BHS Day 13: Arthur Ashe

Hi and Happy Valentine's Day! While I would prefer to focus on football on Sundays, unfortunately we've entered the dry season, so this is the perfect time to focus on other sports and athletes. I don't think I even included a football player on this year's list, go figure, right? I'm trying to keep things as varied as I can. Anyway, on to today's Spotlight!

Source

Name: Arthur Ashe, 1943-1993

Profession: Tennis player & humanitarian

Why is the Spotlight on him today? For his achievements in the tennis world and his efforts to increase awareness about AIDS

Accomplishments:
--First Black tennis player to be ranked 1st in the world
--Was the 1st Black player to be recruited by the US Junior Davis Cup team
--The 1st Black player to win the National Junior Indoor Championships
--The 1st (and to date, only) Black male to win both the first open era US Open and singles at Wimbledon
--The first Black man to be inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame --Was a 3-time Grand Slam winner
--Now has a learning center opened in his honor
--Inducted into the US Open Court of Champions
--Assisted with the formation of the Association of Men's Tennis Professionals
--Founded the Arthur Ashe Foundation For the Defeat of AIDS to assist in increasing public awareness about the disease
--Was once the national campaign chairman of the American Heart Association
--Created an annual tennis game for children that now kicks off every US Open competition in celebration of both tennis and Arthur Ashe's legacy

Further reading links: Biography | My Tennis Lessons | Arthur Ashe Kids' Day

Arthur Ashe, much like the other people on this year's list of Spotlight features, broke down a lot of walls for Black players in tennis and gave aspiring Black male players someone to look up to. His legacy still lives on today in things like his annual kids' tournament, ensuring that nobody forgets about his contributions to both the world of tennis and for children interested in the sport. I hope you enjoyed today's post, I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day and I'll see you tomorrow!