50 Years Ago today Arthur Ashe Won the Wimbledon Title by Matias Grez, CNN
Fifty years ago today, on July 5, 1975, Arthur Ashe defeated Jimmy Connors to win the Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Singles title, becoming the first Black man to achieve this feat. This historic victory is being celebrated with special events at Wimbledon this year to mark the anniversary.
Arthur Ashe hits a slice serve with unerring accuracy, the ball arcing ever wider off the court.
Jimmy Connors, his heavily favored opponent and the defending champion, gets just enough of his racket on the ball to sneak it over the net.
But Ashe is already halfway up the court, pouncing on the short ball and punching the volley away with ease to clinch the Wimbledon title.
He holds his arms out briefly, before turning to his box with a clenched fist and then shaking Connors’ hand. It is a somewhat nonchalant reaction to one of the defining moments of Ashe’s career, and one of the most iconic moments in Wimbledon history.
Arthur Ashe waves to the crowd after winning Wimbledon in 1975.
But that response encapsulated Ashe’s personality on the court – cool, calm and collected, a man that rarely, if ever, looked flustered.
Fifty years have now passed since Ashe stunned Connors in four sets to become the first – and to this day only – Black man to win the Wimbledon gentlemen’s singles title, and the significance of his 1975 achievement only continues to grow with each passing edition of the championships. To read more go to the link below:
