Althea Gibson won 11 Grand Slam tournaments and more than 100 other titles. (Althea Gibson Foundation)
Today’s ticker-tape parade for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team marks one of the rare times that women athletes have been so honored.
The list includes Gertrude Ederle, who swam the English Channel in 1926; Olympic figure skater Carol Heiss Jenkins in 1960; and Olympic medalists Cheryl Miller in basketball and Mary Lou Retton in gymnastics in 1984.
For African Americans, one of the most memorable sports parades was for Althea Gibson in 1957. At least 100,000 people came from near and far to shower Gibson with confetti and strips of paper during a ticker-tape parade down the Canyon of Heroes in lower Manhattan after her historic singles and doubles victories at Wimbledon, where Serena Williams is currently following in her footsteps.
