Althea Gibson Was Asked If She Could Compete Against Men

[bijanc]

Asked on national tube if she could she take a few games vs. an elite male player?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghV0pyTG ... re=related

[jazzcyclist]

Great find bijanc! Very nostalgic. I thought it was interesting that even back in those days, female tennis champions had extra-curricular activities going on on the side. But I guess you can't blame Gibson since she played in the amateur era, when the monetary compensation that today's players enjoy was not even dreamt about. She also conceded that she would be lucky to score a few points against a male player, not to mention a game. Mary Carillo once said that there are hundreds of high school boys who could beat Serena Williams, even when she is at the top of her game, such is the advantage that males have in strength and quickness.

[bijanc]

Her Answer

Ms. Gibson's hesitance to even answer speaks to the decorum and modesty characteristic of her sport in that era.

[bambam]

She also was the first African-American to play on the LPGA Tour in the 1960s - I think she won one tournament, if I recall.

[bijanc]

A.G.

She was, w/ limited success. One of her staunchest supporters was then-tour head (and later ACC hoops official) Lenny Wirtz. Prior to that, she was a heckuva basketball player for Florida A & M, and ladies' touring teams in NYC.

[jazzcyclist]

I think she was probably rolling over in her grave two weeks ago.