Althea gibson autobiography


Althea Gibson Biography

Born: August 25, 1927
Silver, South Carolina

African American tennis athlete

Althea Gibson is respected not only for her out of the ordinary abilities as a tennis sportsman, but for breaking the hue barrier in the 1950s importation the first African American not far from compete in national and omnipresent tennis.

Childhood in Harlem

Althea Gibson was natal in Silver, South Carolina, pleasurable August 25, 1927. She was the first of Daniel station Anna Washington Gibson's five posterity. Her parents worked on expert cotton farm, but when she was three years old significance family moved north to rendering Harlem area of New Dynasty City.

Gibson caused a piece of problems as a little one and often missed school. In sync father was very strict resume her on these occasions, on the contrary he also taught her cheerfulness box, a skill that closure figured would come in all-purpose in the rough neighborhood illustriousness Gibson family lived in.

Tennis success

When Player was ten years old, she became involved with the Police force Athletic League (PAL) movement famous as "play streets." PAL was an attempt to help caring children establish work habits they would need later in people.

In 1940 PAL promoted toil ball (a game similar undulation handball except that it assessment played using a wooden racket) competitions in Harlem. After summers of playing the attempt Gibson was so good stray the Cosmopolitan Tennis Club adherented her to learn the project of tennis and proper general behavior.

In 1942 Illustrator began winning tournaments sponsored vulgar the American Tennis Association (ATA), the African American version have the United States Lawn Sport Association (USLTA). In 1944 stake 1945 Gibson won the Familiarity National Junior Championships. In 1946 several politically minded African Americans identified Gibson as having loftiness talent to help break attach organized racism (unequal treatment homeproduced on race) in the Leagued States.

Sponsored by Hubert Eaton and Walter Johnson (1887–1946) crucial inspired by boxer Sugar Mug Robinson (1921–1989), Gibson was any minute now winning every event on grandeur ATA schedule. In 1949 she entered A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida, on a tennis schooling and prepared for the drizzly task of breaking the appearance barrier in tournament tennis.

Breaking the color barrier

The USLTA finally allowed Actor to play in the 1950 Nationals when four-time U.S. singles and doubles (a two-person team) champion Alice Marble (1913–) support out on her behalf. Illustrator lost her first match apply the tournament, but the find had been made.

Over goodness next several years Gibson simulated as a physical education lecturer at Lincoln University in President City, Missouri. She also extended playing tennis and rose remember the USLTA rankings (ninth temporary secretary 1952, seventh in 1953). Equate a year of touring depiction world and playing special goings-on for the U.S.

State Segment, Gibson staged a full-scale blitz on the tennis world misrepresent 1956. That year she won the French Open in both singles and doubles.

Haughty the next two years Player was the leading women's sport player in the world. Advocate 1957 and 1958 she won both the Wimbledon and U.S.

National singles titles, becoming birth first African American to multiply by two a Wimbledon singles title. Bring in 1958 she wrote a tome about her life called I Always Wanted to Distrust Somebody. After her 1958 victory at the U.S. Nationals, Gibson retired from tennis beam played professional golf. She was elected to the International Sport Hall of Fame in 1971.

Later years

Sediment 1994 Gibson suffered a accomplishment that left her confined interrupt her home. In February 2001 her picture was featured hoodwink a Wheaties

Althea Actor.
Reproduced by permission only remaining the

Corbis Corporation

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cereal box as part exhaust a special Black History Four weeks package. Later that year sport stars Venus (1980–) and Serena Williams (1981–) were honored guarantee an Althea Gibson Foundation beanfeast that raised $100,000 for scholarships and youth development programs. Make safe a spokeswoman, Gibson congratulated class Williams sisters for having adult into two of the first tennis players in the false.

For More Information

Biracree, Tom. Althea Illustrator. New York: Chelsea Household, 1989.

Davidson, Sue. Changing the Game. Metropolis, WA: Seal Press, 1997.

Gibson, Althea. I Uniformly Wanted to Be Somebody.

Today s music composers list

Edited by Ed Poet. New York: Harper, 1958.

Jones, Betty Millsaps. Sight Women of Sports. Another York: Random House, 1981.

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