Born in Silver, South Carolina, Gibson grew up in Harlem. At 5' 11" tall, Gibson was born to be an athlete. A troubled youth, Gibson nonetheless excelled in sports, particularly table tennis. The Police Athletic League and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation sponsored table tennis matches. Gibson won a number of those tournaments.
Musician Buddy Walker caught one of Gibson's table tennis matches and introduced her to the game of tennis at the Harlem River Tennis Courts. She continued her training in Wilmington, North Carolina. She won ten consecutive national championships in black tournaments run by the American Tennis Association (ATA). In 1947, sports were still segregated and the ATA governed black tennis tournaments.
Wimbledon Champion
Another tennis champion, Alice Marble, came to Gibson's defense when it came to her participation in the U.S. Championships. In an editorial in American Lawn Tennis Magazine, Marble wrote:
"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."
Gibson was then invited to participate in the U.S. Open.
In 1955, Gibson won the Italian Champions and won her first Grand Slam titles in 1956. She and her doubles partner, Angela Buxton, a Jewish Englishwoman who had also encountered discrimination in the tennis world, won in the doubles title at Wimbledon. The headline "Minorities Win" graced an English newspaper after their win.
Gibson received a ticker-tape parade in New York City when she won her first of two consecutive Wimbledon singles championships in 1957. She also received an official welcome at New York City Hall.
Gibson Autobiography
Gibson published her autobiography, "I Always Wanted to Be Somebody" (Harpercollins June 1958) and she recorded an album in 1959 year, "Althea Gibson Sings." She also appeared in the movie, "The Horse Soldiers" that same year.
In 1957 and 1958, Gibson was named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year. During that time, however, there was no prize money for tennis players. There was also not professional tour for women in those days. Giving up her amateur status, Gibson played a series of exhibition tours.
Gibson was the top ranked U.S. player in 1957 and 1958. She also appeared on the TV panel game show, "What's My Line?" in 1958.
In 1963, Gibson was the first African-American woman to join the Ladies Professional Golf Association and played professional golf for fifteen years. Her best finish was a tie for second place. She retired from professional golf in 1978.
In all, Gibson won 11 major titles in singles and doubles tennis championships from the French Open to the U.S. Championships to Wimbledon.
Gibson was the first woman appointed as New Jersey state commissioner of athletics in 1975 and held that position for ten years. She also served on the State's Athletics Control Board until 1988 and the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness until 1992.
By 1992, Gibson's health was declining after she had a stroke and her finances had suffered. On the verge of suicide, she contacted her old friend Buxton to commiserate about her situation. Buxton wrote a letter to a tennis magazine, asking people to help Gibson. As a result, Gibson received nearly $1 million from people she didn't even know.
Althea Gibson died on Sunday, September 28, 2003.
Althea Gibson Foundation
The Althea Gibson Foundation was established in 1998 for the purpose of "identifying, encouraging and providing financial support for urban youth who wish to develop their skills and talents in the sports of tennis or golf and have decided to pursue a career as a student athlete at the post-secondary level."
Hall of Fame
From 1971 on, Gibson was inducted into several sports halls of fame:
1971 - National Lawn Tennis Hall of Fame
1971 - International Tennis Hall of Fame
1974 - Black Athletes Hall of Fame
1983 - South Carolina Hall of Fame
1984 - Florida Sports Hall of Fame
1980 - International Women's Sports Hall of Fame
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.
Sources:
American Lawn Tennis Magazine, July 1, 1950
Jweekly.com Friday, October 10, 2003
Penny White - Penny White has been writing since the age of ten. She is an avid supporter of women's history. She also loves music, movies, NCIS, ...
