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General First nameOscar
LastnameJohnson
GenderMale
CountryUnited States of America
Date of birth1931-11-13
Place of birthMaywood, Missouri, United States of America
Date of death2019-06-14
Place of deathCanton, Missouri, United States of America


About

From The Los Angeles Times, 27 August 1987

Oscar Johnson makes it to Hall of Fame: Black tennis champion had to break a few barriers along the way

By Alan Drooz

You can’t blame Oscar Johnson for crowing a little these days. As he says, “It’s been a good year.” Johnson, who was honored last month by the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, carefully unwraps the glass-enclosed medallion he received, proudly displays it, then rewraps it.

Until recently it seemed as if the Inglewood resident had put more into tennis than it gave back, but Johnson finally appears to be gaining grace in the tennis circles that forgot him 30 years ago. It’s still easy for Johnson to recall how, shortly after World War II, he and friends took up tennis as a lark at Jefferson High School, which had no team and no coach. “At that time I thought it was a little sissy sport,” Johnson admitted.

But he became intrigued by the challenge and figured that he might improve by watching the best player on the other team. “I said to myself, ‘I’m gonna master this game. I’m gonna be a champion.’ I’d watch the good players and go home and practice in front of the mirror, trying to copy them.”

Johnson learned fast, and by the time he graduated from Jefferson in 1948, he was Southern League singles champion and was hatching an ambitious plan: to enter the Long Beach Junior Open. He applied. He was accepted. A wall was shattered. And playing in his first tournament sanctioned by the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association., Johnson won. It was a ground-breaking victory.

Johnson is black. In those days, ‘tennis whites’ was an all-encompassing term. It was as surprising that his application was accepted as it was that he won. A black player had never won a USLTA tournament. It was the Fourth of July, 1948.

Johnson then applied to a national junior tournament. He was accepted. Again, he won. It was another first for a black player in USLTA annals. Johnson’s showing was impressive enough for promoters from Saint Louis to contact him about playing on the national circuit, where he would be shattering racial barriers at every stop. In the sedate world of tennis, Johnson didn’t suffer the indignities – or the media coverage – of Jackie Robinson, but he was aware of his trailblazer status.

“I was under a lot of pressure, being the first black out there,” he said. “I think I handled it pretty well. I was the pioneer, like Robinson. I wasn’t the first black player but I was the first to play on the USLTA circuit. Althea (Gibson) came along about 1950. (Arthur) Ashe wasn’t until the ‘60s.”

Johnson’s career was moving right along when the Korean War started and he was drafted. No tennis for two years. He came back strong in 1953, becoming the first black in the National Hardcourt Championships, reaching the quarterfinals, and the U.S. Open at Forest Hills, where he reached the second round.

In 1954, promoter Jack Kramer offered him a contract to turn professional. Just before he signed, he snapped a tendon in his elbow and missed more than a year. His game was never quite the same. By the time he came back in 1956, he was married, had a job and found the game took too much time from his family. He put his racket away in 1958 and didn’t touch it for 17 years. In the meantime, Ashe surfaced as the first black man to gain recognition – and riches – on the pro circuit.

“I was too far ahead of my time,” Johnson said. “There was no money for the pros. There was no money on the circuit.” In the mid-1970s, Johnson dusted off his racket and won the senior division of the Pacific Coast Championships in 1976. He repeated in 1978. And he found he missed tennis. So he began giving lessons and set up the Oscar Johnson Tennis Classic, which has been held for ten years at the University of Southern California, with sponsorship from Anheuser-Busch Inc.

Johnson has since established the Oscar Johnson Youth Tennis Foundation, which subsidizes inner-city youths with promising careers. Johnson said he has sent several players to the pros – including the brother-sister team of Jerome and Cheryl Johnson – and has gotten college scholarships for another half dozen. Working out of Centinela Park in Inglewood, Johnson’s dream now is to get sponsorship and funding to run youth programs and give free lessons all year.

And while Johnson rediscovered tennis, tennis also rediscovered him. Johnson was nominated for Hall of Fame consideration in 1983. Last month at age 56 he joined Billie Jean King, Stan Smith and Dennis Ralston at induction ceremonies where he received a special award ‘for outstanding services to the game’.

He said nearly everyone there was surprised to learn who he was. “I hadn’t met these people, but the camaraderie was like we’d known each other,” he said. “The whole Hall of Fame committee (was) just great, and I was having such a good time I didn’t want to leave.”

Maybe Johnson has finally caught up with his time, or vice versa. He finds it rewarding working with young players and seeing a handful get something out of it. He feels like he’s leaving something worthwhile in his wake.

“I’ve had my ups and downs, but it’s been a very rewarding experience and now people are starting to recognize me. All in all, I’ve enjoyed my experience.”

Media


Archive statistics Career1950 - 1958
Tournament wins3
Matches42
Match wins19


Tournament wins 1955 - Los Angeles Public Parks (Open)
1953 - Missouri Valley Championships (Open)
1950 - American Tennis Association Championships (Open)


Tournaments National Public Parks Tournament - 1958 Los Angeles Public Parks - 1958 Southern California - Qualifying - 1958 Los Angeles Public Parks - 1957 National Public Parks Tournament - 1956 Southern California Championship - 1956 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1956 Los Angeles Metropolitan - 1956 West Hollywood - 1956 Los Angeles Public Parks - 1956 Los Angeles Industrial - 1956 Los Angeles Public Parks - 1955 Southern California Public Parks - 1955 Pasadena Metropolitan - 1955 Western Indoor Championship - 1954 West Hollywood - 1954 Los Angeles Industrial - 1954 US Open - 1953 Missouri Valley Championships - 1953 US Clay Courts - 1953 Western States Championships - 1953 US International Indoor Championships - 1953 California Mid-Winter - 1953 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1953 US Hard Courts - 1953 American Tennis Association Championships - 1950