Black History Month: Althea Gibson

Today's Black History Month illustration is of Althea Gibson. She became the first Black athlete to cross the color line of international tennis and golf. (She has a TON of records, so here it goes!)

Gibson was born in 1927 on a cotton farm in South Carolina, but her family moved to Harlem in 1930. While growing up in NYC, she played paddle tennis under the supervision of the New York Police Athletic League. She became so good at paddle tennis that by the age of twelve, she won the NYC women’s paddle tennis championship.

In 1940, a group of Gibson’s neighbors put money together to pay for her junior membership at the Cosmopolitan Tennis Club in Harlem. A year later, she won her first tournament, the American Tennis Association’s NY State Championship, founded by Black tennis players. She won the ATA national championship in 1944 & 1945. In 1947, she won the ATA’s women’s singles championship, which she continued to win for 10 consecutive years.

Her success drew the attention of Dr. Walter Johnson, a Black physician from Virginia who was also an avid tennis player. He mentored her and helped her enter into competitions with the US Tennis Association (USTA). In 1949, she became the first Black woman and second Black athlete to play in the USTA’s National Indoor Championship. After that, she received a full athletic scholarship at Florida A&M.

In 1950, Gibson became the first Black to compete in the US Open at Forest Hills in Queens, NY. In 1956, she became the first African American to win the French Open. In 1957, she won Wimbledon, and received the trophy personally from Queen Elizabeth. She won the doubles championship as well and when she returned to NYC, she became the second athlete (after Jesse Owens) to receive a ticker tape parade.

In late 1958, after winning 56 national and international singles and doubles titles including 11 Grand Slam championships, she retired from amateur tennis at the age of 31. In 1964, at the age of 37, she became the first Black woman to join the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tour. Her best tournament finish was a tie for second place at the 1970 Buick Open.

Overall, Althea Gibson is considered to be one of the greatest tennis players in history and paved the way for players like Venus and Serena Williams.

My Althea Gibson illustration is also available as an art print here.

I’ll be back tomorrow with another illustration and story!

-Alleanna

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Further reading and watching:

Video: Highlights of the 1957 Wimbledon Women's Final - BBC TV

Interview: Althea Gibson "Tennis Star" on The Ed Sullivan Show

Performance: Althea Gibson "When You're Smiling (The Whole World Smiles With You)" on The Ed Sullivan Show

Picture Book: Althea Gibson: The Story of Tennis' Fleet-of-Foot Girl, written by Megan Reid and illustrated by Laura Freeman

Sources:

May appear in Nationals New York: Althea Gibson (above) may be the first Negro ever to play in the National Tennis Tournament at the West Side Club in Forest Hills. Miss Gibson has been working out on the famed courts, which is generally tantamount to confirming an invitation to the Nationals.

1 photographic print. | Photograph shows Althea Gibson with a racquet and ball.

The Library of Congress

Unmatched - WILMA magazine

ALTHEA GIBSON, the first black player to win a Grand Slam title, trained and rose to the top in a local backyard tennis court in Wilmington.

WILMA magazineLori Wilson

Althea Gibson | Biography, Titles, & Facts | Britannica

Althea Gibson, American tennis player who was the first Black person to win the French, Wimbledon, and U.S. singles titles.

Encyclopedia Britannica

The Detroit tribune. (Detroit, Mich.) 1935-1966, July 27, 1957, Page 5, Image 5

The Detroit tribune. (Detroit, Mich.) 1935-1966, July 27, 1957, Page 5, Image 5, brought to you by Central Michigan University, Clark Historical Library, and the National Digital Newspaper Program.

Library of Congress

Althea Gibson (1927-2003) •

Althea Gibson, a sharecropper’s daughter, entered the world of sports when segregation severely limited opportunities for African Americans. She eventually became the first black athlete to cross the color line of international tennis and golf. Althea Gibson was born on August 25, 1927, to Daniel … Read MoreAlthea Gibson (1927-2003)

BlackPast LogoZanice Bond