She was a professional golfer, a saxophone player, a blues singer, a teacher, an orator, an actress–and one of the greatest champions in the history of tennis. But the significance of Althea Gibson’s life, which ended Sunday at 76, probably is appreciated by far too few.
No less an African-American trailblazer than baseball player Jackie Robinson and tennis player Arthur Ashe, her accomplishments perhaps more impressive because of her singular place as an African-American female athlete in the 1950s, Gibson leaves a legacy that extends far beyond the tennis court.
“It’s not necessarily unique to the African-American community, but everybody stands on somebody’s shoulders,” said former New York Mayor David Dinkins, a friend of 50 years and one of the few with whom Gibson stayed in contact during a semi-reclusive last decade.
“In that respect, not just blacks had to marvel at her agility and skills and perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds. I’m saddened by her loss, but if ever there was a circumstance in which we should celebrate a life well-lived and one of great accomplishment as opposed to simply mourning a loss, this is such an instance.”
The oldest of five children, she was born Aug. 25, 1927, on a cotton farm in South Carolina and raised in Harlem. Gibson described herself as a vagabond, roaming the streets of New York as a child until gaining attention for her athleticism in a Police Athletic League program.
She trained first at a multiracial club in Harlem. Then, after winning the first of several American Tennis Association titles–the African-American counterpart to the all-white United States Lawn Tennis Association–Gibson moved to Wilmington, N.C., where her tennis career took off under the tutelage of two ATA officials, one of whom, Robert Johnson, later mentored Arthur Ashe.
It was the late 1940s, segregation was still the norm and it took several more years, the financial support of boxing champion Sugar Ray Robinson and impassioned pleas by the likes of former champion Alice Marble before Gibson could gain entry into the elite tournaments.
“She simply changed the landscape of tennis,” said Alan Schwartz, president of the United States Tennis Association. “Arthur Ashe’s job was not easy, but if he had to climb a hill, Althea Gibson had to climb a mountain. She was the original breakthrough person.”
Gibson was the first African-American to compete in the U.S. championship in 1950 and at Wimbledon in 1951. She won the French Open in ’56 and back-to-back U.S. and Wimbledon titles in ’57 and ’58. After becoming the first African-American player of either gender to win at Wimbledon, she was given a ticker-tape parade in New York City.
“I remember seeing pictures of her accepting her trophy at Wimbledon, and what went through my mind when I first saw it was, `That’s royalty giving her the trophy, and she accepted it like royalty herself,'” Schwartz said. “She was very tall and slender [at 5 feet 10 inches, 140 pounds], very graceful, with a certain shy elegance about her.”
The first woman tennis player of note to possess an all-court game, Gibson used her height to unleash an overpowering serve and her athleticism to stretch for shots all over the court. She went on to win 11 Grand Slam titles: five in singles, five in doubles and one in mixed doubles.
Zina Garrison, who became the next African-American woman to reach the finals of Wimbledon when she played Martina Navratilova in 1990, said she spoke Sunday to Venus Williams, who in 2000 became the second African-American woman to win Wimbledon.
“Althea used to say she wanted me to be the one who broke her barrier, to take the burden off of her,” Garrison said. “When [Williams] won, I called [Gibson] and she was so happy that it was finally lifted. She knew she opened the door for all of us, and she was so excited about all the women who followed her.”
On Sunday, Williams released this statement regarding Gibson’s death:
“I am grateful to Althea Gibson for having the strength and courage to break through the racial barriers in tennis. Althea Gibson was the first African-American woman to rank No. 1 and win Wimbledon, and I am honored to have followed in such great footsteps. Her accomplishments set the stage for my success, and through players like myself, Serena [Williams] and many others to come, her legacy will live on.”
Garrison recalled Sunday that Gibson came to watch her play Navratilova in the 1990 finals at Wimbledon, one of her last public appearances.
“She showed me the stall where she dressed and where she popped the champagne when she won,” Garrison said. “I think that was the first time I realized that I was really in the finals and that I had made some type of history.”
Camille Mosley, who is co-writing a book to be titled “Outside the Lines,” chronicling the history of African-American tennis, said Gibson was the most prominent player to move from the all-segregated tennis world of the ATA to the USLTA.
Mosley contends Gibson’s impact should be viewed as bigger than Jackie Robinson’s.
“There was no other black player at that level,” Mosley saide, “and I hope that people appreciate that she created opportunities not just for athletes but for all women. She took the beating for all women to be considered seriously in all endeavors.”
After retiring from tennis, Gibson released an album; appeared in a film called “The Horse Soldiers” with John Wayne; toured with the Harlem Globetrotters playing exhibition tennis matches; played on the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour; and was the state commissioner of athletics in New Jersey. But it was among her greatest sources of satisfaction, said close friend Fran Gray, that the foundation she co-founded with Gray succeeded not only in exposing inner-city children to sports such as tennis and golf, but focused on their education as well.
In her later years, as her health declined from a stroke and rheumatoid arthritis, Gibson’s financial struggles also became public knowledge. That prompted fundraisers and donations from people all over the world.
“That’s how she finally began to understand how much people were moved by her and appreciated her and loved her,” said Gray, who said Gibson died at a hospital in East Orange, N.J. “At the end she lived a modest life, but she was able to pay her bills, and that’s what people across the world did for her. She always wanted to make sure I thanked everyone for her.”
The last time Garrison saw her was shortly after the U.S. Open, and Gibson was surprised and a bit flustered to see her.
“I told her I was glad she was still feisty,” Garrison said. “We talked about the Open, and I told her she looked good. She said, `I don’t feel good. I’m tired and I just want to go.’ I’m so blessed I had a chance to see her.”
In a statement Sunday, tennis champion and activist Billie Jean King had this to say: “We all know people who influence us and, if we are lucky, we meet a few in our lives who improve us. Althea Gibson improved my life and the lives of countless others. She was the first to break so many barriers, and from the first time I saw her play, when I was 13 years old, she became, and remained, one of my true heroines.
“It was truly an inspiration for me to watch her overcome adversity. Her road to success was a challenging one, but I never saw her back down. Althea did a lot for people in tennis, but she did even more for people in general.”
Gibson was preceded in death by two husbands. She had no children.
