August 22, 2013
FLUSHING,
NY — Tomorrow, on the grounds of the U.S. Open, tennis legends Billie
Jean King and Katrina Adams will pay tribute at a 10 a.m.
First-Day-of-Issuance Forever stamp dedication ceremony
honoring tennis legend Althea Gibson as the 36th inductee into the
Postal Service’s
Black Heritage stamp series.
The
event, free and open to the public, will take place near the plaque
honoring Gibson that is located at the south entrance of the U.S. Tennis
Association Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
Court of Champions.
Beginning Fri., Aug. 23, customers may purchase the Althea Gibson Forever stamp at
usps.com/stamps,
at 800-STAMP-24 (800-782-6724) and at Post Offices nationwide.
The
Postal Service will also honor Gibson at a special 10 a.m. stamp
dedication ceremony Sat., Aug. 24 at the Althea Gibson Tennis Complex,
located at the Essex County Branch Brook Park in Newark,
NJ.
“I’m
excited that the Postal Service is releasing a Forever stamp that
honors the legacy of my friend, Althea Gibson,” said King. “Her
achievements served as a catalyst for equality in sports and
in life and I am honored to participate in this historic event.”
As
the first African-American tennis player to win one of the four major
singles tournaments, Althea Gibson (1927–2003) helped integrate her
sport at the height of the civil rights movement. She
twice won Wimbledon and the U.S. Championships (now known as the U.S.
Open) and became the top-ranked player in the world.
King
and Adams will join U.S. Postal Service Judicial Officer William
Campbell and U.S. Tennis Association Director at Large Chanda Rubin and a
host of other professional athletes and coaches in
the dedication ceremony.
“Althea
Gibson was impossible to ignore,” said Campbell. “Her achievements
demanded Americans everywhere pay attention — and pay attention they
did. She opened doors that other African-American
tennis players would one day walk through — including Arthur Ashe,
Katrina Adams, Chanda Rubin and the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena.”
The
stamp, which features an action shot of Gibson, emphasizes two of her
notable characteristics: grace and athleticism. Designed by Derry Noyes
of Washington, DC, the stamp features an oil-on-wood
painting of Gibson by artist Kadir Nelson of Los Angeles, CA. The art
is based on a photograph taken at Wimbledon.
The Making of the Icon
Gibson
was born Aug., 25, 1927 in Silver, SC. As a young child, she was sent
to New York City to live with her aunt Sally. Gibson’s parents, Annie
and Daniel, eventually migrated north as well,
settling in an apartment on West 143rd Street in Harlem.
As
a child, Gibson fared well in New York’s Police Athletic League (PAL)
paddle tennis competitions. Musician Buddy Walker, who worked during
summers as a play leader for the PAL, saw potential
in Gibson. He purchased a few used tennis rackets and gave them to her.
Later, she was formally introduced to the game at Harlem's Cosmopolitan
Club, a hub for black tennis players.
In
1942, Gibson entered — and won — her first tournament, the New York
State Open Championship. The event was sponsored by the American Tennis
Association (ATA), the country’s black tennis circuit.
Gibson went on to win the ATA junior championship in both 1944 and
1945. By 1946, Gibson was competing at the women’s level. She dominated
the ATA in the late-1940s and earned her high school diploma in June
1949.
Soon
after graduation, she entered Florida Agricultural and Mechanical
University in Tallahassee on an athletic scholarship. In college, she
played basketball and also kept her tennis skills sharp.
The latter came in handy in 1950, when Gibson got her first real shot
at the big time. Perhaps she was spurred on by an
American Lawn Tennis editorial written by former tennis champ
Alice Marble — an ardent Gibson backer and supporter of equal rights.
The United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) accepted her
application to play in that summer’s United States Championships
(now known as the U.S. Open) in Forest Hills, NY. Gibson, the first
African-American ever to enter that tournament, advanced to the second
round. In 1951, she once again made history, becoming the first black
player to enter Wimbledon.
In
1953, Gibson graduated from Florida A&M and took a job teaching
physical education at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, MO. For the
next few years, her USLTA ranking fluctuated. She mulled
joining the Women's Army Corps in order to support herself and her
family. Still, she hadn't forgotten about tennis.
Around
that time, coach Sydney Llewellyn began helping Gibson reshape her
game. Gibson also received support from friend Rosemary Darben, a player
on the ATA circuit. Throughout the 1950s, Gibson
lived with the Darben family in Montclair, NJ.
In
1955, Gibson received an invitation from the State Department to join a
delegation of American tennis stars for a public relations tour of
Asia. The trip proved to be invaluable. She bonded
with her fellow players and, in the process, gained confidence and
on-court savvy.
She
built on the experience, stringing together an impressive run of
victories in Asia and Europe. In 1956, she captured the French
Championships (now known as the French Open) in Paris and became
the first African-American of either gender to win one of the four
major singles tournaments. Gibson also teamed up with Angela Buxton to
win the doubles crown. The victories were vital for Gibson, who was well
aware of the burden she carried.
“No
matter how hard I tried to think of myself as just another person, I
was constantly being confronted with proof that I wasn’t, that I was a
special sort of person — a Negro with a certain amount
of international importance. It was pleasant to think about but very
hard to live with,” Gibson wrote in
I Always Wanted to Be Somebody, her autobiography. “It was a
strain, always trying to say and do the right thing, so that I wouldn't
give people the wrong idea of what Negroes are like.”
Still,
Gibson pressed on, earning a measure of stardom in the midst of the
civil rights movement. She achieved perhaps the most famous victory of
her career on July 6, 1957, prevailing in the Wimbledon
final in straight sets. Afterward, Gibson shouted, “At last! At last!”
During the trophy ceremony, she was greeted by Queen Elizabeth II. When
Gibson returned to New York, the city threw her a ticker-tape parade.
The good times continued that summer. In August,
she appeared on the cover of Time magazine. On Sept. 8, Gibson cruised to victory in the final of the U.S. Championships to win the tournament for the first time.
Gibson,
the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year in 1957 and 1958, had
become the top-ranked player in the world. In 1958, she successfully
defended her titles both at Wimbledon and at the
U.S. Championships. She turned professional soon after, ending her
amateur career with five major singles titles and six major doubles
titles.
Gibson's
days as a competitive athlete, however, were not over. In 1959 and
1960, she toured with the Harlem Globetrotters, playing before their
games against fellow tennis star Karol Fageros.
In 1958 she released an album called Althea Gibson Sings and performed on
The Ed Sullivan Show. She also became the first African
American to qualify for the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA)
tour. She played many LPGA tournaments in the 1960s.
In
1971, Gibson was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
She later worked in athletics for the state of New Jersey, where she
made her home. She died Sept. 28, 2003, at the age
of 76.
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