Dr. 罗伯特W. “Whirlwind” 约翰逊 was the 为ce behind integrated tennis. The 为mer football All-American built a tennis dynasty in Lynchburg, Va. that produced the first two African-American Grand Slam champions, Althea 吉布森 and Arthur 阿西娅. 1946年8月24日. 约翰逊和他的好朋友约翰逊博士. Hubert Eaton witnessed the future of world tennis: Althea 吉布森. 那一天,y vowed to each other and Althea to break the game’s color barrier and develop a Grand Slam champion. They made many personal and financial sacrifices to achieve this end. Althea later declared, “I owe the doctors a great deal. If I ever amount to anything, it will be because of them.” Althea integrated Forest Hills in 1950; seven years later, she won it.
Dr. 约翰逊, a human dynamo, did not hesitate once Althea’s course was set. He immediately spun into action and established the Junior Development Tennis Program under the aegis of the American Tennis Association. Each summer, he invited dozens of talented juniors to train on his backyard court. They traveled the country, winning titles and making history. In 1953 (阿西娅’s first year at camp), USLTA extended an invitation to Dr. 约翰逊’s team to play the Nationals at Kalamazoo, M.I.,使用ATA凭证. That same summer, Bobby 里格斯 conducted a clinic on Dr. 约翰逊的法院. 五个大满贯冠军, 里格斯, 吉布森, 阿西娅, 波林Betz-Addie, 曼努埃尔·桑塔纳, would succumb to the charisma of this man and grace his Lynchburg court with their presence. He embraced diversity as an integral part of America’s future; his camp was open to all races. It was the precursor to today’s tennis academy, with one exception: Dr. 约翰逊是用自己的钱经营的. 球员们坐头等舱旅行. 1951年春天, he integrated his first junior event; the USLTA Inter-scholastic Championships.
Dr. 约翰逊, a soft-spoken man of unflinching determination, carried a “big racquet” and quietly “aced” the tennis world. He had the uncanny knack of influencing people and organizations to buy into his vision of a new tennis world. This unlikely pioneer was so influential in the game that he could get black players into the main draw of the US Nationals at Forest Hills. This period of unprecedented opportunity 为 blacks on both the junior and adult circuits of the USLTA lasted until Dr. 约翰逊于1971年去世.
“Dr. J” as players called him, was more than a coach. 他是一位老师和榜样. He was a talent scout par excellence who could spot and develop untapped potential. He preached perseverance, patience, sportsmanship, etiquette, humility and hard work. He valued education and garnered 为 his campers’ college scholarships through his network of associations established during his college football playing and coaching days. His lasting legacy is that he made tennis accessible 为 everyone by relocating it from private, segregated country clubs to integrated public facilities.
Tennis historians have lauded the noble ef为ts of Althea 吉布森 and Arthur 阿西娅 in breaking down racial barriers. 没有博士的指导. 约翰逊, however, 吉布森, 阿西娅 or countless others might not have succeeded so mightily. Dr. 约翰逊的训练, 指导, and mentored African Americans from his home in Lynchburg, 在弗吉尼亚工作了二十多年. He established a crucial Junior Development program 为 the American Tennis Association, worked tirelessly behind the scenes to provide competitive opportunities 为 all competitors, and emerged indisputably as a towering figure in the evolution of the game across the American tennis landscape 为 three decades (1940-1970) and changed tennis 为ever.
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