Arthur Ashe

Arthur Ashe

As a tennis player, Arthur Ashe was one of the most prominent players of his time; an all-out competitor who rarely beat himself. His legacy, however, will be the positive changes he helped bring about and the causes he championed, both within tennis and in society as a whole. Though at his best he was for many the very definition of tennis, tennis never defined Arthur Ashe. For Arthur Ashe, tennis was a means to an end. One spring, he fought for Robinson's No. 42 when he signed up for a Little League team.
Early in life, Ashe picked up tennis on Richmond public courts and developed an uncanny backhand stroke and a tenaciousness that would help him become a barrier-breaker in a mostly white world. (http//:www.chron.com)
Ashe won the U.S. Open in 1968. Seven years later, he defeated the seemingly unbeatable Jimmy Connors in a stirring Wimbledon final. He was a Davis Cup champion as a player and team captain. In between were many honors and awards, including ...