Existing comment:
Arthur Ashe, 1943-1993
"What I like best about myself is my demeanor. I'm seldom ruffled," said Arthur Ashe following his five- set triumph in the men's final of the 1968 U.S. Open. Ashe's composure lay at the heart of his success on the tennis court and in the political arena. The first African American to win the U.S. Open men's singles title and a champion later at Wimbledon, Ashe expressed concern for fairness and human dignity throughout his life. Whether he was protesting apartheid in South Africa, serving as the chairman of the American Heart Association, or working to defeat AIDS, the disease he contracted through a blood transfusion and which eventually killed him, Ashe spoke out with an eloquence that matched his temperament on the court. This photograph shows him serving during the 1968 U.S. Open final.
Walter Kelleher, 1968 |