Hump Day History
On this day in 1975, Arthur Ashe defeated the heavily favored Jimmy Connors to become the first black man to win Wimbledon, the most coveted championship in tennis.
Arthur received a tennis scholarship to attend UCLA and was under the tutelage of Pancho Gonzales. He graduated in 1966 and in 1968 he became the first black man to win the US Open.
This took place while he was on leave as an Army lieutenant, and during ongoing Civil Rights protests. Ashe helped desegregate tennis and he was also an activist for economic empowerment, opposition to Apartheid and AIDS awareness.
He retired in 1980 after suffering a heart attack. Following double bypass surgery in 1983, he was infected with HIV during a blood transfusion. Upon revealing his condition in 1992, he set about educating the public. He passed in 1993.
His legacy lives on through the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, for athletes whose actions "transcend sports...possessing strength in the face of adversity, courage in the face of peril and the willingness to stand up for their beliefs no matter what the cost."
The first recipient was Jim Valvano, who created the V Foundation with ESPN. They honor "a deserving member of the sporting world who has overcome great obstacles through perseverance and determination." Valvano died from cancer over a month later, two months after Ashe.
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