Arthur Ashe

Born in Richmond, Virginia on July 10, 1943, Arthur Ashe is still the only African American male to win both the U.S. Open and Wimbledon. He is the first African American male to be ranked as #1 in the world. Ashe has always been an activist for civil rights and when he learned he had AIDS via a blood transfusion he worked toward developing awareness of the deadly disease. He died of AIDS on February 6, 1993.
Ashe had a finesse and the power to play a groundbreaking tennis match. He achieved many African-American firsts including becoming the first African-American to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame (1985).
Ashe's early tennis career stared at the age of 7. His tennis coach Dr. Robert Walter Johnson Jr. helped Ashe reach the junior national championships. He moved to St. Louis to work with other coaches and won the junior national title in 1960 and 1961. Ashe accepted a scholarship at the University of California where he graduated with a business administration degree.
In 1975 Ashe upset the tennis world by beating Jimmy Connors in the Wimbledon finals. His notoriety brought opportunity and high responsibility. He worked to create inner city tennis programs, founded the Association of Men's Tennis Professionals and spoke out against apartheid in South Africa.
He retired from tennis after experiencing quadruple bypass surgery in 1979. He underwent a bypass number two in 1983 and endured traumatic brain surgery after his right arm became paralyzed. Ashe contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion give to him during his second heart operation.
Arthur Ashe was married to Jeanne Moutoussamy from 1977 until his death in 1993. He has one daughter, Camera.