Althea Gibson (1927)

Gibson, a US tennis player, was the first African-American woman to compete on the world tennis tour. Though tennis had essentially been segregated until that time, she was finally given an opportunity to play at the US Championships in 1950. Having broken the color barrier, she went on to become the first black person to win Wimbledon. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1971. In 1964, Gibson became the first African-American player in what other sports organization? More...