| On This Day in American History |
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On July 5, 1975, tennis great Arthur Ashe becomes the first African-American to win Wimbledon after defeating a highly favored Jimmy Connors. Ashe began playing tennis as a boy and caught the eye of legendary tennis player Pancho Gonzalez who helped develop his game. In 1968, Ashe won the U.S. Open, and two years later, he took the Australian Open. After that, his career cooled off, and he didn’t win a major tournament until Wimbledon. At 31, he was considered well past his prime. Connors was 22 and the sitting Wimbledon champion. Ashe retired from tennis in 1980 after suffering a heart attack. During an operation to repair his heart, he was infected with the HIV virus. He died of AIDS-related illnesses on Feb. 6, 1993. |
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