Hi,
I would like to share this week too another except from the same book, “The Possible Dream – ten who dared” by Marthe Gross. It’s about the life and success of Arthur Ashe Jr as a tennis player. An excerpt as noted from the book is given below:
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Arthur Ashe Jr was born in 1943 in a Black family in Richmond, Virginia, USA. His mother died when he was just six years old. His father, Arthur Sr, was a special Police Officer in charge of discipline in playgrounds in the city. Having lived in staff quarters that are next to the playground with tennis courts in Brookfield, Arthur Ashe got exposed to sports early in his life. He was six years old when he borrowed and held a tennis racket for the first time in his life. The thrill of connecting the bat with the ball and the sound it produced, ‘pock’ which he loved very much, kept him trying hour after hour and learning to play tennis more and more.
Despite his early frequent failures in the tournaments he played, he persisted with tennis. The first major significant title he won was that of the American Tennis association National Championship for Boys under 13. At 15, he started participating in the USLTA tournaments and in those outside of the US as well in succeeding years. He struggled hard to make his way to the top in the tennis world. He went on to become a World No. 1 tennis player and the only Black player ever to win 3 major grand slams: The US Open (1968), The Australian Open (1969), and The Wimbledon (1975).
Arthur Ashe was fortunate to have had several people who became instrumental in his upbringing and rise as a tennis star. These included Ronald Charity, a tennis player who taught early lessons in tennis when Arthur Ashe was eight, Dr. Johnson who ran free tennis camps in summers for Black kids, and then his own father Arthur Sr who worked hard, scrubbed floors, washed windows, and made sacrifices to give his son a chance to be a champion. What was it that they did to him which led to his SUCCESS as TENNIS STAR is highlighted in my blog that could be read at the link given below:
http://value4value.blogspot.in/2012/05/people-and-factors-that-made-arthur.html
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Arthur Ashe had millions of fans all over the world, for he was not only a great tennis player but also a thorough gentleman. In 1988, he discovered he had contracted HIV during the blood transfusions he had received during one of his two heart surgeries. He died in 1993 at the age of 50.
To your SUCCESS,
With love and regards,
Siva
value4value@gmail.com
I would like to share this week too another except from the same book, “The Possible Dream – ten who dared” by Marthe Gross. It’s about the life and success of Arthur Ashe Jr as a tennis player. An excerpt as noted from the book is given below:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arthur Ashe Jr was born in 1943 in a Black family in Richmond, Virginia, USA. His mother died when he was just six years old. His father, Arthur Sr, was a special Police Officer in charge of discipline in playgrounds in the city. Having lived in staff quarters that are next to the playground with tennis courts in Brookfield, Arthur Ashe got exposed to sports early in his life. He was six years old when he borrowed and held a tennis racket for the first time in his life. The thrill of connecting the bat with the ball and the sound it produced, ‘pock’ which he loved very much, kept him trying hour after hour and learning to play tennis more and more.Despite his early frequent failures in the tournaments he played, he persisted with tennis. The first major significant title he won was that of the American Tennis association National Championship for Boys under 13. At 15, he started participating in the USLTA tournaments and in those outside of the US as well in succeeding years. He struggled hard to make his way to the top in the tennis world. He went on to become a World No. 1 tennis player and the only Black player ever to win 3 major grand slams: The US Open (1968), The Australian Open (1969), and The Wimbledon (1975).
Arthur Ashe was fortunate to have had several people who became instrumental in his upbringing and rise as a tennis star. These included Ronald Charity, a tennis player who taught early lessons in tennis when Arthur Ashe was eight, Dr. Johnson who ran free tennis camps in summers for Black kids, and then his own father Arthur Sr who worked hard, scrubbed floors, washed windows, and made sacrifices to give his son a chance to be a champion. What was it that they did to him which led to his SUCCESS as TENNIS STAR is highlighted in my blog that could be read at the link given below:
http://value4value.blogspot.in/2012/05/people-and-factors-that-made-arthur.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arthur Ashe had millions of fans all over the world, for he was not only a great tennis player but also a thorough gentleman. In 1988, he discovered he had contracted HIV during the blood transfusions he had received during one of his two heart surgeries. He died in 1993 at the age of 50.
To your SUCCESS,
With love and regards,
Siva
value4value@gmail.com
1 comment:
A little more info about Arthur Ashe that I have read the on the net is reproduced below:
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From the world over, he received letters from his fans, one of which asked: “Why did God have to choose you for such a bad disease?”
To this Arthur Ashe replied:
“The world over, 50 million children start playing tennis, 5 million learn to play tennis, 500,000 learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5000 reach the grand slam, 50 reach Wimbledon, 4 to semifinals, 2 to the finals, when I was holding the Cup I didn't ask GOD ‘Why me?’. And today in pain I should not be asking GOD ‘Why me?’ “
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