Althea Gibson Quotes

#1. I always wanted to be somebody. If I made it, it's half because I was game enough to take a lot of punishment along the way and half because there were a lot of people who cared enough to help me.

Althea Gibson

#2. Most of us who aspire to be tops in our fields don't really consider the amount of work required to stay tops.

Althea Gibson

#3. Shaking hands with the Queen of England was a long way from being forced to sit in the colored section of the bus going into downtown Wilmington, North Carolina.

Althea Gibson

#4. No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you.

Althea Gibson

#5. I don't want to be put on a pedestal. I just want to be reasonably successful and live a normal life with all the conveniences to make it so.

Althea Gibson

#6. In the field of sports you are more or less accepted for what you do rather than what you are.

Althea Gibson

#7. I don't consciously beat the drums for any cause, not even the negro in the United States.

Althea Gibson

#8. Winning once can be a fluke; winning twice proves you are the best.

Althea Gibson

#9. I think I've already got the main thing I've always wanted, which is to be somebody, to have an identify. I'm Althea Gibson, the tennis champion. I hope it makes me happy.

Althea Gibson

#10. I hope that I have accomplished just one thing: that I have been a credit to tennis and my country.

Althea Gibson

#11. From 143rd Street in Harlem to the center court at Wimbledon is about as far as one can travel.

Althea Gibson

#12. Being champion is all well and good, but you can't eat a crown.

Althea Gibson

#13. I was nervous and confident at the same, nervous about going out there in front of all those people, with so much at stake, and confident that I was going to go out there and win.

Althea Gibson

#14. In sports, you simply aren't considered a real champion until you have defended your title successfully. Winning it once can be a fluke; winning it twice proves you are the best.

Althea Gibson

#15. The loser is always a part of the problem; the winner is always a part of the answer. The loser always has an excuse; the winner always has a program. The loser says it may be possible, but it's difficult; the winner says it may be difficult, but it's possible.

Althea Gibson