Arthur Ashe(1943-1993)

Arthur Ashe grew up in segregated Richmond, Virgina where he decided to make a career out of tennis where he won his first U.S. Open in 1968, the first ever won by a black player. Ashe firmly established his stardom in 1975 after beating Jimmy Connors to take the Wimbledon title. As a tennis professional, he won three Grand Slam singles titles and led the U.S. to four Davis Cup victories. Over his career he won 33 singles tournaments on five continents. A sudden heart attack in 1979 ended his playing career where he underwent quadruple bypass surgery and then double bypass surgery in 1983 where he contracted AIDS from tainted blood during the surgery. Ashe kept his illness a secret until a newspaper leaked the story in early 1992 where he finally admited that he had AIDS and became an outspoken advocate for more research funding and created the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the Defeat of AIDS. He died just two days after completing his memoirs "Days of Grace."