// API callback
related_results_labels_thumbs({"version":"1.0","encoding":"UTF-8","feed":{"xmlns":"http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom","xmlns$openSearch":"http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/","xmlns$blogger":"http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008","xmlns$georss":"http://www.georss.org/georss","xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8123599335000350018"},"updated":{"$t":"2022-11-09T07:08:14.326-08:00"},"category":[{"term":"BTHOF"},{"term":"USTA"},{"term":"Althea Gibson"},{"term":"Shelia Curry"},{"term":"2019 Induction Ceremony"},{"term":"Bob Davis"},{"term":"Brooklyn Borough Hall"},{"term":"Chanda Rubin"},{"term":"Class of 2022"},{"term":"Pioneer"},{"term":"American Tennis Association"},{"term":"Black History Month"},{"term":"Black Tennis Hall of Fame"},{"term":"Brooklyn NY"},{"term":"Contributor"},{"term":"Executive Director"},{"term":"Inductee"},{"term":"Regional Legend"},{"term":"Tennis Channel"},{"term":"ATA"},{"term":"Ann Koger"},{"term":"Arthur Ashe"},{"term":"Black Tennis History"},{"term":"Class of 2021"},{"term":"Facebook"},{"term":"Player"},{"term":"Alice Marble"},{"term":"Angela Buxton"},{"term":"Benny Sims"},{"term":"Black Wall Street"},{"term":"Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame"},{"term":"Emily Moore"},{"term":"Induction Ceremony"},{"term":"Joe Goldthreate"},{"term":"Jr."},{"term":"Katrina Adams"},{"term":"Leslie Allen"},{"term":"Lonnie White"},{"term":"Organization"},{"term":"Phil Williamson"},{"term":"Regional Legends"},{"term":"Richard Russell"},{"term":"Robert Walter Johnson"},{"term":"STEC"},{"term":"Sportsmen's Tennis \u0026 Enrichment Center"},{"term":"Women's History Month"},{"term":"Zina Garrison"},{"term":"2022"},{"term":"Arvelia Myers"},{"term":"Benny Sims Jr."},{"term":"Black Inventors Hall of Fame"},{"term":"Class of 2020"},{"term":"Contributors"},{"term":"D.A. Abrams"},{"term":"Dale Caldwell"},{"term":"Dale G. Caldwell"},{"term":"Dr. Dale G. Caldwell"},{"term":"Frank Adams"},{"term":"Hall of Famer"},{"term":"Happy Thanksgiving"},{"term":"Inductees"},{"term":"Irwin R. Holmes"},{"term":"Jamaica"},{"term":"James Ewers"},{"term":"MaliVai Washington"},{"term":"New York City"},{"term":"Nominations"},{"term":"Nominee"},{"term":"Norvell Brown"},{"term":"Ora Washington"},{"term":"Oscar Johnson"},{"term":"PTR"},{"term":"Pioneers"},{"term":"Players"},{"term":"Richmond"},{"term":"Richmond Free Press"},{"term":"Robert Ryland"},{"term":"Sande French"},{"term":"Statue Unveiling"},{"term":"The River Club"},{"term":"Theodore Thompson"},{"term":"Tina McCall-Waters"},{"term":"University of Tulsa"},{"term":"VA"},{"term":"Wilbert R. \"Billy\" Davis"},{"term":"(ESCNJ)"},{"term":"100 Years Old"},{"term":"100th Birthday"},{"term":"14th Annual Induction Ceremony"},{"term":"2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom"},{"term":"2019 Class"},{"term":"2019 U.S. Open"},{"term":"2019 US Open"},{"term":"2020"},{"term":"2020 Annual Induction Ceremony"},{"term":"2020 Nominations"},{"term":"2021"},{"term":"2021 French Open"},{"term":"2021 Nominations"},{"term":"ACE Hero"},{"term":"Acceptance Speech"},{"term":"Adele Johnson"},{"term":"Afro-Jazz"},{"term":"Al Pendleton"},{"term":"Al Tucker"},{"term":"Albert A. Tucker"},{"term":"Albert E White"},{"term":"Algonquin Tennis Club"},{"term":"Althea Gibson Statue Unveiling"},{"term":"Anniversary"},{"term":"Announcement"},{"term":"Annual Induction Ceremony"},{"term":"Appointment"},{"term":"Art Carrington"},{"term":"Arthur \"Art\" Carrington"},{"term":"Arthur Ashe Boulevard"},{"term":"Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center"},{"term":"Arthur Ashe Stadium"},{"term":"Ashe-Bollettieri Program"},{"term":"Ashley Caldwell"},{"term":"Atkins High School"},{"term":"Augustus G Jenkins"},{"term":"Ayinde Williams"},{"term":"BHMVA"},{"term":"Baltimore"},{"term":"Barack Obama"},{"term":"Basketball"},{"term":"Bernard Chavis"},{"term":"Bertrand Milbourne Clark"},{"term":"Bessie Stockard"},{"term":"Billie Jean King"},{"term":"Billie Jean King Tennis Center"},{"term":"Billy Davis"},{"term":"Bio"},{"term":"Birthday Celebration"},{"term":"Black"},{"term":"Black Entrepreneurship Hall of \nFame"},{"term":"Black Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame"},{"term":"Black Excellence Alliance"},{"term":"Black Excellence Coalition"},{"term":"Black Fire Percussion"},{"term":"Black History Museum and Culture Center of Virginia"},{"term":"Black Tennis Clubs"},{"term":"Black Tennis Hall of Fame Inductee"},{"term":"Black Tennis Magazine"},{"term":"Black Tennis Pros"},{"term":"Black Tennis Pros Hall Of Fame"},{"term":"Blueprint For Life"},{"term":"Board"},{"term":"Bonnie Logan"},{"term":"Brandon Campor and One Way"},{"term":"Breaking The Barriers"},{"term":"Brett Haber"},{"term":"British"},{"term":"Brooklyn"},{"term":"Brooklyn New York"},{"term":"Brooklyn Youth Tennis Club"},{"term":"Bruce Stone"},{"term":"Byrd Park"},{"term":"Calabasas California"},{"term":"Carl Hodge"},{"term":"Caroline Stoll"},{"term":"Cecil Holland"},{"term":"Celebration"},{"term":"Champion"},{"term":"Chief Executive Officer"},{"term":"Christmas 2020"},{"term":"Christmas 2021"},{"term":"Civil Rights Foot Soldier"},{"term":"Civil Rights Leader"},{"term":"Class of 2010"},{"term":"Class of 2023"},{"term":"Colorado Tennis Association"},{"term":"Congressman"},{"term":"Conversations"},{"term":"Covid-19"},{"term":"DA Abrams"},{"term":"David Dinkins"},{"term":"David Harris"},{"term":"Death"},{"term":"December 2021"},{"term":"Died Monday November 23"},{"term":"Donald Hunt"},{"term":"Dr. Alicia Odewale"},{"term":"Dr. Elizabeth \"Liz\" Odera"},{"term":"Dr. Emily Moore"},{"term":"Dr. Robert W. Johnson"},{"term":"Dream"},{"term":"Durham North Carolina"},{"term":"Educational Services Commission of New Jersey"},{"term":"Eric Goulder"},{"term":"Ernie Peterson"},{"term":"Eva Belle Bracy"},{"term":"Exclusive"},{"term":"Family"},{"term":"Feed Louisiana Love"},{"term":"Feeding America"},{"term":"Financial Planning"},{"term":"First Black Professional Tennis Player"},{"term":"Flora Lomax-Bray"},{"term":"Forbes"},{"term":"Former USTA President"},{"term":"Founder"},{"term":"Founders Father"},{"term":"Frederick Johnson"},{"term":"Freedom Friday"},{"term":"GFLCVB"},{"term":"Gianna Bryant"},{"term":"God Filled Joy"},{"term":"Gordon Parks"},{"term":"HBCUs"},{"term":"Hall of Fame"},{"term":"Happiness"},{"term":"Happy New Year"},{"term":"Haverford College"},{"term":"Hayti"},{"term":"Head Coach"},{"term":"Helicopter Crash"},{"term":"Historian"},{"term":"Historic Marker"},{"term":"Inaugural Program Event"},{"term":"Instagram"},{"term":"Interview"},{"term":"Isadore Channels (Izzy)"},{"term":"Jackson State University"},{"term":"James \"Plunky\" Branch"},{"term":"James Blake"},{"term":"James Branch"},{"term":"Jay Snyder"},{"term":"Jimmie Horace Doc Horne Sr."},{"term":"John Lewis"},{"term":"John R. Lewis"},{"term":"John Wilkerson"},{"term":"Joy Gay"},{"term":"Joyce Dinkins"},{"term":"Jr. Day"},{"term":"Jr. Irwin Johnson"},{"term":"Junior Tennis Foundation"},{"term":"Karen Cook-Henderson"},{"term":"Kathryn Allison"},{"term":"Kobe Bryant"},{"term":"Lange Johnson"},{"term":"Leonard Johnson"},{"term":"Levar M. Stoney"},{"term":"Liz Odera"},{"term":"Lori McNeil"},{"term":"Lucille Freeman"},{"term":"Lucy Diggs Slowe"},{"term":"Lulu Ballard"},{"term":"MLK Day"},{"term":"March On Washington"},{"term":"Margaret \"Pete\" Peters"},{"term":"Marion Rice"},{"term":"Mark McIntyre"},{"term":"Martin Luther King"},{"term":"Mary Etta Fine"},{"term":"Mashona Washington"},{"term":"Matilda Roumania \"Repeat\" Peters"},{"term":"Mayor of New York"},{"term":"Media"},{"term":"Melvin Swanson"},{"term":"Mendocino High School"},{"term":"Mental Wellness"},{"term":"Merry Christmas"},{"term":"Michael Hawkins"},{"term":"Midwestern Tennis Association"},{"term":"Minister"},{"term":"Morgan State University"},{"term":"Mountain View Tennis Club in San Diego"},{"term":"Multicultural Business Development for the Greater Fort Lauderdale Cdonvention \u0026 Visitors Bureau"},{"term":"NBA"},{"term":"NBA Legend"},{"term":"NJTL"},{"term":"NY"},{"term":"Nancy Gill McShea"},{"term":"Naomi Osaka"},{"term":"Nathaniel and Franklin Jackson"},{"term":"Nathaniel and Franklyn Jackson"},{"term":"Negro Durham Marches On"},{"term":"New Brunswick Board of Education"},{"term":"New Jersey"},{"term":"New York"},{"term":"Newly Elected"},{"term":"Nick Bollettieri"},{"term":"Nomination Criteria"},{"term":"Nominee Categories"},{"term":"North Carolina"},{"term":"North Carolina Central University"},{"term":"Northen CA"},{"term":"Norvell A. Brown"},{"term":"Organizations"},{"term":"Otis Smith"},{"term":"Pandemic"},{"term":"Passed"},{"term":"Paul Fontana"},{"term":"Peace"},{"term":"Pheba Mississipi"},{"term":"Phil Armstrong"},{"term":"Philadelphia"},{"term":"Philadelphia Association of Black Sports and Culture"},{"term":"Philadelphia Tribune"},{"term":"Player Contributor"},{"term":"Player\/Contributor"},{"term":"Plunky \u0026 Oneness"},{"term":"Press Conference"},{"term":"Princeton University"},{"term":"Professional Tennis Registry"},{"term":"Program Partnership"},{"term":"Quotes"},{"term":"Racquet Drives"},{"term":"Ralph Sampson"},{"term":"Registration Reminder"},{"term":"Rev Dr Gilbert Haven Caldwell Jr"},{"term":"Rev. Dr. Robert Turner"},{"term":"Rev. Jacques Degraff"},{"term":"Richest Self-Made Women"},{"term":"Richmond Jazz Society"},{"term":"Richmond Tennisbums"},{"term":"Rise"},{"term":"Robert C Davis"},{"term":"Robert C. \"Bill\" Davis"},{"term":"Robert W. Johnson"},{"term":"Roland Garros"},{"term":"School Board Member of The Year"},{"term":"Score of Days"},{"term":"Serena Williams"},{"term":"Shelia R. Curry"},{"term":"Southern California Tennis Association"},{"term":"Southern Illinois University"},{"term":"Stay Safe"},{"term":"Street Re-Naming Ceremony"},{"term":"Team"},{"term":"Ted Robinson"},{"term":"Thanksgiving"},{"term":"The Chronicle"},{"term":"The Richmond Standard"},{"term":"The Whirlwind Johnson Foundation"},{"term":"The Williams Sisters"},{"term":"Tina Karwasky"},{"term":"Tina McCall"},{"term":"Tori Graves-Parker"},{"term":"Trenton NJ"},{"term":"Twitter"},{"term":"USPTA Eastern"},{"term":"USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center"},{"term":"USTA Foundation"},{"term":"United States Tennis Association"},{"term":"Vimeo"},{"term":"Viral"},{"term":"Virginia Changemaker"},{"term":"Virginia Glass"},{"term":"Virginia M. Glass"},{"term":"Virginia Museum of History \u0026 Culture"},{"term":"Virginia Slims Tennis Circuit"},{"term":"Virginia Union University"},{"term":"Virginia Wade"},{"term":"WSSU"},{"term":"Wall of Fame"},{"term":"Week 2"},{"term":"Week 3"},{"term":"Week 4"},{"term":"Where's Your Racquet"},{"term":"White House"},{"term":"William Abraham Washington"},{"term":"Willis Thomas Jr."},{"term":"Wimbledon"},{"term":"Wimbledon Doubles Champiions"},{"term":"Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum"},{"term":"Winston-Salem"},{"term":"Withdraw"},{"term":"Women's History Monthy"},{"term":"Zina Lynn Garrison"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Black Tennis Hall Of Fame"},"subtitle":{"type":"html","$t":"Black Tennis Hall of Fame"},"link":[{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blacktennishalloffame.com\/feeds\/posts\/default"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8123599335000350018\/posts\/default\/-\/USTA?alt=json-in-script\u0026max-results=6"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blacktennishalloffame.com\/search\/label\/USTA"},{"rel":"hub","href":"http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/"},{"rel":"next","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8123599335000350018\/posts\/default\/-\/USTA\/-\/USTA?alt=json-in-script\u0026start-index=7\u0026max-results=6"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Shelia"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00280487267612661372"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-bQEE7-AF2xA\/XFORbDCAxJI\/AAAAAAAAcKI\/T17w1dWzS2shMJqL24nNCkpPsAnoKbwqACK4BGAYYCw\/s1600\/fash003.jpg"}}],"generator":{"version":"7.00","uri":"http://www.blogger.com","$t":"Blogger"},"openSearch$totalResults":{"$t":"10"},"openSearch$startIndex":{"$t":"1"},"openSearch$itemsPerPage":{"$t":"6"},"entry":[{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8123599335000350018.post-3239377333773879253"},"published":{"$t":"2022-10-01T16:46:00.003-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2022-10-01T16:53:57.827-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Cecil Holland"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Class of 2022"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Inductee"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Jay Snyder"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Joy Gay"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Karen Cook-Henderson"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Mendocino High School"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Northen CA"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Sande French"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"The Richmond Standard"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"USTA"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"THE RICHMOND STANDARD:  Richmond Native Sande French Inducted Into Black Tennis Hall Of Fame"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"td-post-sharing-top\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"td-post-sharing td-ps-bg td-ps-notext td-post-sharing-style1\" id=\"td_social_sharing_article_top\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"td-post-sharing-visible\"\u003E\u003Ca class=\"td-social-sharing-button td-social-sharing-button-js td-social-network td-social-facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Frichmondstandard.com%2Frichmond%2F2022%2F09%2F21%2Frichmond-native-sande-french-inducted-into-black-tennis-hall-of-fame%2F\" style=\"opacity: 1; transition: opacity 0.2s ease 0s;\"\u003E                                        \u003Cdiv class=\"td-social-but-icon\"\u003E\u003Ci class=\"td-icon-facebook\"\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E                                                                             \u003C\/a\u003E\u003Ca class=\"td-social-sharing-button td-social-sharing-button-js td-social-network td-social-twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Richmond+native+Sande+French+inducted+into+Black+Tennis+Hall+of+Fame\u0026amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Frichmondstandard.com%2Frichmond%2F2022%2F09%2F21%2Frichmond-native-sande-french-inducted-into-black-tennis-hall-of-fame%2F\u0026amp;via=Richmond+Standard\" style=\"opacity: 1; transition: opacity 0.2s ease 0s;\"\u003E                                        \u003Cdiv class=\"td-social-but-icon\"\u003E\u003Ci class=\"td-icon-twitter\"\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E                                                                             \u003C\/a\u003E\u003Ca class=\"td-social-sharing-button td-social-sharing-button-js td-social-network td-social-pinterest\" href=\"https:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https:\/\/richmondstandard.com\/richmond\/2022\/09\/21\/richmond-native-sande-french-inducted-into-black-tennis-hall-of-fame\/\u0026amp;media=https:\/\/richmondstandard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/SandeFrench7.jpg\u0026amp;description=Richmond+native+Sande+French+inducted+into+Black+Tennis+Hall+of+Fame\" style=\"opacity: 1; transition: opacity 0.2s ease 0s;\"\u003E                                        \u003Cdiv class=\"td-social-but-icon\"\u003E\u003Ci class=\"td-icon-pinterest\"\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E                                                                             \u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E         \u003Cdiv class=\"td-post-content\"\u003E         \u003Cdiv class=\"td-post-featured-image\"\u003E\u003Cfigure\u003E\u003Ca class=\"td-modal-image\" data-caption=\"Photo courtesy of the Black Tennis Hall of Fame.\" href=\"https:\/\/richmondstandard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/SandeFrench7.jpg\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"Richmond native Sande French inducted into Black Tennis Hall of Fame\" class=\"entry-thumb td-animation-stack-type0-2\" height=\"364\" src=\"https:\/\/richmondstandard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/SandeFrench7-696x364.jpg\" title=\"SandeFrench7\" width=\"696\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPhoto courtesy of the Black Tennis Hall of Fame.\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\u003Cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\u003Cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E        \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EBy Mike Kinney \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EWhen she was 8 years old, Sande French’s little brother Don gave her a  globe for Christmas. Every night, she would spin it, then dream about  the place where her finger would stop it.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E“Who knew I would have a chance to experience some [of those  places],” said French. “From playing on the public courts of Nicholl  Park in Richmond, California, to my first grass court event, the public  park that becomes Eastbourne’s event on the English Channel, or a  sumptuous meal in Tallinn, Estonia or sushi in Tokyo, or witnessing the  longtail soaring and the crystal blue skies of Bermuda, traversing the  Great Wall of China, a stroll along the Huevo de Julio in Buenos Aires,  the grandeur of the Taj Mahal, stepping on the revered motherland of  Cameroon, to the low grass of Wimbledon.”\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EHad someone told French she would live this dream, “I would have laughed them into the next county.”\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E“Yet, here I am watching worldwide tennis from the best seat in the house,” French said.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EOn Saturday, Sept. 17, French, a Richmond native, Richmond High  graduate and the first and only Black female chair umpire in  professional tennis in the U.S., was formally inducted into the Black  Tennis Hall of Fame. She was among seven people inducted at the 14\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C\/sup\u003E\u0026nbsp;annual ceremony at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Va.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EWe were tipped off to this Hall of Fame honor by Arto Rinteela,  president of the Fairmeade Hilltop Neighborhood Council, who was a  classmate of French’s in the graduating Class of 1974 at Richmond High.  Rinteela remembers another one of French’s talents that manifested in  the high school marching band.'\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E‘Everybody wanted to be around SandE.’\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E“She was a talented clarinet player,” Rinteela said. “She had a great  personality and was very smart. Everybody wanted to be around Sande.”\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003ERinteela also recalled French as “one of the few” tennis players at Richmond High in those days.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EWhile accepting her latest honor (see the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_fsYSiSXcVI\u0026amp;t=3064s\"\u003Evideo\u003C\/a\u003E of the ceremony here), French reflected with deep gratitude on her 36  years of officiating professional tennis. Her resume speaks for itself.  In 1993, French became the only African-American in history to chair the  US Open Singles Final. She has chaired 10 U.S. Open Finals, worked  Wimbledon six times and the Australian Open three times. She also  chaired the Fed Cups internationally and the NCAA championship Final.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cfigure aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1119370\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" id=\"attachment_1119370\" style=\"width: 474px;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1119370 size-full td-animation-stack-type0-2\" height=\"658\" src=\"https:\/\/richmondstandard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/SandeFrench2.jpg\" width=\"474\" \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\" id=\"caption-attachment-1119370\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPhoto courtesy of the Black Tennis Hall of Fame.\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EFrench also gives back to her profession, taking the initiative to  conceive, implement and teach chair clinics and training in Northern  California. She has volunteered as a referee for regional wheelchair  tournaments for 12 years, coached a wheelchair player, was a member of  USTA chair mentoring program in 2010, assisted coaching at Mendocino  High School in 2014, and was a USTA trainer and\/or evaluator from 1995  to 2015.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EHer awards and accolades are numerous, from 1991 Umpire of the Year  in Northern California to election into the Bay Area African-American  Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. Four years prior, she was honored  with the Multicultural Participation Committee Trailblazing Award.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EThroughout her career, she has inspired others, including people of  color, to aspire to become tennis officials or to achieve higher levels  in their careers.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E‘One never knows what life will bring. The endgame always is to improve from the previous day.’\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EDuring the Black Tennis Hall of Fame induction ceremony, French  thanked her college teammate, Karen Cook-Henderson, “who nudged me and  got me started in officiating 36 years ago.” She thanked various  “ohanas,” from her family to her colleagues over the years.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EFrench also expressed “immense gratitude” to Jay Snyder, who as  chairman of officials saw her potential by giving her a shot. She  acknowledged her “first bestie umpire Joy Gay, who regularly stood up  for us when we were treated unjustly, pushing back on the  archaic\u0026nbsp;practices.”\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E“When she passed in 1996, I took over her mantle, which is where my trouble began,” French said.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EAlong with Cecil Holland, French sued the USTA and ITF for  discrimination, alleging officials of conspiring to keep Blacks and  women from officiating important matches. It’s a stand “that cost us  both of our careers,” French said. “Twenty-nine years later nothing has  changed, we all know why.”\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cfigure aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1119374\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" id=\"attachment_1119374\" style=\"width: 428px;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1119374 size-full td-animation-stack-type0-2\" height=\"583\" src=\"https:\/\/richmondstandard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Sande-French-Black-Tennis-Hall-of-Fame-September-14-2022-2-e1663807904432.jpg\" width=\"428\" \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\" id=\"caption-attachment-1119374\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPhoto courtesy of the Black Tennis Hall of Fame.\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\u003Cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\" id=\"caption-attachment-1119374\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EFrench says the inner workings of professional tennis will be revealed in her upcoming book.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E“McEnroe deserves a whole chapter,” she quipped. “It will be fun.”\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EAs a Black, gay woman who achieved great things in tennis  officiating, French said she’s benefited from generations of  barrier-breakers.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E“I stand on their shoulders,” she said. “I embrace\u0026nbsp;their excellence and am forever indebted for their sacrifices.”\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EShe added, “One never knows what life will bring. The endgame always is to improve from the previous day.\"\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #2b00fe;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/richmondstandard.com\/richmond\/2022\/09\/21\/richmond-native-sande-french-inducted-into-black-tennis-hall-of-fame\/\"\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EThe Richmond Standard\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E         \u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blacktennishalloffame.com\/feeds\/3239377333773879253\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blacktennishalloffame.com\/2022\/10\/the-richmond-standard-richmond-native.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8123599335000350018\/posts\/default\/3239377333773879253"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8123599335000350018\/posts\/default\/3239377333773879253"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blacktennishalloffame.com\/2022\/10\/the-richmond-standard-richmond-native.html","title":"THE RICHMOND STANDARD:  Richmond Native Sande French Inducted Into Black Tennis Hall Of Fame"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Shelia"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00280487267612661372"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-bQEE7-AF2xA\/XFORbDCAxJI\/AAAAAAAAcKI\/T17w1dWzS2shMJqL24nNCkpPsAnoKbwqACK4BGAYYCw\/s1600\/fash003.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8123599335000350018.post-7344399570166858903"},"published":{"$t":"2021-03-23T19:15:00.003-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2022-01-16T21:12:05.488-08:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ann Koger"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Baltimore"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"BTHOF"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Class of 2010"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Haverford College"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Head Coach"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Morgan State University"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Philadelphia Association of Black Sports and Culture"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"PTR"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"USTA"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Virginia Slims Tennis Circuit"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH:  Exclusive Conversation With Ann Koger - The Life Experience Of An African-American Woman Who Would Not Be Denied"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-iD-m71tVtvI\/YFqe83wjk8I\/AAAAAAAAenw\/8TyRDjvV_SE4N6jXB5uGmgnzPD35G4zhwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1322\/Ann%2BKoger%2B3E.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"744\" data-original-width=\"1322\" height=\"1094\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-iD-m71tVtvI\/YFqe83wjk8I\/AAAAAAAAenw\/8TyRDjvV_SE4N6jXB5uGmgnzPD35G4zhwCLcBGAsYHQ\/w1742-h1094\/Ann%2BKoger%2B3E.jpg\" width=\"1742\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003Cspan style=\"background-color: #ffe599;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cb\u003E INTERVIEWED BY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SHELIA CURRY IN MARCH 2019 (All Rights Reserved)\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EAnn Koger is one of the most inspirational women that I have had the  opportunity to become acquainted with in my lifetime. She is one of  those invincible human beings that fulfilled her dreams and life  pursuits at a time when segregation and racism were wholly systemic and  acceptable.  The accomplishments achieved by Ann practically appear as if doors for  African-Americans and women were wide open and inviting, when in  actuality they were closed and unwelcoming.  Ann has earned a societal place among the greatest, yet she is not the  least bit interested in the shine that inherently comes with it. She  sees her journey as experiences that were either “not an option,” to “I  just kept going.”  From growing up in segregated Baltimore, Maryland to retiring in 2016  after 35 years as the Head Coach of Women’s Tennis at Haverford  University.  Here are some of Ann’s accomplishments and accolades:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EA four-year letter winner in four of the seven varsity sports  (basketball, field hockey, volleyball and tennis) she competed in while  at Morgan State University and was inducted into the school's Athletic  Hall of Fame in 1982. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EThe second female member of Morgan State’s tennis men’s team,  ranking second in singles between 1969-1972 and first in doubles. In  1971\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EOne of the country’s first African American women to play in the Virginia Slims Tennis Circuit, competing from 1973 to 1977\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EIs a certified USPTR teaching professional and a member of the  Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). Her educational background  includes B.S. and M.S. degrees from Morgan State University, and an  Ed.D. in Sports Administration from Temple University.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EOfficiated at many levels of basketball for 25 years, and in 1985,  she became the first woman to officiate an NCAA Division I men’s  basketball game.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EThe First Vice President of the American Tennis Association, Koger  was the co-director of the 1985 NCAA Division III Women’s Tennis  Championships.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EHonored by many organizations throughout her career, Koger received a  national community service award from USTA\/Volvo\/ITA in 1989 and  another from USTA for Division III in 1996.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EIn February 2000, Ann Koger cancelled the Haverford College women’s  tennis team training in Hilton Head, South Carolina to join the national  boycott over the Confederate flag that flies over the state’s Capitol  Building.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EHonored as part of the 2007 International Tennis Hall of Fame  Exhibit ‘Breaking the Barriers’ at the 2007 US Open in New York, N.Y. as  an accomplished and pioneering professional tennis player and as a  contributor to the exhibit through artifacts and oral history.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003ESelected as a member of the Black Tennis Hall of Fame Class of 2010  and was inducted into the Hall of Achievement at the Philadelphia  Association of Black Sports and Culture\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EDevotion to tennis has earned her a spot in the United States Tennis  Association (USTA) Middle States Hall of Fame Class of 2010.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EServed as 2015 Coach of the United States Tennis Association Middle States Girls 18 National Team Championship.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EAlso In 2015, Koger was elected and appointed to a second term of  the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Board of Directors and  serves as a member of the ITA Small College Operating Committee\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003ENamed the 2016 Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) Coach of the Year\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E \u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EYou have no clue, or perhaps you do, how encouraging  your life experience is to those of us who read it – especially given  the time in which you grew up. You have set so many standards in life,  across the board. You are a paradigm in sports and in society because of  living a life without walls that could not be stopped by the design of  American society.\u003C\/b\u003E \u003Cb\u003EHow do you now see your ability to live your life the way that you  have? Do you find your life’s experience as incredible and encouraging  as I do?\u003C\/b\u003E  Well, some people have asked me that before and to be very  honest, I don’t think of myself in that light.  I think of myself as  someone who has set out to accomplish some things, and a person who has  set out to do something that someone told me I couldn’t do, so I was  determined to do it. And as far as most people around me, teachers and  family, I never got any instruction that I couldn’t do that, because I  was Black, I couldn’t do that because I was a woman. My mother’s  favorite saying when somebody said you can’t do something was, “And why  not?”  She was always pushing back. And also in my family, my immediate  family, my aunts and uncles were very accomplished educationally in  different careers, so I thought nothing of saying, respectfully,  whenever possible, saying what was on my mind, and doing the things that  I thought I should be doing and that were appropriate to do and some  things that nobody else had done, so I thought it would be fun to try to  do it.  But I never thought of it as breaking a barrier and doing something that  no one else would do, and people would gasp and say “wow, that’s  something else there…”, I just never think of it like that. I just think  of doing things and moving forward and helping people who want to do  those same type of things or do some new things, and moving on.  Do you think that perhaps you see it that way because of the design of  American society at the time?  Well, I grew up in Baltimore, Maryland,  where I started my tennis training and we had the old Colored tennis  courts and the White tennis courts, and we had the White clubs that we  couldn’t go into, and we also had Jewish clubs because Baltimore had a  very heavy Jewish population growing up, and it wasn’t so much being a  child, and a young adult saying I have no courts to play on, but I  played on the courts that we were allowed to play on.  I knew it was  something racial, but it was kind of interesting because you had to get  permits to play on the White courts and the orange clay courts, but when  they were done for the day, we could play on them – it was open to us.  But they had first reservations on them.  The other thing that was helpful that I saw and benefitted from was that  when the Jewish people were allowed to be on the court after White  people and then with White people, they would help us by passing the  permits to the adults to play, then when the adults were finished  playing, the kids could come on and play, or if the courts were open we  could play. So, it was never that we didn’t have facilities to play, it  was that you had certain places where you could play.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-yZJyvhtU_2w\/YFg1CyfYdlI\/AAAAAAAAenc\/j6GdnTBSqEYAUpuN8rC2yw7oUBjQmlwaACLcBGAsYHQ\/s954\/Ann%2BKoger%2B2021.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"954\" data-original-width=\"949\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-yZJyvhtU_2w\/YFg1CyfYdlI\/AAAAAAAAenc\/j6GdnTBSqEYAUpuN8rC2yw7oUBjQmlwaACLcBGAsYHQ\/w636-h640\/Ann%2BKoger%2B2021.jpg\" width=\"636\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EBut had to go through changes to play there.\u003C\/b\u003E  Yeah. They now  have a monument near where the clay courts used to stand near the Flower  House in Baltimore where a group of players from the two prominent  Black tennis clubs, one of which was the Baltimore Tennis Club which was  the outgrowth of the Monumental City Tennis Club who hosted the first  American Tennis Association (ATA) Nationals in Baltimore in 1917, were  arrested for trying to get onto the tennis courts and had to go to  court, and I assume probably had to pay a fine for being disrespectful.  Later on, a memorial came in its place, but after that trial, in the mid  to late 1950s, that’s when barriers were beginning to be broken.  By their actions, it opened up a lot of things, not just in tennis, but  for integration. And growing up, I saw those things as a kid. It wasn’t  made a big deal to me, but I saw that happening and I knew that when the  adults could do things, then that meant that I could do something.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESo, as a child, you didn’t feel inundated with segregation.\u003C\/b\u003E   Well, I didn’t, because I was a kid - I was born in 1950, when you had  all of those landmark cases getting ready to occur when I was young. I  had an older cousin who was involved in the NAACP, aunts and uncles who  were involved in a lot of the court actions as lawyers and teachers who  were very community minded.  I wasn’t not educated about it, but because I had a family, along with  their friends, who were so involved in it, I felt covered and protected  in that, these people were going to make things happen for the people  who couldn’t do them.  Growing up in Baltimore had its issues, the neighborhoods were  challenged. Of course, in some neighborhoods we had a higher  concentration of different racial groups and we as Black people tended  to start to move behind Caucasian people in their neighborhoods, and  even moreso, the Jewish people. We moved from a predominately  African-American neighborhood into a predominately Jewish neighborhood.  And the Jewish people moved out of town – they called it running (they  were running from us).  The dynamics of being in school when I was in the African-American  neighborhood that I grew up in, Madison Park\/Bolton Hill where the  Caucasian people had vacated, then we moved into the neighborhood that  was Jewish, we were the 5th or 6th family that moved onto the block, and  eventually they were waiting for their houses to be built in  Pikesville, outside of Baltimore, and as their house were completed,  they would move out and more Black families would move in.  And the same dynamic occurred in schools. The school I transferred from  was all Black, all Black teachers – I didn’t know any White teachers.  I  moved to a school, when I was in the fifth grade that had predominately  Jewish teachers - that was something different.  My physical education  teacher happened to be someone who grew up and went to college with my  mother, and she was the only Black person in the school.  When there was a Jewish holiday, there was one 5th grade class left in  the school, because all the Jewish kids were on holiday – it was just  amazing, it threw me off. And our substitute would be a Black person. I  could see things changing that way.  How it impacted tennis and my career, when I started playing tournaments  in Baltimore, there were only a few junior tournaments, a few of us  junior players which at that time were 17 and under (now it’s 18 and  under), so it was only about four or five of us that played and we were  in the junior development program of The Baltimore Tennis Club. We would  play in tournaments and we’d all be in the same bracket, by coincidence  we were told – over, and over again.  By the time this happened for the second or third time, even as kids we  knew that if anybody came through, it could only be one. It could only  be one person of Color that could come through.  That occurred, coming  from junior tennis, with me.  At first I felt as though I wanted to win  because I was playing in the sport and I’d honed my skills and I wanted  to win the tournament. But I also knew that I had the burden of being or  surviving through the draw as the only Black person to get to the  finals.  And then I knew that I was subject to being cheated, either by  the person across the net, and sometimes the official, I had to learn  how to handle that.  The first time that happened to me, I tried to  appeal to the desk, and they wouldn’t even come down and help. I was  taught that in sports you had to be fair.  I went back down to the  court, and the young lady that I was playing against, started cheating  even more. So, when the match was over, I had been taught that you had  to shake hands, I went up there and shook her hand, and I told her, “I’m  gonna keep playing tennis until I meet you again, and I’m gonna beat  you.”  She looked at me like I was from outer space.  Then, of course,  being a 12-year-old, I go up and sit down under a tree and boo hoo’d and  made up my mind that either I was going to play this sport and overcome  this mess – or quit.  So, I just kept going.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cb\u003EAfter that, what pushed you forward? Were you driven to succeed in the sport because you loved it, or because of what happened?\u003C\/b\u003E    Well, it was that and a lot of other things.  It was also because it  was fun, and not a lot of people do it. Me and my sisters, on the block  that we lived on, we were the only kids that played tennis – nobody  else played, so that made us kind of unique.  My mother played tennis,  and eventually two people moved across the street, they played a little.  And then, I started getting better and better at it, I was like “Oh  wow!” \u003Cspan id=\"fullpost\"\u003EThen people started coming to my attention, such as Althea Gibson and  Arthur Ashe and Dr. Johnson’s troop that he took around to play tennis  matches – mostly in tournaments that were just starting to accept Black  people in tournaments, because there were still some that we couldn’t  play in because they were on courts that we weren’t allowed on.   It was a lot of those different feelings that, I’m going to stick with  this, and I’m gonna keep playing until “I” decide that I don’t want to  play anymore. I wasn’t gonna let somebody decide for me what I wasn’t  going to do anymore.  \u003Cb\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #010000;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGiven the  circumstances within which you grew up, how do you look at tennis today,  with specific regard to how Black children are allowed into the sport  and what’s available to them.\u003C\/b\u003E  \u003Cb\u003EDo you see it as particularly evolved, or still needing some evolution?\u003C\/b\u003E  Well, I think there could be a whole lot more of an evolution. In  coaching for the United States Tennis Association (USTA) middle states, I  was coaching some junior teens, and when I started out coaching, of  course I knew that there would be few to none youth that would qualify  to go to national championship play. And over the years, I started  seeing a few more, and a few more and it was…\u0026nbsp; I’m not a person to cry  like that, but if I was, it was like “Wow!” There are more kids out here  that are getting to the level where they can qualify for nationals and  special teams.  When I started coaching the Girls’ 18s National Teen  Championship, each year I saw more and more and then one year I came, I  almost did cry, because as I looked over the field of play I could see  all the different kinds of juniors of Color, Chinese kids,  African-Americans, kids that had come to this country and grown up from  Haiti, East Indian players, and they looked like they were the  predominant group that year – I just stood there in awe. I knew that we  had finally come to a point where we had some participation over the one  or two, and that they were out there playing national level of tennis.  Now as far as the other side of evolution, we still don’t have enough –  tennis is an expensive sport. When I came up, they said it would cost  upwards of $10,000 a year to be able to go out and play all of the  tournaments that I needed to play to be nationally ranked, so I knew  that figure had jumped up. That meant that those kids had come from  affluent families, or they had some level of sponsorship either through  their tennis section, their clubs, their families, their communities,  and that they had places to train that had coaches that knew how to take  them to the next level of skill accomplishment. In that area, I think  we’ve done better, but I still think we have a ways to go, because under  the president for the past two years of the USTA, Katrina Adams, I  think she has made a great contribution, not just in face, people seeing  her face, but because she’s on the inside and she knew those challenges  growing up in Chicago playing tennis, that there was more work to be  done and that work is not over.    But I think that we still need to find a way to get down to bringing  tennis to the neighborhoods and keeping those kids in the sport of  tennis. I think we can start to attract them, and mostly because the  generation we’re dealing with, unfortunately, Althea Gibson is somebody  they don’t know, and Arthur Ashe is somebody that they might know, but  maybe because they’re older to them. They look at Venus and Serena  Williams and they’re more realistic to them and are their heroes, coming  from Compton and the family bringing them up and striving to make them  champions under the father’s methods of teaching them tennis. They can  look at them and actually relate.   Now of course those kids have another draw where they have basketball  where it’s easier to get to the top in basketball and there’s always  teams and somebody sponsoring them and they can earn their reputation of  excellence right in their little community and hometown – with tennis,  you have to travel to do that. Football the same thing, soccer has  become the same kind of thing, tennis is not necessarily the  neighborhood sport where somebody can help you financially get to the  top.  You have a few pros now who are teaching at the community level,  but you actually need to have coaches with the knowledge of each level  on the ladder that you climb to get you to the next level and beyond,  and you might have to get a new coach… well, they cost money. Coaches  cost money, tennis courts aren’t cheap, and they’re not cheap to  maintain.  There are a lot of variables out here that have helped the  juniors and kids who have gravitated to tennis, but we have to find a  way, and it’s mostly financially, to keep them in tennis.    \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blacktennishalloffame.com\/feeds\/7344399570166858903\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blacktennishalloffame.com\/2021\/03\/womens-history-month-exclusive.html#comment-form","title":"1 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8123599335000350018\/posts\/default\/7344399570166858903"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8123599335000350018\/posts\/default\/7344399570166858903"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blacktennishalloffame.com\/2021\/03\/womens-history-month-exclusive.html","title":"WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH:  Exclusive Conversation With Ann Koger - The Life Experience Of An African-American Woman Who Would Not Be Denied"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Shelia"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00280487267612661372"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-bQEE7-AF2xA\/XFORbDCAxJI\/AAAAAAAAcKI\/T17w1dWzS2shMJqL24nNCkpPsAnoKbwqACK4BGAYYCw\/s1600\/fash003.jpg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-iD-m71tVtvI\/YFqe83wjk8I\/AAAAAAAAenw\/8TyRDjvV_SE4N6jXB5uGmgnzPD35G4zhwCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-w1742-h1094-c\/Ann%2BKoger%2B3E.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"1"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8123599335000350018.post-1513762870044445203"},"published":{"$t":"2021-02-21T03:00:00.009-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-02-21T03:29:32.004-08:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"BTHOF"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Class of 2021"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Colorado Tennis Association"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Donald Hunt"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Frank Adams"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Philadelphia Tribune"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Sportsmen's Tennis \u0026 Enrichment Center"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"USTA"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"THE PHILADELPHIA TRIBUNE:  West Philadelphia Native Frank Adams To Be Inducted Into The Black Tennis Hall Of Fame"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-ruihgENpsN8\/YDI3Rjq_9AI\/AAAAAAAAeks\/sOIfuDJt0jkuSi61aOaXjml8e1Zyf1stACLcBGAsYHQ\/s804\/Frank%2BAdams%2BPhily%2BTribune%2BDonald%2BHunt.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"603\" data-original-width=\"804\" height=\"1442\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-ruihgENpsN8\/YDI3Rjq_9AI\/AAAAAAAAeks\/sOIfuDJt0jkuSi61aOaXjml8e1Zyf1stACLcBGAsYHQ\/w1464-h1442\/Frank%2BAdams%2BPhily%2BTribune%2BDonald%2BHunt.jpg\" width=\"1464\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: red;\"\u003EWriter\/Credits:\u0026nbsp; Mr. Donald Hunt \/ dhunt@phillytrib.com\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EFrank Adams, who grew up playing tennis in West Philadelphia, will be inducted into the Black Tennis Hall of Fame. Adams will be enshrined as a regional legend at the annual induction ceremony for the Classes of 2020 and 2021 July 2-3. The ceremony will take place at the Sportsmen’s Tennis \u0026amp; Enrichment Center in Dorchester, Mass.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EAdams, who was the first African American President of the Colorado Tennis Association, and Intermountain Tennis Association USTA Section, paving the way for Colorado and section leaders. As chair of the Colorado and ITA Minority Participation Committee, he recruited and mentored African Americans to volunteer for the USTA Committees.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EAdams knows the value of getting volunteers involved in the game as well as playing tennis on the grassroots level. That’s here his career took off as a player.\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E“I look at it as part of a journey that helped me along,” said Adams, a St. Joseph’s Prep alumnus. “I couldn’t have arrived at this point without all the mentors that helped me out from the times I first started playing tennis.\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E“Bill Johnson in Philadelphia at Shepard Recreation Center [57th and Haverford Avenue] all the way through Allen Kiel and here in Colorado who helped me become president of the Intermountain Section, which is Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. It takes up five stats.\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E“I lived in West Philly. The background of this was I grew up playing ping pong in the basement of some of my friends in West Philly. One summer I went away and came back at the end of the summer. The tennis courts had been built over at Haddington [now Shepard Recreation Center]. My friends were all playing and they invited me to play. I knew nothing about it. I went over and played with my friends. They left and never came back. I just stayed.”\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EAdams continued to work on his game. Through hard work, practice and good coaching he developed a great deal of interest in the sport. He read several books on tennis. He gained a strong appeal for tennis. Although he ran cross country, indoor and outdoor track at St. Joseph’s Prep, he really enjoyed playing tennis.\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E“I just found people that would hit with me every day after school,” Adams said. “Every day I would go over there and knew nothing about what I was doing. I read every book that I could. I read every book at the Philadelphia central Library. Then, I taught myself how to play tennis.\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E“Then, one summer about maybe nine months after I first started playing. I came over to the tennis courts and there was coach Bill Johnson. He was a legendary coach in Philadelphia who started many tennis careers for the youth of Philadelphia. Bill Johnson said this guy can play let him try out for the team. That started everything.\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003ETwice a week, I would practice over at the tennis courts. In between that, I would spend literally hours from the time the sun came up until the sun went down. I would be on those courts playing with friends.”\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EAdams feels The National Junior Tennis League (NJTL) was a good springboard for many African American kids in Philly. The program created opportunities youngsters to compete in tennis in their own community.\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E“I think the important thing was the NJTL,” Adams said. “The National Junior Tennis League started by Arthur Ashe and Charlie Pasarell and Sheridan Snyder. I think that was about ‘69 [1969]. Their mission was to take a country club sport and bring it to the streets.\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E“That’s what they were trying to do and give us lessons and give us structure. The code of conduct was very important. It was one of the first things we learned. We played league matches once a week. Rec [Recreation] Centers in West Philly and North Philly that’s where my competition was. We really didn’t have tournament maybe one or two.”\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EAdams got involved with coaching at a young age. It was a great experience for him, which set a good foundation for his career down the road.\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;“I really started off my career teaching tennis than playing tennis and also communicating with other people and sharing ideas,” Adams said. “That was the most important thing. I coached track and field. I did coach at 18 during the Black Olympics. I coached the Philadelphia team in ping pong and in tennis at the 1976 Black Olympics.”\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003EToday, Adams, 63, is married and resides in Aurora, CO.. He is the head tennis pro at the Highlands Ranch Community Association in Highlands Ranch, CO. In addition, he has a tennis program titled “Star Search”, which gives opportunities to minorities at a reduced cost in the Intermountain Zonal Team. He’s involved with wheelchair tennis the Professional Tennis Registry to help others with teaching the game.\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E“For me the most important thing was I read every book on tennis in the Philadelphia Central Library,” Adams said. “I studied every tennis magazine I could get my hands on. Then, on the weekends I would watch PBS and Vic Braden, a very famous coach on TV. he had a show “Tennis for the Future.\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E“I learned so much about teaching tennis and how to play tennis that it was basic for all my experiences in tennis. At an early age, as I was teaching myself how to play. I was teaching the other kids how to play, too.”\u003C\/h1\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h1\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blacktennishalloffame.com\/feeds\/1513762870044445203\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blacktennishalloffame.com\/2021\/02\/the-philadelphia-tribune-west.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8123599335000350018\/posts\/default\/1513762870044445203"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8123599335000350018\/posts\/default\/1513762870044445203"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blacktennishalloffame.com\/2021\/02\/the-philadelphia-tribune-west.html","title":"THE PHILADELPHIA TRIBUNE:  West Philadelphia Native Frank Adams To Be Inducted Into The Black Tennis Hall Of Fame"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Shelia"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00280487267612661372"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-bQEE7-AF2xA\/XFORbDCAxJI\/AAAAAAAAcKI\/T17w1dWzS2shMJqL24nNCkpPsAnoKbwqACK4BGAYYCw\/s1600\/fash003.jpg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-ruihgENpsN8\/YDI3Rjq_9AI\/AAAAAAAAeks\/sOIfuDJt0jkuSi61aOaXjml8e1Zyf1stACLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-w1464-h1442-c\/Frank%2BAdams%2BPhily%2BTribune%2BDonald%2BHunt.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8123599335000350018.post-1179734830326458308"},"published":{"$t":"2021-02-17T23:39:00.013-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2022-01-16T13:15:27.816-08:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"American Tennis Association"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Breaking The Barriers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"BTHOF"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Former USTA President"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Nancy Gill McShea"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Princeton University"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"USTA"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Black Tennis Hall of Fame Congratulates Its Founder, Dr. Dale G. Caldwell As He Is Announced As An Inductee Into The Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame Class of 2021"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-EswAk0X0t8k\/YC4WOBKb73I\/AAAAAAAAekI\/O3-qD-XudgM5Ie9ptS-daWAKVCihivEMgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s960\/Dale%2BCaldwell%2BJunior%2BTennis%2BFoundation.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"960\" data-original-width=\"789\" height=\"438\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-EswAk0X0t8k\/YC4WOBKb73I\/AAAAAAAAekI\/O3-qD-XudgM5Ie9ptS-daWAKVCihivEMgCLcBGAsYHQ\/w402-h438\/Dale%2BCaldwell%2BJunior%2BTennis%2BFoundation.jpg\" width=\"402\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #444444;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #444444;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003ETennis Historian, founder of the Black Tennis Hall of Fame, creator and co-curator of the original \u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/breakingbarriers.tennisfame.com\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBreaking the Barriers Exhibit\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E, now hosted at the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and former USTA Eastern President.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #444444;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EDale Caldwell  is the first of this year's six inductees into the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.juniortennisfoundation.org\/copy-of-hall-of-fame\"\u003EEastern Tennis Hall of Fame\u003C\/a\u003E to be announced. A new inductee will be announced each week.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #444444;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #444444;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EA graduate of Princeton University, Dale has tirelessly promoted the history of Black Tennis in the US. He founded the Black Tennis Hall of Fame, and in 2006, he conceived and conjured \u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/breakingbarriers.tennisfame.com\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBreaking the Barriers\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E – currently on exhibition at the International Tennis Hall of Fame – honoring the \u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.yourata.org\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EAmerican Tennis Association\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E and the Black pioneers of tennis.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #444444;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #444444;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EAlong with fellow Hall of Famer Nancy Gill McShea, Dale is the author of \u003Cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003ETennis in New York, the History of the Most Influential Sport in the Most Influential City in the World.\u003C\/span\u003E He has served on the Board of Directors of the USTA and was the first Black president of USTA Eastern.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch1 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h1\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blacktennishalloffame.com\/feeds\/1179734830326458308\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blacktennishalloffame.com\/2021\/02\/black-tennis-hall-of-fame-congratulates.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8123599335000350018\/posts\/default\/1179734830326458308"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8123599335000350018\/posts\/default\/1179734830326458308"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blacktennishalloffame.com\/2021\/02\/black-tennis-hall-of-fame-congratulates.html","title":"Black Tennis Hall of Fame Congratulates Its Founder, Dr. Dale G. Caldwell As He Is Announced As An Inductee Into The Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame Class of 2021"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Shelia"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00280487267612661372"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-bQEE7-AF2xA\/XFORbDCAxJI\/AAAAAAAAcKI\/T17w1dWzS2shMJqL24nNCkpPsAnoKbwqACK4BGAYYCw\/s1600\/fash003.jpg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-EswAk0X0t8k\/YC4WOBKb73I\/AAAAAAAAekI\/O3-qD-XudgM5Ie9ptS-daWAKVCihivEMgCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-w402-h438-c\/Dale%2BCaldwell%2BJunior%2BTennis%2BFoundation.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8123599335000350018.post-8496984992648234375"},"published":{"$t":"2020-04-19T18:10:00.002-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2022-01-16T13:01:43.941-08:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"American Tennis Association"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"ATA"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Black Tennis Magazine"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"BTHOF"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Mountain View Tennis Club in San Diego"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Southern California Tennis Association"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"United States Tennis Association"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"USTA"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Virginia M. Glass"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"BLACK TENNIS HALL OF FAME PIONEER VIRGINIA M. GLASS HAS DIED"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-fleOk4Peb5s\/Xpzt7Bw5-0I\/AAAAAAAAd9k\/jtkKdJUhXLs4M1Qx_gBQvH5VfNb9Tw-kQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s1600\/Virginia%2BGlass%2BDied.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"320\" data-original-width=\"209\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-fleOk4Peb5s\/Xpzt7Bw5-0I\/AAAAAAAAd9k\/jtkKdJUhXLs4M1Qx_gBQvH5VfNb9Tw-kQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s640\/Virginia%2BGlass%2BDied.jpg\" width=\"418\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #444444;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EVirginia M. Glass was inducted into the Black Tennis Hall of Fame with the class of 2013 that also included John Harding Lucas, II, Bessie Stockard, Sydney Llewellyn, James \"Jimmy\" Smith, and Lucille Freeman. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #444444;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #444444;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EIn 1991, Glass made history by becoming the first female president of the American Tennis Association (ATA). She served as president for two two-year terms. In addition, Glass was the first woman of color to serve on the USTA executive committee.  In 1969, she co-founded the Mountain View Tennis Club in San Diego, CA and was one of the original founders of the San Diego District Tennis Association. Glass’ long service with this influential organization included serving as president and at-large board member.  She was also one of the original founders of the San Diego Umpires Association and served as a West Coast editor for Black Tennis Magazine.  In 1988, Glass won the Women’s 60-and-over division of the International Tennis Federation Veterans Championship. In 2008, Glass received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Southern California Tennis Association (SCTA) for her work with local tennis organizations and Community Development.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #444444;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #444444;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EGlass served on the ATA’s junior development committee and as a board member of the Black Tennis \u0026amp; Sports Foundation.   Over the last 70 plus years, she has volunteered at virtually every level of organized tennis both in the ATA and the USTA. In addition to her volunteer work, Glass was a very successful tennis parent who is the proud mother of Sidney and Luis Glass who were top junior players in the USTA Eastern Section. Sidney Glass played tennis at the University of Wisconsin and Luis Glass went on to be an All-American tennis player at UCLA. In 2010, Glass was inducted into the San Diego Tennis Hall of Fame.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #444444;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #444444;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EGlass traveled an incredible road in life — from  spending three years in World War II concentration camps in her native  Philippines, where she lost her father and two sisters — to living  in “America’s Finest City.”\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #444444;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #444444;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EAlong the way, Glass developed a  passion for tennis in all aspects —\u0026nbsp;playing, coaching, running  tournaments and working with many organizations associated with the  sport.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #444444;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #444444;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E“Being  elected is an acknowledgement and recognition of the efforts I have made  to opening up tennis to minorities.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #444444;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #444444;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E“Our  main emphasis with the club has always been on the development of  junior players. The National Junior Tennis League (NJTL),  inspired by the late tennis great Arthur Ashe, has been a huge help to  our efforts.”\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #444444;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"color: #444444;\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003EMs. Glass died on Thursday, April 16th.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blacktennishalloffame.com\/feeds\/8496984992648234375\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blacktennishalloffame.com\/2020\/04\/black-tennis-hall-of-fame-pioneer.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8123599335000350018\/posts\/default\/8496984992648234375"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8123599335000350018\/posts\/default\/8496984992648234375"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blacktennishalloffame.com\/2020\/04\/black-tennis-hall-of-fame-pioneer.html","title":"BLACK TENNIS HALL OF FAME PIONEER VIRGINIA M. GLASS HAS DIED"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Shelia"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00280487267612661372"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-bQEE7-AF2xA\/XFORbDCAxJI\/AAAAAAAAcKI\/T17w1dWzS2shMJqL24nNCkpPsAnoKbwqACK4BGAYYCw\/s1600\/fash003.jpg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-fleOk4Peb5s\/Xpzt7Bw5-0I\/AAAAAAAAd9k\/jtkKdJUhXLs4M1Qx_gBQvH5VfNb9Tw-kQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/Virginia%2BGlass%2BDied.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8123599335000350018.post-2629393159356814221"},"published":{"$t":"2019-08-29T03:24:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2019-09-10T12:06:57.187-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"2019 U.S. Open"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Althea Gibson"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Angela Buxton"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Arthur Ashe Stadium"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Billie Jean King"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Billie Jean King Tennis Center"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"BTHOF"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Eric Goulder"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Katrina Adams"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Leslie Allen"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Statue Unveiling"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"USTA"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Zina Garrison"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"A Major Event For The Preservation And Rememberance Of The Life And Contributions Of American Tennis Great Althea Gibson At 2019 U.S. Open"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-SS30GpHbTBM\/XWd3YjL88wI\/AAAAAAAAdVM\/fyNI2gQNujUSvvX3xU0ymYFRCaooIPIOQCLcBGAs\/s1600\/20190826_114724.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1720\" data-original-width=\"1320\" height=\"760\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-SS30GpHbTBM\/XWd3YjL88wI\/AAAAAAAAdVM\/fyNI2gQNujUSvvX3xU0ymYFRCaooIPIOQCLcBGAs\/s640\/20190826_114724.jpg\" width=\"600\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cb\u003EAlthea Gibson Monument Unveiled On Day One of 2019 U.S. Open\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe historic occasion of\u0026nbsp; the Althea Gibson Statue Unveiling on Monday, August 26, 2019, the first day of the U.S. Open, raised so many different levels of thoughts and feelings.\u0026nbsp; The day was beautiful, the weather was good and the crowd was large, we were about to witness a tremendous turn around in the consistent lack of preservation and honor that Ms. Gibson has long deserved.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-zBS7vz_I3Ak\/XWeYuWhj63I\/AAAAAAAAdV8\/ZcpiYdhe7YUgtM4wX46R5IhGLrg4DTBYwCEwYBhgL\/s1600\/20190826_162826.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1600\" data-original-width=\"1200\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-zBS7vz_I3Ak\/XWeYuWhj63I\/AAAAAAAAdV8\/ZcpiYdhe7YUgtM4wX46R5IhGLrg4DTBYwCEwYBhgL\/s320\/20190826_162826.jpg\" width=\"240\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EThe greatness that Ms. Gibson brought to the Black community, the tennis  world and America should have already afforded her legacy the dignity  and respect that many who have done far less have already received. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis incredible Black woman was the first to break the color barrier of the United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) in 1950, and  played in the U. S. National Tennis Championships in Forest Hills. She  became the first African-American player to play in Wimbledon in 1951.  She won the French Open Championship in 1956. Ms. Gibson won the U.S.  National Championships and Wimbledon in 1957 and 1958. These victories  were especially historic because the winner’s trophy was presented to  her by Queen Elizabeth.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-090NGwY2Qi0\/XWeYu_5ROoI\/AAAAAAAAdV8\/Lgu1Kj-Sjh4C6o0n-Jy9UcqNaLxqt3aZgCEwYBhgL\/s1600\/20190826_162818.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1600\" data-original-width=\"1200\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-090NGwY2Qi0\/XWeYu_5ROoI\/AAAAAAAAdV8\/Lgu1Kj-Sjh4C6o0n-Jy9UcqNaLxqt3aZgCEwYBhgL\/s320\/20190826_162818.jpg\" width=\"240\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003EMs. Gibson also broke the color barrier in golf, launching her golf career in  1964 and joining the \u003Cbr \/\u003ELadies Professional Golf Association (LPGA).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOn the day of the Unveiling, Immediate Past United States Tennis Association (USTA) President Katrina Adams, and former tennis professionals Leslie Allen and Zina Garrison, all gave tribute to, and discussed the depth of what Ms. Gibson meant to them and the role that her mentorship played in their becoming successful players. Witnessing these Black women honor the fact that had there been no Althea Gibson, they would not be where they are today, paid well deserved, respectful and loving tribute to yet another history making and door opening Black American woman.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-HBVkkVh05RI\/XWeYUGFEsJI\/AAAAAAAAdVo\/NJvoZX7nIxEw7NWrIS4Lz5SGeqsR3dOgACEwYBhgL\/s1600\/20190826_111954.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1600\" data-original-width=\"1200\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-HBVkkVh05RI\/XWeYUGFEsJI\/AAAAAAAAdVo\/NJvoZX7nIxEw7NWrIS4Lz5SGeqsR3dOgACEwYBhgL\/s320\/20190826_111954.jpg\" width=\"240\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003EAmerican tennis great Billie Jean King, Angela Buxton, Ms. Gibson's former doubles partner, and the creator of the monument, Eric Goulder, also discussed and paid wonderful tribute to Ms. Gibson. Of particular note was Mr. Goulder's detailing of his concept in creating the monument.\u0026nbsp; During an interview he talked about, \"The bust portion sitting atop a box, the box representing the box that the world tried to keep her in, and her now sitting atop that box she is depicted having broken out of it.\" And that, \"Her shoulder is especially depicted in the way that it is, because so many now stand on it.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETalking to Mr. Goulder brought so much more conceptual meaning to his work. Upon returning to the statue, I now saw it in a totally different light, and was also spiritually enlightened by it.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMs. Buxton, shared memories of her long-time friend.\u0026nbsp; “We won both the French and  Wimbledon doubles together with my arm around her both times at the  closing ceremonies,” noted Gibson’s former doubles partner Angela Buxton  during the ceremony. “she slowly became the Jackie Robinson of tennis  and I was soon referred to as the Pee Wee Reese, who without saying a  word indicated, “This is my friend.”\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Igy8AC4S_6A\/XWeYTtH5nSI\/AAAAAAAAdVk\/srGoUv9n-Q8qGXM5lB7oJL2TpDijI9G3wCEwYBhgL\/s1600\/20190826_111943.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"1600\" data-original-width=\"1200\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Igy8AC4S_6A\/XWeYTtH5nSI\/AAAAAAAAdVk\/srGoUv9n-Q8qGXM5lB7oJL2TpDijI9G3wCEwYBhgL\/s320\/20190826_111943.jpg\" width=\"240\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003EThe sculpture also will activate  an augmented reality experience. Developed by MRM\/McCann, visitors will  be able to activate exclusive content about Althea Gibson’s life and  legacy by focusing the Augmented Reality (AR) Viewfinder found within  the 2019 US Open app onto the sculpture.\u0026nbsp; Narrated by Billie Jean King,  the additional AR experience traces Althea’s humble roots, her early  interest and involvement in tennis, her career and her legacy through  video footage, photos and graphics.\u0026nbsp; Fans can also view the AR  experience anywhere by using the APP to place a full-size 3D “hologram”  of the sculpture into their surroundings and re-live the experience  again or for the very first time.component that brings Gibson's life and  career to life for fans on site during the Open via the US Open mobile  app. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis honor that the USTA has bestowed upon Ms. Gibson shines such a brighter light on the historic and current day value of the life of Althea Gibson. Later in the day, I stood and watched people of many different cultures stop and observe the monument, take photos in front of it or standing beside it, and reading her quote that is engraved on one of the surrounding granite blocks, \"I hope that I have accomplished just one thing: that I have been a credit to tennis and my country.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blacktennishalloffame.com\/feeds\/2629393159356814221\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blacktennishalloffame.com\/2019\/08\/a-major-event-for-preservation-and.html#comment-form","title":"6 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8123599335000350018\/posts\/default\/2629393159356814221"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8123599335000350018\/posts\/default\/2629393159356814221"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blacktennishalloffame.com\/2019\/08\/a-major-event-for-preservation-and.html","title":"A Major Event For The Preservation And Rememberance Of The Life And Contributions Of American Tennis Great Althea Gibson At 2019 U.S. Open"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Shelia"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00280487267612661372"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-bQEE7-AF2xA\/XFORbDCAxJI\/AAAAAAAAcKI\/T17w1dWzS2shMJqL24nNCkpPsAnoKbwqACK4BGAYYCw\/s1600\/fash003.jpg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-SS30GpHbTBM\/XWd3YjL88wI\/AAAAAAAAdVM\/fyNI2gQNujUSvvX3xU0ymYFRCaooIPIOQCLcBGAs\/s72-c\/20190826_114724.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"6"}}]}});