Page B6
(Fije Jlortlanb (Observer
October 01. 2003
S ports
ESI
503-252-5782
Universal Groundbreaking Tennis Champion Remembered
Wireless Althea Gibson
U n iv tr ta l
broke tennis’
color barrier
10416 NE Sandy
Blvd. Portland,
OR 97220
(A P ) — A lthea G ibson w as an
in ten sely p riv ate person w hose
public trium phs and com m itm ent to
helping others left an indelible mark
on generations o f athletes.
Gibson broke tennis’ color barrier
in the 1950s as the first black entrant
and cham pion at W im bledon and
the U.S. national tournament. She
died Sunday. She w as 76.
G ibson, also the first black player
on the LPGA Tour, helped pave the
w ay for later stars such as A rthur
A she, V enus and Serena W i 11 iams,
and T iger W oods.
” 1 am grateful to Althea Gibson for
having the strength and courage to
break through the racial barriers in
tennis,” Venus W illiams said. "H er
accom plishm ents set the stage for
my success and through players like
myself, Serena, and many others to
com e, her legacy will live on."
President Bush issued a state
m ent M onday praising G ib so n 's
spirit, determ ination, and skill.
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"In breaking the racial barrier in
cham pionship tennis, she furthered
A m erica’s progress in recognizing
individuals for their character and
abilities, not their skin color," he
said.
G ibson, seriously ill for several
years, died o f com plications from a
severe infection and respiratory ill
n ess.
"H e r contribution to the civil
rights m ovem ent w as done with her
tennis racket," said Fran G ray, a
longtim e friend w ho co-founded
the A lthea G ibson Foundation that
helps urban youths learn to play
tennis and golf.
“A lthea cam e up in a hard time.
S egregation w as no easy thing. It
w as a feat that she accom plished
under really devastating and de
bilitating odds because she w asn ’t
w an ted .”
T he 5 -fo o t-11 G ibson used an
attack ing serve-and-volley style to
d o m in ate w o m e n 's tennis from
1956-58, w inning 11 G rand Slam
titles: five in singles, five in doubles,
one in m ixed doubles.
“ W ho could have im agined?
W ho could have thought?" G ibson
said in 1988 as she presented her
Bonded
Insured
Vernell West, President
Tennis
le g e n d A ndre
A g a ssi
MARTIN CLEANING SERVICE M
i«g-
W im b le d o n tr o p h ie s to th e O pen. She w ent to W im bledon in
Sm ithsonian Institution.
1951.
“ H ere stands before you a N e
H er first m ajor singles titlecam e
gro w om an, raised in H arlem , w ho in the 1956 French O pen, and she
w ent on to becom e a tennis player w on both W im bledon and the U.S.
...i n fact, the first black w om an Open in 1957-58.
cham pion o f this w orld.”
Recently, G ibson and G ray col
In 1950, three years after Jackie laborated on a book, "B o m to Win:
Robinson integrated baseball with The A lthea G ibson S tory," due out
the Brooklyn Dodgers, G ibson b e next year.
cam e the first black player to com
In recent years, G ibson had tw o
pete in the national tennis cham pi cerebral aneurysm s and a stroke,
onship - the precursor to the U.S. and she struggled financially.
Agassi to Star in Rose Garden Tourney
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Licensed
A lth ea G ib so n
retu rn s to
G e rm a n y 's
E dda B u d in g in
th e first ro u n d
o f W im b led o n
in 1 9 5 6 .
G ibson, w ho
b ro k e th e co lo r
barrier in
te n n is a s th e
first b la c k to
win W im b led o n
a n d th e U .S.
n a tio n a l title,
d ie d S u nday.
S h e w a s 76.
(AP p h o to )
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T ennis legend A ndre A gassi is co n
tin u e d for the inaugural Superset T ennis
event on Nov. 22 at the Rose G arden arena.
The event will feature eight o f the top
m e n ’s tennis players in the w orld battling
for a w inner takes al I prize o f a quarter o f a
m illion dollars, the largest per set purse in
tennis. A gassi has am assed 58 singles
titles and sports a record o f 782-239 over
his career.
“Superset T ennis is an innovative and
exciting event that will help bring tennis into
the 21st C entury,” said Agassi.
T he new tennis form at will pit eight p lay
ers against each other in one set, sudden
death, elim ination contests in one day, for
the largest per set prize in tennis.
T ickets are on sale now at the R ose
Q u a r te r T ic k e t O f f ic e , o n lin e at
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Blazer
center ends
16-year
NBA career
C hris D udley, a co n sis
tently productive center with C hris
o v er 16 years o f N BA expe
rience, announced his retirem ent
Tuesday. An active m em ber o f the
com m unity, Dudley w as am ong the
leag u e’^elite honored for his work
both on the court and with his chari
table efforts.
“Chris Dudley epitom izes every
thing an NBA player should be. He
w orked extrem ely hard. I le shared
his gift o f being a pro basketball
player with children in the com m u
nity and did trem endous w ork with
pediatric diabetes,” said H ouston
R ockets H ead C oach
Je ff Van G undy. “ In
my tim e in the NBA,
th ere’s no better role
m odel fo r c h ild ren
than C h ris D udley,
w ho persevered over
all odds to have an
outstanding N BA ca
D udley
reer.”
D udley finishes his
career w ith 3,473 points and 5,457
rebounds. He is tied for the Blazers
team record for single season o f
fensive rebounds with 325 during
the 1994-95 season.
Diagnosed at age 16 with Type
I diabetes, Dudley overcam e the
odds to become a professional ath
lete. He started The Dudley Foun
dation in 1994 and designed a bas
ketball cam p foryouth withjuvenile
diabetes that has operated in V er
nonia for the past eight years.
Baseball Wife to Address Addiction
C h a risse S tra w b erry
C harisse Straw berry, w ife o f
form er Y ankee baseball p lay er
Darryl Straw berry, wi 11 be the key
n ote sp eak er at U nion G o sp el
M ission’s fall fundraising banquet
on S aturday, O ct. 4.
S traw berry will speak about the
heartaches and healing she has
experienced as she stood by her
husband throughout his very p u b
lic b a ttle w ith a d d ic tio n . T he
fundraising banquet will benefit
L ifeC hange, an innovative, long
term addiction recovery program »
o fU n io n G ospel M ission. For res
ervations, call 503-274-4483.
Ducks Rebound with Huge Loss
Volleyball
Ace Scores
Honor
(A P ) — W a s h in g to n S ta te
quickly m ade O reg o n 's recent su c
cess look like a fluke.
Matt Kegel threw for three touch
dow ns and steadily guided the No.
21 C ougars, w ho took advantage o f
seven-first h a lf turnovers to beat
P o rtla n d n a tiv e E lizabeth
B is h o p e a r n e d M o s t V aluable
P layer h o n o rs a t th e A lbany
C h a llen g e volleyball tourna
m e n t in Ith a ca . N. Y. B is h o p is
a fr e s h m a n in s id e h itte r with
C o rn ell's volleyball sq u a d .
the I Oth-ranked D ucks 55-16 Sat
urday.
O regon (4-1, I-I P acific-10)
grabbed national attention w ith a
31-27 upset o f No. 3 M ichigan on
Sept. 20, but w as done in by its
ow n mistakes.
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