In 1927, Althea Gibson, was born in rural South Carolina. Three years later, her parents moved to Harlem, New York, where the opportunities must have seemed better than being sharecroppers on a cotton farm. Gibson learned to play paddle tennis at a Police Athletic League play area, and she became the city’s paddle ball champion at the age of 12. She was a natural-born athlete and played many sports and was musically talented, too, winning a prize for singing in an Apollo Theater contest. However, she was not the best student and often was truant. At one point, she dropped out and went to night school.
Althea Gibson was the first African American to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Many mentors and other supporters who recognized her athletic talent spurred her on. She moved to North Carolina to train and give high school another try. In 1949, in her 20s, she entered Florida A&M College (now University) on a basketball scholarship because there were no tennis scholarships. She played basketball, tennis, and golf on the men’s team. She became a member of the Beta Alpha chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority, Inc.
She went on to win numerous titles, including Wimbledon and the U.S. Nationals. She was the first African-American to win both of those championships. Unfortunately, tennis at that time did not come with a means of making a living. There were no big prizes and it was difficult to make ends meet.
Gibson died in 2003. Ten years later. as part of the United States Postal Service’s Black Heritage Series, the Althea Gibson commemorative stamp debuted.
