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. WOW-PAGING SPECIALS • 3 m onths o f Pager Service & Voicemail for only $19.00 • H om e Phone Service for $39.99 N o cred it check • Secured M ailboxes for rent starting @ $5.00 per mo • $24.99 w ill give you 60 m inutes plus C ellphone AUTHORIZED RETAILER FOR: Nextd,T-mobile, Verizon wireless, AirVoice, Sprint PCS, Perpaid Cellular I f U H ave Verizon W ireless//Sprints P C S/D ishnet P ay y o u r h ill here — P ost In M inutes 503-252-5782 • 1-866-678-6920 • www.uolconnect.com 431 NE Jarrett Street Portland. OR 97211 (503) 493-6027 Fax < (503) 493-6029 vwest@vwservices com VWESTÇO^INÇ. We do it right! General Contractor CCB# 153199 Let us 6ui(d it or f i t it within your budget "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 We like little jobs too! 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 ) Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Commercial and Residencial Services CARPET CLEANING ($25 each area) 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 w w w .r o s e q u a r te r .c o m or, w w w .ticketm aster.com or by calling 503- 963-4400. • 2 A reas o r m o re, S m all H all F ree, P re-S p ray T raffic A reas • S ta ir s ........................... $ 1 .5 0 e a c h Dudley Announces Retirement UPHOLSTERY CLEANING Sofa (under 6 ft.) $69 Loveseat $49 S ectio n al $99 & up T h ro w p illo w s $5 each CARPET COUPON | I 1 Cleaning Area I Pre-Spray Traffic Area I I (Hall not included) $35 w i>. p1 I I I Sofa I UPHOLSTERY C O U P()N ~| (under 6 ft.) ! Loveseat & Chair $ 119“ CALL FOR APPOINTMENTS 5 0 3 -2 8 1 -3 9 4 9 Advertise with diversity in ®*!t ^ a rtta n h (Ohsertier call 503.288.0033 or email: ads(ay portlandobserver.com 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. H. & B. Too fe j x&x Oregon’s Oldest Licensed Pawnshop 4709 N.E. 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