flagicon|Brazil}} [[Maria Bueno]] || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Darlene Hard]]<br/>{{flagicon|USA}} [[Jeanne Arth]] || 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
 
|}
 
|}
  
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{|class="wikitable"
 
{|class="wikitable"
 
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
 
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
−
! Tournament !! [[1950]] !! [[1951]] !! [[1952]] !! [[1953]] !! [[1954]] !! [[1955]] !! [[1956]] !! [[1957]] !! [[1958]] !! Career SR
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! Tournament !! 1950 !! 1951 !! 1952 !! 1953 !! 1954 !! 1955 !! 1956 !! 1957 !! 1958 !! Career SR
 
|-
 
|-
 
| style="background:#EFEFEF;" | [[Australian Open (tennis)|Australia]]
 
| style="background:#EFEFEF;" | [[Australian Open (tennis)|Australia]]
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SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played
 
SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played
  
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==See also==
 
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*[[Althea Gibson Foundation]]
 
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*[[List of African American firsts]]
 
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*[[Tennis performance timeline comparison (women)|Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final]]
 
  
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==External links==
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== Notes==
 +
<references/>
 +
 
 +
==References==
  
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* [http://www.altheagibson.com/ Althea Gibson.com]
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*Gibson, Althea. ''I Always Wanted To Be Somebody.'' HarperCollins, 1958. ISBN 978-0060115159.
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* [http://www.tennisfame.com/famer.aspx?pgID=867&hof_id=119 International Tennis Hall of Fame profile]
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*Gray, Francis Clayton. ''Born To Win: The Authorized Biography of Althea Gibson.'' Wiley Publishing, 2004. ISBN 978-0471471653.
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* [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/tennis/09/28/gibson.obit.ap/index.html ''Sports Illustrated''] obituary
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*King, Billie Jean with Cynthia Starr. ''We Have Come a Long Way: The Story of Women's Tennis.'' New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988. ISBN 0070346259.  
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* [http://www.usta.com/home/default.sps United States Tennis Association]
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*Schoenfeld, Bruce. ''The Match: Althea Gibson & Angela Buxton: How Two Outsiders—One Black, the Other Jewish—Forged a Friendship and Made Sports History.'' Amistad, 2004. ISBN 978-0060526528.
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* [http://www.hickoksports.com/biograph/gibsonalthea.shtml Hickoksports.com] (a short biography)
 
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* [http://www.womenshistory.about.com/od/gibsonalthea/a/althea_gibson.htm.com Althea Gibson - Womens History.about.com]
 
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* [http://www.altheagibson.com/biographical.htm.com Althea Gibson Biography]
 
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* [http://www.who2.com/altheagibson.html Althea Gibson Biography (Short)]
 
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* [http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/ WTA Tour]
 
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* [http://www.usopen.org/en_US/about/history/xdchamps.html U.S. Open mixed doubles page]
 
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* [http://championships.wimbledon.org/en_GB/bios/rolls/ladiesdoublesroll.html Wimbledon women's doubles page]
 
  
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== References ==
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==External links==
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<references/>
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All links retrieved May 17, 2021.
  
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Althea}}
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*[https://www.thoughtco.com/althea-gibson-3529145 Althea Gibson] ''ThoughtCo''.
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[[Category:History, biography]]
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*[https://www.usta.com/en/home/stay-current/national/black-history-month-legends—althea-gibson.html Black History Month Legends: Althea Gibson] ''USTA''.
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[[Category:Art, Music, Literature, Sports and leisure]]
 
  
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[[Category:Athletes and sports professionals]]
 
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Revision as of 14:06, 17 May 2021

Althea Gibson, World Telegram & Sun photo by Fred Palumbo in 1956.

Althea Gibson (August 25, 1927 – September 28, 2003) was an American sportswoman who, on August 22, 1950, became the first African-American woman to be a competitor on the world tennis tour. Supremely athletic, Gibson honed her talent to capture eleven Grand Slam championships during her career.

Faced with difficult obstacles from early in her life, she was able to rise above racial adversity, and is sometimes referred to as "the Jackie Robinson of tennis" for breaking the "color barrier." Graceful in victory and in defeat, she won many accolades during her life, and was named the Woman Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press both in 1957 and 1958, and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1971.

Though she shied away from the title of trailblazer, she is often cited as a pioneer for the African- American athletes that followed, including Arthur Ashe, Venus Williams, and Serena Williams.

Early life

Gibson was born to poor sharecropping parents in Silver, South Carolina and was raised in Harlem, New York City. She and her family were on welfare. Gibson had difficulty in school and was often truant. She ran away from home quite frequently. Despite her troubles as a youth, she showed promise as an athlete. She excelled in horsemanship and also competed in golf, basketball, and paddle tennis. Her talent and affinity for paddle tennis led her to win tournaments sponsored by the Police Athletic League and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. She was first introduced to tennis at the Harlem River Tennis Courts by musician Buddy Walker, who noticed her playing table tennis. Dr. Walter Johnson, a Lynchburg, Virginia physician and Dr. Hubert Eaton of Wilmington, North Carolina, who were both avid tennis players, helped with her training.

Tennis career

Did you know?
Althea Gibson was the first African-American woman to play on the world tennis tour, winning eleven Grand Slam titles

Gibson received sponsorship and moved to Wilmington, North Carolina in 1946 to continue her tennis training. The following year, at the age of 20, she won the first of ten consecutive national championships run by the American Tennis Association, the then-governing body for black tournaments. Limited to these tournaments due to racial segregation, Gibson was not able to transcend the color barrier until age 23, when fellow player Alice Marble wrote an editorial for the July 1, 1950, edition of American Lawn Tennis Magazine:

"Miss Gibson is over a very cunningly wrought barrel, and I can only hope to loosen a few of its staves with one lone opinion. If tennis is a game for ladies and gentlemen, it's also time we acted a little more like gentlepeople and less like sanctimonious hypocrites …. If Althea Gibson represents a challenge to the present crop of women players, it's only fair that they should meet that challenge on the courts." Marble said that if Gibson were not given the opportunity to compete, "then there is an ineradicable mark against a game to which I have devoted most of my life, and I would be bitterly ashamed."[1]

Gibson was subsequently given the opportunity to participate in the 1950 U.S. Championships.

Gibson continued to improve her tennis game while pursuing an education. In 1953, she graduated from Florida A&M University on a tennis and basketball scholarship and moved to Jefferson City, Missouri to work as an athletic instructor at Lincoln University.

After having been given opportunities for integrated tournament play, Gibson was able to compete against the world's best players. In 1955, she won the Italian Championships, and in 1956, she won her first Grand Slam titles, capturing the French Championships in singles and in doubles with her partner, Jewish Englishwoman Angela Buxton. Buxton had run into discrimination from other players and the tennis establishment along the same lines as those experienced by Gibson, and found an empathetic ally in Gibson. The two noteworthy women formed a successful doubles tandem. An English newspaper reported their victory in 1956 at Wimbledon under the headline "Minorities Win." Their victory at Wimbledon made Buxton the first Jewish champion at Wimbledon, and Gibson the first champion of African descent. Their famous partnership would bring them two Grand Slam titles before Buxton was forced to retire at age 22 due to a serious hand injury.

Photograph of Queen Elizabeth II presenting Althea Gibson with the Venus Rosewater Trophy at the 1957 Wimbledon Women's Singles Championships. Gibson defeated Darlene Hard (left), her doubles partner; Hard and Gibson were the 1957 Wimbledon Women's Doubles Champions.

In 1957, Gibson became the first black person to win the singles title at Wimbledon, defeating Darlene Hard in the final. She also defended her doubles title, this time partnering with Hard. Following the tournament, when she returned to the United States, Gibson was given a ticker-tape parade in New York City and an official welcome at New York City Hall. She went on to win the U.S. Championships that summer. For her accomplishments that year, Gibson earned the No. 1 ranking in the world and was named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year.

In 1958, after successfully defending her Wimbledon singles title and winning her third consecutive Wimbledon women's doubles title, Gibson again won the singles title at the U.S. Championships. She was named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive year. It was also the year she retired from amateur tennis.

Before the open era of tennis began in 1968, players competed under amateur status, and did not receive endorsement deals or any prize money, other than an expense allowance. After her retirement, Gibson earned little from tennis, aside from a few exhibition tours, because at that time there was no professional tennis tour for women.

Golf

There was however a women's professional golf tour. In 1964 she became the first African-American woman to play in the Ladies Professional Golf Association.

Already in her late thirties when she turned to golf her best finish on the LPGA Tour came at the 1970 Len Immke Buick Classic, where she lost in a three-way playoff and tied for second. Gibson posted nine other top-10 finishes in her LPGA career. Over the course of her golf career, she earned $19,250.25, although she was one of the LPGA's top 50 money winners for five years.[2]

Retirement and later life

In later years, Gibson suffered two cerebral aneurysms and in 1992 she suffered a stroke. A few years later, she found herself still in poor health and living on welfare, unable to pay for rent or medication. She called her former doubles partner and lifelong friend Angela Buxton and told her she was on the brink of suicide. Buxton secretly arranged for a letter to appear in a tennis magazine to urge the world to help Gibson. Nearly $1 million was collected for Gibson from letters from around the world.[3]

Gibson died on September 28, 2003, in East Orange, New Jersey at the age of 76, due to respiratory failure. She was interred at the Rosedale Cemetery in Orange, New Jersey.

Gibson was married twice: to William Darben, married October 17, 1965 and divorced August, 1976; and to her former tennis coach, Sydney Llewellyn, married April 11, 1983, divorced after 3 years. She then rekindled her friendship with her first husband, and they remained close until his death. She had no children.

Legacy

In 1958, Gibson wrote her autobiography called I Always Wanted To Be Somebody. The following year, she recorded an album, Althea Gibson Sings, and appeared in the motion picture The Horse Soldiers.

Statue of Althea Gibson, in Branch Brook Park, Newark, NJ

In 1971, Gibson was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 1980. In 1975, she was appointed the New Jersey state commissioner of athletics, a position she would hold for ten years. She was the first woman in the nation to serve in such a position. Later, she served in other public service roles, including a position with the governor's council on physical fitness.

In 1991, the NCAA honored Gibson with the Theodore Roosevelt Award, the organization's highest honor. She was the first woman to ever receive it.

In 1988 she presented her Wimbledon trophies to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. In 2000 the National First Ladies' Library and the Smithsonian saluted Gibson at their Second Annual First Ladies Salute First Women awards dinner and cited her leadership in creating opportunities for minority athletes. Unable to attend the ceremony Ms. Fran Clayton-Gray, CEO of the Althea Gibson Foundation, received the award on her behalf. Gray, a longtime friend and co-founder of the Althea Gibson Foundation, said of Gibson, "Her contribution to the civil rights movement was done with her tennis racket."[4]

In 2001 the Wheaties ("Breakfast of Champions") cereal box featured a special-edition Black History Month package commemorating the career and accomplishments of Gibson at the Althea Gibson Early Childhood Academy in East Orange. The Wheaties package also featured information about the Althea Gibson Foundation that was established in 1998.

In 2018, the USTA unanimously voted to erect a statue honoring Gibson at Flushing Meadows, site of the US Open. That statue was unveiled in 2019.[5] Gibson's statue is only the second statue on the grounds of the U.S. Open erected in honor of a champion.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (7)

Wins (5)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
1956 French Championships Flag of United Kingdom Angela Mortimer Barrett 6-0, 12-10
1957 Wimbledon Flag of United States Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2
1957 U.S. Championships Flag of United States Louise Brough Clapp 6-3, 6-2
1958 Wimbledon (2) Flag of United Kingdom Angela Mortimer Barrett 8-6, 6-2
1958 U.S. Championships (2) Flag of United States Darlene Hard 3-6, 6-1, 6-2

Runners-up (2)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
1957 Australian Championships Flag of United States Shirley Fry Irvin 6-3, 6-4
1956 U.S. Championships Flag of United States Shirley Fry Irvin 6-3, 6-4

Doubles (11)

Wins (6)

Year Championship Event Partnering Opponents in Final Score/Final
1956 French Championships Women's doubles Flag of United Kingdom Angela Buxton Flag of United States Darlene Hard
Flag of United States Dorothy Head Knode		 6-8, 8-6, 6-1
1956 Wimbledon Women's doubles Flag of United Kingdom Angela Buxton Flag of United Kingdom Fay Muller
Flag of United Kingdom Daphne Seeney		 6-1, 8-6
1957 Australian Championships Women's doubles Flag of United States Shirley Fry Irvin Flag of AustraliaMary Bevis Hawton
Flag of United KingdomFay Muller		 6-2, 6-1
1957 Wimbledon (2) Women's doubles Flag of United States Darlene Hard Flag of Australia Mary Bevis Hawton
Flag of Australia Thelma Coyne Long		 6-1, 6-2
1957 U.S. Championships Mixed doubles Flag of Denmark Kurt Nielsen Flag of United States Darlene Hard
Flag of Australia Bob Howe		 6-3, 9-7
1958 Wimbledon (3) Women's doubles Flag of Brazil Maria Bueno Flag of United States Margaret Osborne duPont
Flag of United States Margaret Varner		 6-3, 7-5

Runners-up (5)

Year Championship Event Partnering Opponents in Final Score/Final
1956 Wimbledon Mixed doubles Flag of United States Gardnar Mulloy Flag of United States Shirley Fry Irvin
Flag of United States Vic Seixas		 2-6, 6-2, 7-5
1957 Wimbledon Mixed doubles Flag of Australia Neil Fraser Flag of United States Darlene Hard
Flag of Australia Mervyn Rose		 6-4, 7-5
1957 U.S. Championships Women's doubles Flag of United States Darlene Hard Flag of United States Louise Brough Clapp
Flag of United States Margaret Osborne duPont		 6-2, 7-5
1958 Wimbledon Mixed doubles Flag of Denmark Kurt Nielsen Flag of Australia Lorraine Coghlan Green
Flag of Australia Bob Howe		 6-3, 13-11
1958 U.S. Championships Women's doubles Flag of Brazil Maria Bueno Flag of United States Darlene Hard
Flag of United States Jeanne Arth		 2-6, 6-3, 6-4

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

Tournament 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 Career SR
Australia A A A A A A A F A 0 / 1
France A A A A A A W A A 1 / 1
Wimbledon A 3R A A A A QF W W 2 / 4
United States 2R 3R 3R QF 1R 3R F W W 2 / 9
SR 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 1 / 3 2 / 3 2 / 2 5 / 15

A = did not participate in the tournament

SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played


Notes

  1. ↑ Billie Jean King with Cynthia Starr, We Have Come a Long Way: The Story of Women's Tennis (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988, ISBN 0070346259), 76.
  2. ↑ Anya Alvarez, The lesser-known history of Althea Gibson the golfer ESPNW, February 20, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  3. ↑ Nate Bloom, Celebrity Jews in the News Jweekly, October 10, 2003. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  4. ↑ Deepti Hajela, Black Tennis Pioneer Althea Gibson Dies Associated Press, September 28, 2003. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  5. ↑ Anne Branigin, Althea Gibson, the First Black Athlete to Integrate Tennis, Finally Gets Her Flowers With New Statue The Root, August 26, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Gibson, Althea. I Always Wanted To Be Somebody. HarperCollins, 1958. ISBN 978-0060115159.
  • Gray, Francis Clayton. Born To Win: The Authorized Biography of Althea Gibson. Wiley Publishing, 2004. ISBN 978-0471471653.
  • King, Billie Jean with Cynthia Starr. We Have Come a Long Way: The Story of Women's Tennis. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988. ISBN 0070346259.
  • Schoenfeld, Bruce. The Match: Althea Gibson & Angela Buxton: How Two Outsiders—One Black, the Other Jewish—Forged a Friendship and Made Sports History. Amistad, 2004. ISBN 978-0060526528.

External links

All links retrieved May 17, 2021.

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