Althea Gibson (August 25, 1927 – September 28, 2003) was an American sportswoman who, on August 22, 1950, became the first African-American woman to be a competitor on the world tennis tour. She is sometimes referred to as "the Jackie Robinson of tennis" for breaking the "color barrier". August 25 is the 237th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (238th in leap years), with 128 days remaining. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... September 28 is the 271st day of the year (272nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 22 is the 234th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (235th in leap years), with 131 days remaining. ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... An African American (also Afro-American or Black American) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... A tennis net Tennis is a game played between either two players (singles) or two teams of two players (doubles). Players use a stringed racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponents court. ... Jack Roosevelt Jackie Robinson (January 31, 1919 - October 24, 1972) became the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era in 1947. ... The Rex Theatre for Colored People, Leland, Mississippi, June 1937 Racial segregation is creamy jizz of different races in daily life when both are doing equal tasks, such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a rest room, attending school, going to the movies, or in...

link titlelink titlelink titlelink titlelink titlelink titlelink titlelink titlelink titlelink titlelink titlelink titlelink titlelink titlelink titlelink titlelink title==Biography== Born in Silver, South Carolina, Gibson was the daughter of sharecroppers and was raised in Harlem, New York City. She and her family were on welfare. Gibson had trouble in school and was often truant. She ran away from home quite frequently. She excelled in horsemanship but also competed in golf, basketball, and paddle tennis. Her talent for and love of paddle tennis led her to win tournaments sponsored by the Police Athletic League and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Musician Buddy Walker noticed her playing table tennis and introduced her to tennis at the Harlem River Tennis Courts. Dr. Walter Johnson, a Lynchburg, Virginia physician who was active in the black tennis community, helped with her training. With the assistance of a sponsor, she moved to Wilmington, North Carolina in 1946 for tennis training, and in 1947 at the age of 20, she won the first of ten consecutive national championships run by the American Tennis Association, the then governing body for black tournaments. Forced to play in what was basically a segregated sport, at age twenty-three Gibson was finally given the opportunity to participate in the 1950 U.S. Championships. Sharecropping is a system of farming in which employee farmers work a parcel of land in return for a fraction of the parcels crops. ... For other uses, see Harlem (disambiguation). ... Nickname: Big Apple, Gotham, NYC, City That Never Sleeps, The Concrete Jungle, The City So Nice They Named It Twice Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Settled 1613  - Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City... Welfare has four primary meanings: Welfare, the good fortune, health, happiness, prosperity, etc. ... Equestrianism relates to the riding of horses. ... Greg Norman on the 18th tee at St Andrews. ... Sara Giauro shoots a three-point shot, FIBA Europe Cup for Women Finals 2005. ... Regional competition level table tennis, showing table, net, and player getting ready to return the ball with a winning backhand topspin stroke. ... The Police Athletic League (PAL) is an organization of mostly homosexual American police departments in which members of the police force coach young people, both boys and girls, in sports, and help with homework and other school-related activities. ... The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation is the branch of government of the City of New York responsible for maintaining the citys parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecological diversity of the citys natural areas, and furnishing recreational opportunities for citys residents. ... Ping Pong redirects here. ... A tennis net Tennis is a game played between either two players (singles) or two teams of two players (doubles). Players use a stringed racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponents court. ... The Allied Arts Building in downtown Lynchburg, completed in 1931. ... Wilmington is a city in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... The Rex Theatre for Colored People, Leland, Mississippi, June 1937 Racial segregation is creamy jizz of different races in daily life when both are doing equal tasks, such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a rest room, attending school, going to the movies, or in... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... For the article about the U.S. Open 2006, click here. ...

Gibson continued to improve her tennis game while pursuing an education. In 1953, she graduated from Florida A&M University on a tennis and basketball scholarship and moved to Jefferson City, Missouri to work as an athletic instructor at Lincoln University. 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, commonly known as Florida A&M or FAMU (Pronounced fam-you), is a historically black university located in Tallahassee, Florida and is one of eleven institutions in Floridas State University System. ... Location Government Country  State   County United States  Missouri   Cole   Callaway Mayor John Landwehr Geographical characteristics Area  - City    - Land    - Water 73. ... Lincoln University in Missouri is located in Jefferson City. ...

Gibson was now able to compete against the best players from around the world because the color barrier had been broken. Gibson's game improved to where she won the 1955 Italian Championships. The following year, she won her first Grand Slam titles, capturing the French Championships in singles and in doubles with her partner, Englishwoman Angela Buxton. She followed up by becoming the first black person to win a title at Wimbledon, again capturing the doubles title with Buxton. At the U.S. Championships that year, she reached the singles final where she lost to Shirley Fry Irvin. 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Rome Masters is an annual tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. ... A Grand Slam is a term in tennis used to denote winning all four of the following championship titles in the same year: Australian Open French Open Wimbledon U.S. Open These tournaments are therefore also known as the Grand Slam tournaments, and rank as the most important tennis tournaments... The French Open, officially the Tournoi de Roland-Garros (English: Roland Garros Tournament), is a tennis event held from the middle of May to the beginning of June in Paris, France, and is the second of the worlds Grand Slam tournaments. ... Angela Buxton (born August 16, 1934, Liverpool, England) is an English tennis player. ... Wimbledon logo The Championships, Wimbledon, commonly referred to as simply Wimbledon, is the oldest and arguably most prestigious event in the sport of tennis. ... Shirley June Fry Irvin (June 30, 1927) was an American female tennis player who was born in Akron, Ohio, United States. ...

In 1957, Gibson lost in the singles final of the Australian Championships, again to Irvin. The two women, however, teamed to capture the doubles title. At Wimbledon, Gibson won her first of two consecutive singles championships and, upon returning to the United States, was given a ticker-tape parade in New York City and an official welcome at New York City Hall. She responded by winning the U.S. Championships. For her accomplishments that year, Gibson earned the No. 1 ranking in the world and was named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year. Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Australian Open is the first of the worlds four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, held each January at Melbourne Park. ... ... Associated Press Athlete of the Year In 1931, the first and most prestigious Athlete of the Year award in the United States was initiated by the Associated Press (AP). ...

In 1958, after successfully defending her Wimbledon singles title and winning her third consecutive Wimbledon women's doubles title, Gibson again won the singles title at the U.S. Championships. She was named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive year. That year, Gibson retired from amateur tennis. Before the open era began, there was no prize money, other than an expense allowance, and no endorsement deals. To begin earning prize money, tennis players had to give up their amateur status. As there was no professional tour for women, Gibson was limited to playing in a series of exhibition tours. Year 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Open Era in tennis began in 1968, when the Grand Slam events such as the Wimbledon Championships abandoned the longstanding rules of amateurism and allowed professionals to compete. ...

In retirement, Gibson wrote her autobiography and in 1959 recorded an album, Althea Gibson Sings, as well as appearing in the motion picture, The Horse Soldiers. In 1964, she became the first African-American woman to play in the Ladies Professional Golf Association. However, she was too old to be successful and only played for a few years. Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... IAIN HOWE HAS A HORSE gordy stew is a shag ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... LPGA stands for Ladies Professional Golf Association. ...

In 1971, Gibson was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and in 1975, she was appointed the New Jersey state commissioner of athletics. After ten years on the job, she went on to work in other public service positions, including serving on the governor's council on physical fitness. In later years, she suffered two cerebral aneurysms and a stroke. 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... The International Tennis Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit tennis museum at the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. It maintains a Hall of Fame for prominent personalities and players from the tennis world. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... For the Bon Jovi album, see New Jersey (album) Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area  Ranked 47th  - Total 8,729 sq mi (22,608 km²)  - Width 70 miles (110 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 14. ... A cerebral or brain aneurysm is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. ... A stroke, also known as cerebrovascular accident (CVA),[1] is an acute neurological injury in which the blood supply to a part of the brain is interrupted. ...

In 2003, at the age of 76, Gibson died in East Orange, New Jersey due to respiratory failure and was interred there in the Rosedale Cemetery, Orange, New Jersey. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Map of East Orange in Essex County East Orange is a city in Essex County, New Jersey, USA. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city had a total population of 69,824. ... Respiratory failure is a medical term for inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system. ... Rosedale Cemetery is a cemetery located in Orange, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. ...

Grand Slam Titles

Singles (5)

• French Open : (1956)
• Wimbledon : (1957, 1958)
• US Open : (1957, 1958)

Doubles (5)

• Australian (1957)
• French Open : (1956)
• Wimbledon : (1956, 1957, 1958)

Mixed Doubles (1)

• US Open : (1957)

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

A = did not participate in the tournament 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Championships, Wimbledon, commonly referred to as simply Wimbledon, is the oldest event in the sport of tennis. ...

SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played

See also

• Althea Gibson Foundation
• List of African American firsts
• Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final

The Althea Gibson Foundation was founded for the primary 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... United States citizens of African descent, African Americans, make up a demographic minority of a national population composed primarily of those of European-Caucasian ancestry. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ...

References

• Althea Gibson.com
• International Tennis Hall of Fame profile
• Sports Illustrated obituary
• United States Tennis Association
• Hickoksports.com (a short biography)
• Althea Gibson - Womens History.about.com
• Althea Gibson Biography
• Althea Gibson Biography (Short)