Arthur Ashe

by Raymond Arsenault

  51 Murray (q) and JMA ints; DG, 15.

  52 DG, 15–18 (qs); JMA, Dell, Murray, Mandeville, and Pasarell ints. See the voluminous collection of clippings on Ashe’s AIDS announcement in folder 6, box 35, AAP. See especially the multiple articles in the WP and the NYT, April 9, 1992.

  CHAPTER 26: FINAL SET

  1 Alex Jones, “Report of Ashe’s Illness Raises an Old Issue for Editors,” NYT, April 10, 1992; “Ashe Already Fostering AIDS Awareness,” NYT, April 11, 1992 (qs); “A Hug for Arthur Ashe,” NYT, April 14, 1992; Bill Carter, “ ‘Don’t Worry,’ Walters told Desiree Washington, ‘I’ll Help You,’ ” NYT Magazine (August 23, 1992): 22ff.

  2 Jones, “Report of Ashe’s Illness Raises an Old Issue for Editors” (qs); DG, 23.

  3 DG, 22 (first q), 23; James Cox, “Pursuit of Ashe Story Brings Mixed Reviews,” USA Today, April 10, 1992, copy in folder 7, box 35, AAP; Jonathan Yardley, “Arthur Ashe and the Cruel Volleys of the Media,” WP, April 13, 1992 (second q), copy in folder 8, box 35, AAP. To gauge the range of press reaction immediately following the AIDS announcement, see the numerous clippings in folders 6–8, box 35, AAP. See also the clippings from the Providence Journal-Bulletin and the Newport Daily News in the Arthur Ashe Vertical File, ITHF.

  4 Raymond R. Coffey, “Media Double-Faulted on Ashe Story,” Chicago Sun-Times, April 16, 1992 (first q), copy in folder 8, box 35, AAP; Michael Olesker, “Ashe’s Revelation Is Journalism’s Shame,” Baltimore Sun, April 9, 1992 (second q), copy in folder 6, box 35, AAP; DG, 22 (third q).

  5 Robert Lipsyte, “None of Us Needs Other People’s Fears,” NYT, April 10, 1992 (qs).

  6 DG, 22 (first q), 23 (second q); NYT, April 9–13, 1992.

  7 DG, 19–20; Peter Prichard, “Arthur Ashe’s Pain Is Shared by Public and Press,” USA Today, April 13, 1992 (qs), copy in folder 8, box 35, AAP.

  8 Carl Rowan, “Ashe Performed Public Service by Disclosing He Has AIDS,” Chicago Sun-Times, April 15, 1992 (qs).

  9 Bud Collins, “Ashe Gallantly Confronts Another Challenge,” Boston Globe, April 9, 1992 (first q), copy in Arthur Ashe Vertical File, ITHF; Collins int; DG, 24 (second q), 25–26 (third q); Arthur Ashe, “Life Goes On,” Tennis (July 1992): 42 (fourth q).

  10 Sally Jenkins, “Another Battle Joined,” SI 76 (April 20, 1992): 24 (first, second, and third qs), 25 (fourth q).

  11 DG, 26–30, 284; Barry Lorge, “Tennis’s Conspiracy of Compassion for Arthur Ashe,” NYT, April 12, 1992 (third q); RTD, April 9, 1992, copy in folder 8, box 35, AAP. See Tracy Austin to Arthur and Jeanne Ashe, c. April 10, 1992; Dorothy Chambers to Arthur Ashe, May 6, 1992 (first q); Heidi J. Aronin to Arthur Ashe, April 10, 1992 (second q); and the rest of the correspondence in folder 1, box 3, AAP. See also folder 8, box 2, AAP.

  12 “The Burden of Truth,” People (April 20, 1992): 51 (first q); DG, 12 (third q), 17 (second q).

  13 Calvin Sims, “AIDS Policy Coordinator Named by Mayor Dinkins,” NYT, April 10, 1992 (qs); Dinkins int.

  14 NYT, April 11, 1992 (qs); DG, 190 (qs). See Gregory Seay, “Ashe to Stand for Re-election as Member of Aetna Board,” Hartford Courant, April 10, 1992; Victor Zonana, “Ashe’s AIDS Disclosure Puts New Pressure on Insurers,” Chicago Sun-Times, April 20, 1992; and “Ashe to Retain Aetna Seat,” RTD, April 11, 1992, all in folder 1, box 27, AAP. See also Gregory Seay, “Ashe Won’t Put Pressure on Aetna over AIDS,” Hartford Courant, April 11, 1992, copy in folder 7, box 35, AAP.

  15 DG, 191–93, 255–57; NYT, April 19, May 30, June 1, 1992. “Ashe to Speak Out—on His Terms,” Chicago Sun-Times, April 28, 1992 (first q); Edward Colimore, “For Arthur Ashe, a Warm Welcome,” Philadelphia Inquirer, April 25, 1992 (third q); Michael Farine, “Ashe Visits D.C. School, Answers AIDS Questions,” Washington Times, April 28, 1992; Jack Moss, “It’s Homecoming of Sorts for Ashe,” Kalamazoo Gazette, April 30, 1992; Earlene McMichael, “Ashe’s Next Match: Public vs. Private,” Kalamazoo Gazette, May 1, 1992 (second q); Vartan Kupelian, “Ashe Addresses King Verdict: Learn to Organize,” Detroit News, May 1, 1992; Greg Stoda, “Ashe Pursues Causes Despite Disclosure,” Detroit Free Press, May 1, 1992; “Ashe Serves Another Ace,” Miami Herald, May 2, 1992; all in folder 8, box 35, AAP. David O’Brien, “Equality Long Way Off—Ashe,” Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, May 3, 1992, copy in folder 13, box 27, AAP; John M. Eisenberg to Arthur Ashe, April 29, 1992, in folder 3, box 29, AAP. Hall, Arthur Ashe, 259; Robinson and Dowdell ints.

  16 “Arthur Ashe’s Winning Spirit,” “Arthur Coming Home May 6,” and “City Council Salutes Hometown Hero” (first q), RFP, April 16–18, 1992; and “Arthur Back Home,” RFP, May 14–16, 1992, all in folder 8, box 35, AAP. The naming of the Arthur Ashe Jr. Tennis Center was initiated by a Richmond school board resolution approved on May 9, 1980, which honored Ashe as “the first native born Virginian to be designated the world’s number one athlete in any sport . . . tennis’s first gentleman and noted author.” See “Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center,” available online at newweb.richmond.k12.va.us. On Richmond’s turn to heritage tourism, see Tyler-McGraw, “Southern Comfort Levels,” 151–66 (second and third qs), 167. Hall, Arthur Ashe, 267; OTC, 80–81; B. Drummond Ayres Jr., “Ashe Returns to the City He Disowned in Youth,” NYT, May 7, 1992 (fourth q); DiPasquale, JMA, and Chewning ints. On the gala planning and the early negotiations related to the proposed Hall of Fame, see Arthur Ashe to Walter T. Kenney, June 17, 1992 (qs); Joseph James to Arthur Ashe, September 25, 1992; Joseph James to Alonzo Monk, October 12, 1992; Arthur Ashe to Joseph James, October 28, 1992; Arthur Ashe to Frances and Sydney Lewis, December 18, 1992; Paul DiPasquale to Joseph James, December 22, 1992; Joseph James to Arthur Ashe, December 29, 1992; Howard Owen, “African-American Sports Hall a Worthy Cause, Good for City,” RTD, October 4, 1992; “Black Athletes’ Hall of Fame Gains Impetus,” RTD, November 17, 1992, all in folder 1, box 28, AAP.

  17 DG, 256 (q).

  18 Ayres, “Ashe Returns to the City He Disowned in Youth,” (qs); Gwen Ifill, “Clinton’s Platform Gets Tryouts Before Friends,” NYT, May 20, 1992; JMA int.

  19 DG, 257–58 (qs); JMA and Murray ints; Richard Marlink to Arthur Ashe, June 22, 1992; and “Ashe to Speak at HMS Class Day Ceremonies,” Focus (Harvard University News Office for the Medical Area) (c. June 1, 1992), copies in folder 8, box 27, AAP. Richard Marlink, “AIDS, Entry to the U.S., and the Bush Administration’s Dangerous Silence,” typescript of article written for the Boston Globe, June 1992, copy in folder 10, box 3, AAP.

  20 DG, 193, 252–54; JMA, Murray, Mandeville, and Abraham ints. Following Ashe’s death, the name of the organization was changed to the Arthur Ashe Endowment for the Defeat of AIDS. See the c. 1995 AAEDA pamphlet in folder 10, box 35, AAP. See also the current AAEDA website: arthurashe.org/ . . . /arthur-ashe-endowment-for-the-defeat-of-aids.

  21 DG, xi (q)–xii; Rampersad and Ferszt ints; Arnold Rampersad, “Arthur Ashe,” Great Lives Lecture Series, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA, February 2014, CD audio version in author’s possession. Rampersad’s publications include The Life of Langston Hughes: Volume 1 (1902–1941): I, Too, Sing America (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986); The Life of Langston Hughes: Volume II (1941–1967): I Dream a World (New York: Oxford University Press, 1988); Jackie Robinson; and Ralph Ellison, A Biography (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007). The Ellison biography was a finalist for the National Book Award in Biography; Rampersad was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2010. He is currently an emeritus professor of English and Humanities at Stanford University.

  22 DG, ix (table of contents), 293 (q); JMA int.

  23 DG, 261 (first four qs); Ayres, “Ashe Returns to the City He Disowned in Youth” (fifth q); Ashe, “Life Goes On,” 42 (sixth q).

  24 DG, 262 (qs); JMA and Loretta Ashe Harris ints.

  25 DG, 260 (q); Mandeville int.

  26 DG, 259 (qs), 260 (fourth q); NYT, June 9, 1992; Ashe, “Life Goes On,” 43; Harvey W. Schiller to Arthur Ashe, October 19, 1992, in folder 9, box 2, AAP. Schiller offered �
��congratulations on your appointment as a Public Sector member of the USOC Board of Directors.”

  27 DG, 259 (first and fourth qs); Martin, Arthur Ashe, 144–45 (second and third qs).

  28 DG, 260 (q); BCHT, 261–97, 421–24, 637–39, 666–67; Agassi, Open, 162–66; Sampras and Bodo, A Champion’s Mind.

  29 BCHT, 266, 277, 279, 281, 310, 317–18, 321, 323–26, 328, 331, 336, 679–81, 685–86, 712; W, 162–68, 180; BATN, 107, 114–16, 138, 144–45, 149–50, 161, 170, 194, 197, 200, 205, 209, 213–14; CTN, 9–45, 115, 124–29 (q), 130–39, 144, 162–68, 224–29; Washington int; Blake, with Friedman, Breaking Back; Blake, with Taylor, Ways of Grace. Bryan Shelton, with a #55 world ranking in 1991, was the only other top performer among the black players on the 1992 ATP tour. Shelton int.

  30 W, 162–68; Reid, Carrington, Wilkerson, Shelton, Desdunes, Adams, Dowdell, and Hartman ints; NYT, July 20–21, 1992; DG, 193 (q); Bodo, Courts of Babylon, 258–59, 270–71.

  31 DG, 128–31, 253–54 (q); NYT, August 17, 19, 27, 31, 1992: Richard Finn, “Tennis Rallies Round Ashe,” NYT, August 27, 1992 (qs); David Dinkins to Arthur Ashe, June 8, 1992, in folder 3, box 29, AAP: Hall, Arthur Ashe, 267; John Jeansonne, “An Ace,” New York Newsday, August 30, 1992, copy in folder 5, box 35, AAP. See also “Arthur Ashe AIDS Tennis Challenge,” program; Arvelia Myers to Arthur Ashe, August 1992; “Mayor David Dinkins and the Family of Arthur Ashe Invite You to a Tribute and Celebration Honoring a True American Champion,” August 28, 1992, all in folder 2, box 1, AAP.

  32 NYT, September 5, 10, 1992; “Ex-Tennis Star Ashe Arrested in Protest of Haitian Policy,” USA Today, September 10, 1992; Gary Lee and Molly Sinclair, “Refugee Policy Protested,” WP, September 10, 1992; Washington Times, September 10, 1992; Robinson int; DG, 262–63 (qs), 264; IRAA, 145–46; S. L. Price, “Ashe, a Voice That Must Be Heeded,” Miami Herald, September 11, 1992, copy in folder 5, box 35, AAP. See the letters and clippings in folder 11, box 2, AAP. See especially Ben Hooks to Arthur Ashe, September 22, 1992; and “Committee in Solidarity with the People of Haiti” to Arthur Ashe, October 3, 1992.

  33 Price, “Ashe, a Voice That Must Be Heeded,” (qs); JMA and Robinson ints; Steins, Arthur Ashe, 77–78; Lee and Sinclair, “Refugee Policy Protested”: DG, 264–65.

  34 DG, 266; Robert Lipsyte, “Concern in the Season of Jocklock,” NYT, September 11, 1992; NYT, September 12, 13 (qs), 1992.

  35 NYT, September 15, 1992; DG, 266 (qs), 267.

  36 DG, 267–68 (first q); NYT, October 19, 1992 (second and third qs).

  37 DG, 268; NYT, October 19 (second q), November 3–4, 1992; Doug Smith, “Ashe’s Elegance Helps Ease the Anguish,” USA Today, December 10, 1992; “Ninety-Two of ’92,” USA Today, December 29, 1992; Neil Rudenstine to Arthur Ashe, October 21, 1992, in folder 8, box 27, AAP; “Arthur Ashe Honored for AIDS Leadership,” unidentified clipping, November 1992; and “Arthur: The Hero of Heroes,” RFP, November 19–21, 1992, both in folder 5, box 35, AAP. Commonwealth Fund press release, c. November 26, 1992, in folder 1, box 1, AAP.

  38 DG, 268 (first and second qs), 269 (third and fourth qs); Howard Lamar to Arthur Ashe, December 1, 1992; and Jay Oliva to Arthur Ashe, December 7, 1992, both in folder 10, box 2, AAP.

  39 DG, 269–70; Paul Smith and Rogers ints.

  40 Jeansonne, “An Ace” (first q); Robert Lipsyte, “A History of Hitting the Snooze Button,” NYT, December 11, 1992 (second q); Smith, “Ashe’s Elegance Helps Ease the Anguish” (third q); DG, 268; Richard Sandomir, “Even the Sportscasters Are Sort of Speechless,” NYT, December 6, 1992; IRAA, 155.

  41 See the letters and clippings in folder 10, box 2, AAP. See especially: “Ashe Is SI’s Top Sportsman,” Philadelphia Daily News, December 16, 1992 (first q); “Ashe Recognized as Top Sportsman,” Detroit Free Press, December 16, 1992 (second q); Richard Finn, “ ‘SI’ Honoree Ashe Credits His Heroes,” USA Today, December 16, 1992 (third q); “Ashe Is Honored as Sportsman of Year,” Albany Times-Union, December 16, 1992; Mike Lupica, “Ashe Is Sportsman Who Will Not Quit,” New York Daily News, December 16, 1992 (fourth and fifth qs); Bernie Miklasz, “Byrd and Ashe Pull Sports Fans to Higher Place,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 17, 1992 (sixth q); Anthony Carter Paige, “It’s Still a Wonderful Life,” Brooklyn City Sun, December 23, 1992–January 12, 1993; and Mike Celizic, “No Honor Is Too Great,” Bergen County Record, December 16, 1992 (seventh q); DG, 270 (eighth q).

  42 DG, 270 (first, second, third, and fifth qs), 271 (fourth and sixth qs); JMA int.

  43 DG, 271–72 (first and second qs), 274 (third and fourth qs), 275 (fifth q); Murray, Butch Buchholz, and JMA ints.

  44 Murray, JMA, Mandeville, Dell, Paul Smith, Young, Beck, Stan Smith, and Robinson ints; DG, 276–78 (first, second, and third qs), 279; Moore, “The Eternal Example,” 27 (fourth q); Steins, Arthur Ashe, 81; IRAA, 134.

  45 Steins, Arthur Ashe, 81; Hall, Arthur Ashe, 268; DG, 276–77, 280; IRAA, 116.

  46 “You’re Invited, for a Father/Daughter Valentines Dinner Dance,” card in folder 9, box 1, AAP. Arthur and Camera were listed as the dance’s official hosts.

  47 DiPasquale (qs) and JMA ints; Robin Finn, “Arthur Ashe, Tennis Champion, Dies of AIDS,” NYT, February 7, 1993; Martin Weil, “Tennis Legend Arthur Ashe Dies at 49,” WP, February 7, 1993; IRAA, 136. Ashe’s death also preempted a planned Long Island fishing trip with tennis journalist Peter Bodo. In lamenting this missed opportunity to spend time with a man he admired, Bodo commented on Ashe’s selfless sense of duty: “Thinking about it later, I realized that the worst thing about being Arthur Ashe was not that he had to give up some things that he truly enjoyed, but that he had grown so accustomed to sacrifice that it hardly seemed to bother him. I shudder to think of how much of himself Ashe gave away as he trod his own hard road to glory.” Bodo, Courts of Babylon, 271.

  EPILOGUE: SHADOW’S END

  1 Murray and JMA ints; Lawrence K. Altman, “Ashe Was Stricken Suddenly After Years of AIDS,” NYT, February 8, 1993; George Vecsey, “America Loses a Hero,” NYT, February 8, 1993; Richard Sandomir, “For a Very Long Year, His Days Were Full,” NYT, April 30, 1993; Frank Rich, “Horror Stories,” NYT Magazine (July 4, 1993): 38; IRAA, 119, 149. On the AIDS death toll during the first decade of the pandemic, see DG, 205–7; Shilts, And the Band Played On; Ronald Bayer, Private Acts, Social Consequences: AIDS and the Politics of Public Health (New York: Free Press, 1989); Engel, The Epidemic, 1–231; and “A Decade of Loss,” Newsweek (July 18, 1993): 22–23. In 1992, the most celebrated case of an AIDS victim who had contracted the disease through a blood transfusion was Ryan White (1971–1990) of Kokomo, Indiana; see Ryan White and Ann Marie Cunningham, My Own Story (New York: Signet, 1992).

  2 “Statement from the Family of Arthur Ashe, February 7, 1993,” typescript, in folder 3, box 32, AAP (qs). Folder 2, box 34, AAP, contains a large file of condolence letters.

  3 Robert McG. Thomas Jr., “Ashe, a Champion in Sport and Life,” NYT, February 7, 1993 (q); William G. Rhoden, “Arthur Ashe: a Hero in Word and Deed,” NYT, February 7, 1993; Vecsey, “America Loses a Hero”; “A Hero, Harbinger for Change,” NYT, February 8, 1993; Robin Finn, “Arthur Ashe, Tennis Star, Is Dead at 49,” NYT, February 8, 1993; Ira Berkow, “Ashe’s Legacy Is the Gift for Inspiration,” NYT, February 8, 1993.

  4 Rhoden, “Arthur Ashe: a Hero in Word and Deed,” (q).

  5 Thomas, “Ashe, a Champion in Sport and Life,” (qs). Dinkins and Ashe shared the same birthday, July 10. NYT, July 19, 1993; Dinkins int.

  6 “A Celebration of the Life of Arthur Robert Ashe Jr., 1943–1993,” Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. Athletic Center, February 10, 1993, program, in folder 3, box 32, AAP; Mike Allen, “Just Plain Better Than Most of Us,” RTD, February 11, 1993 (first q); Michael Paul Williams, “ ‘Your Spirit Lives On and On,’ ” RTD, February 11, 1993 (qs); Bob Lipper, “Ashe’s Legacy: ‘Stumbling Blocks into Steppingstones,’ ” RTD, February 11, 1993 (fourth q); Ira Berkow, “A ‘Good Man’ Transcending Sport,” NYT, February 11, 1993; T
om Callahan, “To America and the World, Arthur Ashe Was a Gift,” WP, February 11, 1993; Garrison int.; Bodo, Courts of Babylon, 263, notes that Zina Garrison was the only active player to attend the service in Richmond: “She broke a tournament obligation in order to attend, a sacrifice that none of her male or female peers saw fit to make.”

  7 “Memorial Service Program, Cathedral of St. John the Divine,” February 12, 1993, in folder 3, box 32, AAP; William C. Rhoden, “A Cold Day to Say a Last Farewell,” NYT, February 13, 1993 (qs); Martin, Arthur Ashe, 156 (q); Arthur Ashe: Citizen of the World; Ronald Akin, “A Final Service for Arthur Ashe,” The Observer, in Arthur Ashe, A Tribute (June 27, 1993): 20–21, 23, copy in Arthur Ashe Vertical File, ITHF; Pasarell, Stan Smith, Dell, JMA, and McNeil ints; Bodo, Courts of Babylon, 263, 267–68. Bodo notes that he “saw only one active pro player in attendance, Lori McNeil.”

  8 Neil Amdur, “Arthur Ashe—A Man of Artistry and Letters,” NYT, February 14, 1993 (qs); AA, 94.

  9 Frank Deford, “Lessons from a Friend,” Newsweek (February 22, 1993): 60 (first q), 61; Bodo, Courts of Babylon, 259–60 (second q), 262 (third q); IRAA, 151; Dave Anderson, “ ‘People Don’t Listen to Losers,’ ” NYT, February 9, 1993.

  10 Robin Finn, “Some Absences Make Hearts Grow Fonder,” NYT, February 21, 1993; “Arthur Ashe Honors Presented Posthumously,” typescript, in folder 8, box 32, AAP; Steins, Arthur Ashe, 91; Martin, Arthur Ashe, 157. Rachel Shuster, “Ashe’s Impact Is Now Painfully Obvious,” USA Today, May 29, 1993 (q); Gordon Parks to JMA, February 9, 1993, both in folder 3, box 32, AAP; “Man of Grace and Glory,” People (February 22, 1993): 66–72; Kenny Moss, “He Did All He Could,” SI (February 15, 1993): 12–15; NYT, April 14, May 14, 20, 25, June 4, 1993. Charles S. Farrell, “Academics, Athletes Remember Contributions of Arthur Ashe,” Black Issues in Higher Education (February 25, 1993): 29, 34; Kenneth I. Chenault, “Accepting Award for Arthur Ashe, the One to One Partnership, June 18, 1993,” typescript; “Arthur Ashe Jr., 1943–1993: Maxwell Finland Award Recipient, 1993”; “Barnard Medal of Distinction, Citation for Arthur Ashe,” May 18, 1993; John Henry “Pop” Lloyd Humanitarian Award citation; Luchia Ashe, 1993 speech in Texas, transcript; and Margaret E. Mahoney, “Remembering Arthur Ashe,” typescript of remarks at USTA dinner, White Plains, New York, November 13, 1993, all in folder 8, box 32, AAP.