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ALTHEA GIBSON (1927- )
Harlem isn't ordinarily a fertile ground for world-class tennis talent, but Althea Gibson wasn't ordinary. Born in 1927, she became the first black athlete -- male or female -- to win the Wimbledon championship. That was in 1957, the same year she was named Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press. She repeated as champ the following year and later played golf professionally. Gibson was a pioneer of the highest order.


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