Ora Washington

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Ora Mae Washington
Born (1898-01-23)January 23, 1898
Died December 21, 1971(1971-12-21) (aged 73)

Ora 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

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Edmonds, Arlene November 10, 2004. The Leader, "State Historic Marker dedicated - Tennis and basketball legend remembered". Accessed May 2, 2008.
  2. ↑ "All Hail The Philadelphia Tribune Girls". Accessed May 2, 2008.
  3. ↑ Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. "Image". Accessed 20May 2008.
  4. ↑ Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. "Search for Historical Markers". Accessed May 1, 2008.
  5. ↑ "WBHOF Inductees". WBHOF. Retrieved 2009-08-01. 
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