This year, Wimbledon celebrates its 125th anniversary and the matches have been just as exciting as ever. Looking back, there are so many noted American players including Jimmy Connors, Chris Everett, Billy Jean King, Andre Agassi, and sisters Venus Williams and Serena Williams.
Looking back closely at the log of those who emerged as national leaders; however, only a handful come to mind. In particular, one bright star is Althea Gibson, the first African American woman to clench the championship title. To her credit, her legacy as a leader includes her contributions to the world of tennis and so much more.
Gibson was the first African American to play and win at Wimbledon. She won in 1957 and 1958 and in total she won more than 56 tournaments, including five Grand Slam titles. Later that year, for instance, she won the U.S. Open and was named female athlete of the year by the Associated Press. But, what really emerges when we look at how she scored big?
On July 6, 1957, she clenched the Wimbledon title. But, then she went on to break color barriers in other ways. She also became the first African American woman to play in the Ladies Professional Golf Association. As a trailblazer, she played professional golf from 1964 through 1971. Can you imagine the tenacity she must have had to become the “first” and a lead player in both tennis and golf which are sports industries that historically had few or no African Americans?
After she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, she went on to serve as commissioner of athletics in New Jersey and established the Althea Gibson Foundation. With her experience and wisdom, she did not sit idle by relishing in her accomplishments. Instead, she chose to serve up a blend of inspiration for future athletes and combined a mean top-spin that had far-reaching influence in the policymaking arena.
How fortunate we are to have a trailblazer who did showed athletes and the world how to lead the way and open doors for other leaders to follow.
-Dawn McCoy, author of Leadership Building Blocks: An Insider’s Guide to Success
