Ora Mae Washington

Born in Philadelphia in 1898, Ora Mae Washington was a pioneer in women's tennis. She was undefeated in the All-Black American Tennis Association (ATA) from 1924 to 1937 and won eight ATA National Crowns. She also won every woman's doubles championship between 1925 and 1936, and mixed doubles championships in 1939,  1946, and 1947 even playing with a number of different partners. After a while ATA officials complained that younger players dreaded facing her which made it difficult to fill a roster. Her prowess was evidenced in the over 200 trophies  she amassed before she retired .

Washington's athletic ability was not just as a tennis player. In the 1930's and 1940's she was center, leading scorer, and coach for the Philadelphia Tribune's women's basketball team for 18. years. Unlike baseball, which had the Negro Leagues, basketball had no organized Black leagues, thus forcing Blacks to take to the road and make their way as best as possible. Barnstorming was a way to play that included comic antics along with exhibitions of amazing feats of athleticism.

The Tribunes was one of two women's teams that barnstormed the country and featured some of the best athletes of the time.  They traveled throughout the South introducing black girls to basketball.  Sponsored by the newspaper of the same name, The Tribunes were generally regarded as the top black women's team of its day before it disbanded in 1940. With only one other team at their level, the Tribunes also played some of the men's teams.

After her playing days ended, Ora Mae Washington kept her hand in sports by conducting free clinics for community children and coaching them in team play. And yet with all the time she spent on the various courts, few recognized her on the street or associated her name with sports. Her life was lived so low keyed that when the  Black Athletes Hall of fame inducted her in 1976, no one knew the reason for her failing to respond to the invitation was because she had died five years earlier.

Her contract was sold in 1954 to the Kansas City Monarchs. Satchel Paige and Jackie Robinson had played for the Monarchs earlier in their careers and the team and won several pennants in the Negro League World Series. Attendance at games declined as more and more players were picked up by the now integrated Major Leagues. Stone decided to pull the plug before it got pulled on her so retired at the end of the 1954 season.

To learn more about Ora Mae Washington and other amazing athletes limited due to segregation, see The Unlevel Playing Field : A Documentary History of the African American Experience in Sport Wiggins,  David K. and Miller, Patrick B. (Ed) Univ of Illinois Publisher 2003