Ora Washington: Difference between revisions
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'''Orel Mae Washington''' (January 23, 1898 – 1971) was an [[United States|American]] athlete from the [[Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Germantown]] section of Northwest [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], known as the "Queen of Tennis".<ref name=leader>Edmonds, Arlene November 10, 2004. ''The Leader'', "[http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=13335564&BRD=1682&PAG=461&dept_id=40633&rfi=8 State Historic Marker dedicated - Tennis and basketball legend remembered]". Accessed May 2, 2008.</ref> |
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==Life== |
==Life== |
Revision as of 01:38, 3 September 2013
Ora Mae Washington | |
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Born | January 23, 1898 |
Died | December 21, 1971 | (aged 73)
Orel Mae Washington (January 23, 1898 – 1971) was an American athlete from the Germantown section of Northwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, known as the "Queen of Tennis".[1]
Life
In professional tennis, she won the American Tennis Association's national singles title eight times in nine years between 1929–1937 and 12 straight double championships.[1]
She played basketball first in 1930 with the Germantown Hornets where her 22-1 record earned her the national female title. Later, playing with the Philadelphia Tribunes from 1932–1942, she was the team's center, leading scorer, and coach.[1] The "Tribune Girls" won 11 straight Women’s Colored Basketball World’s Championships. Washington was said to be "the best Colored player in the world."[2]
Unable to compete against the top white tennis player of the time, Helen Wills Moody, because Moody refused to play her,[3] she retired from sports in the mid-1940s. For the remainder of her life, she supported herself as a housekeeper. She died in 1971 in Germantown and was buried in her Virginia hometown.[1]
In the mid-1980s, she was inducted to Temple University's Sports Hall of Fame.[1]
A state historical marker stands at the location of the Colored YWCA she taught and played at, at 6128 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, now home to Settlement Music School.[1][4]
In 2009, Washington was elected to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Knoxville, Tennessee.[5]
Further reading
- Wiggins, David K. (editor) Out of the Shadows: A Biographical History of African American Athletes. University of Arkansas Press, 2006.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f Edmonds, Arlene November 10, 2004. The Leader, "State Historic Marker dedicated - Tennis and basketball legend remembered". Accessed May 2, 2008.
- ^ "All Hail The Philadelphia Tribune Girls". Accessed May 2, 2008.
- ^ Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. "Image". Accessed 20May 2008.
- ^ Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. "Search for Historical Markers". Accessed May 1, 2008.
- ^ "WBHOF Inductees". WBHOF. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
- 1898 births
- 1971 deaths
- African-American basketball players
- African-American tennis players
- American basketball players
- American female tennis players
- Basketball players from Pennsylvania
- People from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Tennis people from Pennsylvania
- Women's Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
- African-American sportswomen