Arthur Ashe Jr. ....
On this day in 1964, Arthur Ashe becomes the first black on the U.S. Davis Cup team.
As a tennis player, Arthur Ashe was one of the most prominent players of his time, capturing the NCAA Championship at UCLA, winning three Grand Slam events, including Wimbledon in 1975, and earning election into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1985. His legacy, however, will be the positive changes he helped forge and the causes he championed, both within tennis, and in society as a whole. As the first and only African-American to be ranked No. 1 in the world, and the first black male to win the U.S. Open and Wimbledon, Mr. Ashe not only left his mark on the game viscerally, through his pioneering success, but also financially and philosophically, through his actions as a leader in the formation of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). As a youngster, Mr. Ashe was barred from playing on most public courts and in most local tournaments involving whites, yet he still managed to earn a tennis scholarship to UCLA, where he then earned a business degree in 1966.
In 1963, as a 20 year old, he was asked to become the first African-American on the U.S. Davis Cup team. Over the next 15 years, he won 28 of 34 Cup matches. In 1968, Mr. Ashe lifted his tennis game to a new level, leading the U.S. to its first Davis Cup win in five years, winning the national amateur title and becoming the first U.S. Open Champion in the open era. Mr. Ashe turned pro in 1970, won the Australian Open, and then, two years later, became the first American tennis player to exceed $100,000 in annual earnings. Mr. Ashe complemented his playing career with successes in journalism, media and philanthropic endeavors, and was named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year in 1992. He was the author of the three-volume, critically-acclaimed, A Hard Road to Glory: A History of the African-American Athlete, which was later adapted for television. He also established the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the Defeat of AIDS and received the first Leadership Award from the Harvard AIDS Institute
In 1963, as a 20 year old, he was asked to become the first African-American on the U.S. Davis Cup team. Over the next 15 years, he won 28 of 34 Cup matches. In 1968, Mr. Ashe lifted his tennis game to a new level, leading the U.S. to its first Davis Cup win in five years, winning the national amateur title and becoming the first U.S. Open Champion in the open era. Mr. Ashe turned pro in 1970, won the Australian Open, and then, two years later, became the first American tennis player to exceed $100,000 in annual earnings. Mr. Ashe complemented his playing career with successes in journalism, media and philanthropic endeavors, and was named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year in 1992. He was the author of the three-volume, critically-acclaimed, A Hard Road to Glory: A History of the African-American Athlete, which was later adapted for television. He also established the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the Defeat of AIDS and received the first Leadership Award from the Harvard AIDS Institute
Labels: black folks
posted by ~Kesh @ 2/09/2007 11:07:00 AM
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