LYNCHBURG, Va. — A historical signpost here at 1422 Pierce Street tells the story of Dr. Robert Walter Johnson, who fostered generations of African-American tennis stars on a court next to his home there.
From 1951 to 1971, hundreds of players learned tennis and discipline under the watchful eye of Johnson, a medical doctor nicknamed Whirlwind for his speed during his college football days. Althea Gibson was the first to become an international champion; Arthur Ashe was the second.
Johnson broke barriers in his primary career, too, becoming the first African-American doctor given admitting privileges in Lynchburg’s hospital.