Althea
Gibson
Even those with little
interest in sports generally recognize the names of such great athletes as
Tiger Woods, Venus and Serena Williams, and Arthur Ashe. But those who follow
tennis and golf more closely know the name of Althea Gibson, an athlete who
broke many barriers and made it possible for other African-Americans to follow
in her footsteps.
She was born in Silver in
Gibson did not like school and
skipped it as often as possible. Her father’s whippings had little impact. She
preferred to be outdoors doing something more active. In 1941 she finished
junior high and began attending the
Gibson was a good all around
athlete, a tomboy in the parlance of the day. It had not taken long for others
to recognize her athletic abilities. Paddleball led to tennis. Blues musician
Buddy Walker, who worked for the city’s recreation program during the summer to
supplement his income, spotted her. He thought she would be a good tennis
player and encouraged her to try the game. Gibson recounted that her first time
out she played so well that she attracted an audience from among the other
players, including a teacher, Juan Serrell. Serrell belonged to the
Cosmopolitan Tennis Club, where upper-class African-Americans played. He
introduced her to the club’s tennis coach, Fred Johnson. The club members
thought she had so much potential that they purchased a membership for her. In
the summer of 1941, she began to take lessons at the Cosmopolitan Club. Although
he only had one arm, Johnson taught the young teen how to play the game. Gibson
found the hardest part of tennis was accepting the culture. Seeing how one should
dress in tennis whites and behave politely while playing as hard as possible in
order to win was difficult for her (Gibson, 27-30). She began to play as an
amateur in 1942, winning a tournament at the age of 15 and becoming the New
York State African-American girls’ singles champion. She played tennis under the
auspices of the American Tennis
Association (ATA), the organization for black players. In 1943 the
organization did not hold a national tournament, but Gibson was the girls’
singles champion in 1944 and 1945. Cosmopolitan Club members paid her expenses
so that she could travel to these events (Gibson, 31-33).
In 1945 Gibson turned 18 and
was no longer eligible for welfare benefits. She would have to become gainfully
employed. She moved in with a friend’s family and obtained a job as a waitress
to support herself, playing basketball and bowling for fun in her spare time.
Her friend, Gloria Nightingale, introduced her to boxer Sugar Ray Robinson and
his wife Edna, who became friends (Gibson, 34-36). Sugar Ray, along with a
number of
The world probably would never
have heard of Althea Gibson if not for Dr. Hubert Eaton and Dr. Walter Johnson,
two African-American physicians who loved tennis and helped many young
African-Americans who wanted to play the game. They wanted Gibson to go to
college and play tennis, but she was a high school dropout (Gibson, 37). The
two men persuaded the 18 year old to move to Wilmington, NC and to attend high
school there. In
Gibson had made up her mind to
finish high school, so she studied and managed to complete her degree in three
years, graduating near the top of her class. However, she never did really fit
in with the other students, perhaps because she was older, perhaps because she
had grown up in the North, or perhaps because she preferred to play sports. She
became the captain of the girls’ basketball team, and played football and
baseball with the boys as often as she could. She also joined the school
marching band, playing on a saxophone that Sugar Ray Robinson had purchased for
her several years earlier. The school had no tennis team, so she had to play at
home on Dr. Eaton’s tennis court (Gibson, 48-51; 57).
American Tennis Association
(ATA) events were mostly self-contained in the 1940s and 1950s, and those who
were present mostly kept to themselves. Virginia Glass, a former ATA president,
noted in an interview that the tournaments were held on the campuses of
traditionally black colleges. ATA tournaments included a range of social events
for the participants, such as parties, card games, and even a fashion show.
Gibson’s warm-up partner, Billy Davis, remembered her outstanding serve and
volley game, stating “She just dominated everyone she played” (“Playing
Tennis”). Her first summer with Dr. Johnson, Gibson won singles
championships in all nine of the tournaments she entered, as well as eight mixed
doubles championships while partnered with Dr. Johnson. Her biggest prize was
the ATA women’s singles national title, which she would win for ten years
straight beginning in 1947. Gibson’s self-assessment was quite accurate: “I was
the best woman player in Negro tennis” (Gibson, 48-51). Gibson herself credited
the ATA for giving her the opportunity to succeed, saying in its yearbook:
“That first break for me came when the ATA took an interest in me…” (“Playing
Tennis”).
By now Gibson wanted to go to
college. She applied to a number of traditionally black colleges, hoping that
her success in the tennis world would earn her a scholarship. Florida A & M
in
By the 1950s the white sports
world was beginning to open its doors to black athletes. Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby had integrated
professional baseball in 1947. The USLTA had also been forced to crack the door
open in 1947 when Oscar Johnson, the ATA junior champion, indicated that he
would sue in court if they did not allow him to play in the national indoor
juniors tournament. He lost that year, but won the tournament in 1948. Dr.
Johnson and Dr. Eaton had been pressuring the USLTA to allow Althea to play in
their tournaments. Public opinion was beginning to shift in favor of allowing
black athletes to play on the traditionally white circuits.
In July of 1950, American
Lawn Tennis Magazine published an editorial by tennis champ Alice Marble,
urging the tennis world to give Althea Gibson the opportunity to play in its
tournaments. Some years earlier, Gibson had seen Marble play and admired her
skill. Now she had another reason to admire her. Although Marble’s editorial
stirred the pot, Gibson was turned down when she requested an invitation to a
USLTA sanctioned state tournament in
In 1950, Gibson thus became
the first African-American to play tennis at the US Nationals at
Success would come slowly to
Althea Gibson. In the early 1950s, she continued to win the ATA tournaments,
but did not do well in USLTA events. Ranked number 9 in 1952 and number 7 in
1953, her ranking dropped to 13 in 1954. Gibson continued to work on her game.
At the suggestion of Sydney Llewellyn, a
It is impossible to know
whether Gibson failed to win these early tournaments because she did not play
as well as other competitors, or whether she was at least in part, a victim of
discrimination. As an African-American, Gibson had to face prejudice on as well
as off the court. When she played in USLTA-sanctioned events, referees called
her for her mistakes, or faults, while letting the white players get by.
Sometimes when she was scheduled to play in an event, it would be cancelled,
and she would not have the opportunity to play against strong competitors and
get the kind of experience she needed. Ostensibly, the matches would be
cancelled because there were not enough players or enough of an audience
(Obley).
In the meantime, Gibson needed
a paying job. After graduating from college, she took a teaching position at
After the tour ended in 1956,
Gibson headed for
Gibson’s tennis career would
peak in the mid to late 1950s, in the years just before and just after her 30th
birthday. In 1956 Gibson won her first “major,” the French Open. She was the
first African-American to win that title (Bamberger; “Arthur Ashe…”). Those
who watched her play in this and other tournaments were impressed by her
strength and by her ability. Sports Illustrated said of her: “She moves
rangily around the court like a slightly awkward panther…” At the age of 13,
future tennis champion Billie Jean King watched Gibson play. She later
remembered that day, saying: “My heart was pounding…I thought…I hope I can play
like that someday” (Ballard).
Gibson did not win the 1956 US
Open, losing in the finals. Although Gibson was under a great deal of pressure
because of the media attention, she refused to blame anyone but herself for her
loss. She was beginning to believe that she was good enough to win. Meanwhile,
other tournaments from around the world sent her invitations to play tennis.
She was subsequently invited to play in the Pacific Southwest Championships in
Gibson was finally ready to
dominate the game. The next two years would be banner years for her. She won
the
While the tennis world
recognized her talent, even if reluctantly, Gibson remained a victim of the
same kinds of discrimination experienced by all African-Americans, no matter
how famous. Travel was difficult for African-Americans in the 1950s. Public
accommodations were segregated. Some hotels would not admit her as a guest,
even as she became a rising tennis star. When supporters wanted to hold a
luncheon to recognize her, one hotel turned them down (Chua-Eoan). Such
discrimination would not become illegal until Congress passed the Civil Rights
Act of 1964. Despite this Gibson did not become bitter. She simply took the
attitude that such policies, while foolish, were not important. In her
autobiography, she commented “Maybe I can’t stay overnight at a good hotel in
Columbia, South Carolina, or play a tennis match against a white opponent in
the sovereign state of Louisiana, which has a law against such a social
outrage, but I can get along without sleeping at the Wade Hampton and I don’t
care if I never set foot in Louisiana. There is, I have found out, a whole lot
of world outside Louisiana – and that goes for South Carolina, Mississippi,
Georgia, Alabama, and all the other places where they haven’t got the message
yet…” (Gibson, 157). She simply went about her life, continuing to tour
and continuing to play.
Tennis did not make Gibson
rich. From the beginning, she had to depend on others to help her cover her
expenses. Boxer Joe Lewis bought her a plane ticket for her first
After retiring from tennis,
Gibson turned to another venue that was close to her heart. She liked to sing,
and had won a prize in an amateur singing contest as a teenager in 1943. In the
years after, as she noted “I was never without a song on my lips” (Gibson and
Curtis, 22). During her years playing amateur tennis she had often been asked
to sing before the crowds. In 1957, she began to work with a voice coach,
but juggling her voice lessons with playing tennis was difficult. A record
company official who heard her sing at a testimonial dinner asked her to record
an album. Although it seemed that her career had taken a new direction,
luck was not on her side. She had little time to work on the songs, and came
down with the flu shortly before her scheduled recording date. All the songs
would be recorded in one session. As she notes, “…conditions were far from
ideal” (Gibson and Curtis, 31). The album was released in 1958. She was
subsequently asked to appear on the Ed Sullivan show and sing. Although she
received mixed reviews from the critics, Sullivan asked her to return a second
time and to sing another song. Despite the popularity of the Ed Sullivan show,
her album did not sell well. However, by this time Gibson was on her way to
what she hoped would be a
Despite that disappointment,
other doors were opening. Gibson would have the opportunity to earn a good
salary as part of an opening act for the Harlem Globetrotters, the popular
entertainers who played their own version of basketball before crowds all over
the world. Gibson was becoming a businesswoman, forming a corporation that
would negotiate a figure of more than $80,000 for the first year’s tour. While
much of the money would go to cover expenses, it was still, in Gibson’s words,
“a breathtaking sum…” (Gibson and Curtis, 51). She might even be able to save some
money. Gibson would play tennis with another tennis player before each game or
during the halftime period.
She asked an old friend and
competitor, Karol Fageros, to join her in that role. In late 1959, they began
an exhausting tour that stretched from one end of the nation to the other. When
the tour ended in April of 1960, Gibson had salted away enough money to make a
down payment on a house for her family, and had attracted the interest of Ward
Baking Company. For the next five years, she would earn $25,000 a year by
making speeches about her life experiences at civic functions all around the
country under Ward’s sponsorship, fitting these events into her schedule.
The Globetrotters asked Gibson to join them on their international tour, but she
turned them down. Gibson hoped she could earn even more money with her own
basketball-tennis tour. As she laid her plans, she donated her time for free
tennis clinics and played in a professional tournament in
During the next several years,
which she described as “the lowest moment of my career” (Gibson and Curtis,
96), Gibson traveled extensively for Ward Baking Company, making numerous
public appearances. She began to save money and pay back the money she owed.
She no longer wished to play tennis, but she needed a physical outlet. Her
thoughts began to turn to golf and to new challenges. Gibson had enjoyed
playing golf for many years. As she noted in her autobiography, she had thought
about a professional career in golf as early as 1958. A fine athlete who
excelled at many sports, she could drive a golf ball well over 200 yards down
the fairway. Gibson had never had any formal training in golf, but many
observers had noted her natural ability. Although she was already in her early
30s, she might be able to play this game and to win. She persuaded her sponsor,
Ward Baking Company, to continue to provide support so that she could take
lessons and practice, although she would have to do this at public courses.
Most private courses did not allow African-Americans to join or to play. Many
also did not allow women of any race on the links.
Thus, in 1961 Gibson took up
golf and began to work toward earning her player’s card so that she could
compete in professional tournaments and be eligible to win money. She practiced
on public courses that were often crowded, and often had to play with
strangers. She worked hard but found a kind of peace in the rhythm of the game.
It was almost a religious experience for her. But playing golf was
expensive, even on public courses. Ward Baking Company was her main source of
income, and would continue to be so until the company terminated the contract
in 1965. Finally, Jerry Volpe, who was both owner and pro at the Englewood Golf
Club and who thought Gibson had potential, gave her an honorary membership in
his club. This freed her from some of the financial pressures. She was the only
African-American to hold a membership there at that time (Gibson and Curtis,
107-112). Gibson was finding that her years of tennis adversely affected her
swing. For example, she tended to hook the ball, curving the ball to the left.
Her putting game also needed a lot of work. Finally, she felt she was ready.
She played in a few amateur tournaments before playing in her first
professional tournament at Kenwood Country Club in
Gibson had notified the Ladies
Professional Golf Association (LPGA) of her intention to play golf as a
professional. Now she had to compete. She would have to score in the top 80% in
three out of four successive LPGA tournaments in order to win the coveted
player’s card. Gibson did not play well enough in 1963 to win her player’s
card. But she continued to work on her game, and played well enough win the
card in 1964. However, it was not all smooth sailing even from that point on.
Just as in her tennis playing days, she sometimes experienced discrimination.
At some clubs, she was allowed to play on the course but not permitted to use
the facilities at the clubhouse. Once she had her player’s card, she felt that
she was in a position to complain to the LPGA. In her autobiography, she notes
that on more than one occasion, a club that had humiliated her in this manner
subsequently lost its LPGA tournament. Whether her complaints were the sole
cause is impossible to say (Gibson and Curtis, 134-136).
Although she did not win and
made little money, she played in 171 tournaments between 1963 and 1977. Bob
Botsch, an avid golfer (and co-editor of this web page) saw her play in an LPGA
tournament in
As Gibson approached the end
of her professional career, she began to contribute in other ways to the world
of sports. She taught tennis clinics and gave lectures about physical fitness
(“Teeing it up”). Winning had always been important to Gibson, and she would
tell young players to “focus on what you’re supposed to do, not what’s around
you.” She encouraged young players who were beginning to play professional
tennis to think big. Leslie Allen, who won many tournaments during her
career, noted that Gibson urged her and others to focus on winning tournaments.
“It changed my whole mindset” she said (Amdur).
With her friend Frances
Clayton Gray, Gibson founded an organization to help young people who wanted to
play tennis or golf, the Althea
Gibson Foundation (Strunsky; Obley). She was appointed as
Although recognition was late
in coming, Althea Gibson received a number of honors in her lifetime, as well
as some that were posthumous. In 1971 Gibson was inducted into the International
Tennis Hall of Fame. In 1988 Gibson gave her
With little time for anything
but athletic competition, Gibson did not marry until she was in her thirties.
She was married twice and had no children (“First Black Tennis Champion”).
Sadly, she had no immediate family to be with her in her final years, when she
lived in
At a memorial service held at
a Newark, NJ church, David Dinkins, former mayor of New York, summed up
Gibson’s contributions, saying “A lot of folks stood on her shoulders…I’m not
just talking about black folks, but many others who were inspired by what she
achieved.” Zina Garrison, who in 1990 became the first African-American
finalist at
In a commemorative article
written after her death, a Sports Illustrated writer noted “Gibson had a
huge serve and at five foot eleven inches, extraordinary reach” (Ballard). Tony
Trabert, who played tennis around the same time as Gibson, noted that she
played as hard as she could and was not afraid to take chances. “She hits the
ball and plays like a man” Trabert said, strong praise from a player of that
generation (Amdur). It is hard to say what heights Althea Gibson might
have achieved if doors had been opened to her at a younger age.
*Gibson states in her first
autobiography, I Always Wanted to Be Somebody, that she was born on
August 25, as do some accounts of her life. Others state that her date of birth
was April 25.
Pictures of Gibson can be
viewed on a number of websites, including that of the Althea Gibson Foundation.
Sources:
Abel, Olivia. “The Natural:
Althea Gibson b. 1927.” People Weekly 60 (
“Althea Gibson.” National
Women’s Hall of Fame – Women of the Hall. Accessed at http://www.greatwomen.org/women.php?action=viewone&id=186
on
“Althea Gibson Chronology.” Biography
of Althea Gibson. Accessed online at http://www.altheagibson.com/bio.html
on 6/21/04.
Amdur, Neil. “2002 US Open
Preview; After 50 Years, Gibson Hasn’t Lost Her Luster.” New York Times (
“Arthur Ashe, Althea Gibson
honored at opening of new stadium.” Ebony 53 (November 1997): 146.
Bamberger, Michael. “Inside
the White Lines:
Barovick, Harriet.
“Milestones.” Time 162 (
Botsch, Robert E. Personal
interview. August 20, 2004.
Bush, George W. “Statement on
the Death of Althea Gibson.” Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents
39 (
Chua-Eoan, Howard. “The woman
who was somebody: while the world celebrates tennis, a pioneer languishes in
Crumbo, Chuck. “
“First Black tennis champion
Althea Gibson dies in
Gibson, Althea. I Always
Wanted to be Somebody. Ed. Ed Fitzgerald.
Gibson, Althea and Richard
Curtis. So Much to Live For.
“Gibson Funeral.” The State
(
“Gibson a Trailblazer.” The
State (
“Grand Slam: History of Blacks
in Tennis.” Black
Hajela, Deepti. “Trailblazing
Tennis Star Althea Gibson Dies at 76.” The State (
Lindsey, Fred R. “Black
Moulton, Chris. Assistant
Director, National Women’s Hall of Fame. Email.
“NAACP Award Named for Althea
Gibson.” The State (
Nichols, Rachel. “Gibson Had
Game, But Gave Much More.” The State (
Obley, Patrick. “
Obley, Patrick. “Forgotten.” The
State (
“Overlooked Heroine” in
“Breaking the Barriers: A
“Playing Tennis on the ATA
Tour.” Black
Schrock, Cliff. “Golf’s
Losses: McCormack, Hope among notable deaths.” Golf Digest 55 (February
2004): NE-6.
“Significant Events in Women’s
Sports History.” The State (
Smith Brinson, Claudia.
“Exhibit Symbolizes Dreams Realized Achievements of 75 Black Women Focus of
Photos at Museum.” The State (March 21, 1994): B3.
Soukup, Elise. “Transition.” Newsweek
(
Spear, Bob. “Gibson Dies
Without Fanfare She Deserves.” The State (
Spear, Bob. “Magazine’s List
Misses Some Giants.” The State (
“Sports in Brief.” The
State (
Strunsky, Steve. “Gibson
Hailed as a Pioneer.” The State (
“Teeing it Up.” Sports
Illlustrated 73 (
“Ten Greatest Women Athletes.”
Ebony 57 (March 2002): 74.
“This Week in Black History.” Jet
94 (
“This Week in Black History.” Jet
100 (
“This Week in Black History.” Jet
104 (
Zupan, Fran H. “Women of
Record Sites Honor Groups of Women.” The State (March 13, 1994): 4E.
Carol Sears Botsch
Associate Professor of
Political Science, USC Aiken
carolb@usca.edu
Last updated