I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4130 
To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Althea Gibson, in 
recognition of her groundbreaking achievements in athletics and her 
commitment to ending racial discrimination and prejudice within the 
world of athletics. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 1, 2012 
Mr. PAYNE (for himself and Mr. RANGEL) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Al-
thea Gibson, in recognition of her groundbreaking 
achievements in athletics and her commitment to ending 
racial discrimination and prejudice within the world of 
athletics. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Althea Gibson Excel-
lence Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:59 Mar 01, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4130.IH
H4130
jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(1) Althea Gibson was born August 25, 1927, 
in Silver, South Carolina. 
(2) Althea Gibson lived with her family in Har-
lem during the 1930s and 1940s. She was first in-
troduced to tennis on the Harlem River Tennis 
Courts. She went on to dominate the all-Black 
American Tennis Association tournaments through-
out the early 1940s, when racism and segregation 
prevented her from participating in tournaments 
sponsored by the United States Lawn Tennis Asso-
ciation (USLTA). 
(3) Althea Gibson graduated from Florida A & 
M University in 1953, and was an athletic instructor 
at the Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mis-
souri. 
(4) Despite her extraordinary athletic prowess, 
Althea was repeatedly denied entry into the world’s 
top tennis tournaments based on the color of her 
skin. Alice Marble, a four-time U.S. Open champion, 
wrote a historic editorial published in the July 1950 
American Lawn Tennis magazine, condemning the 
sport of tennis for excluding players of Althea Gib-
son’s caliber. 
(5) Althea excelled in the Eastern Grass Court 
Championships at the Orange Lawn Tennis Club in 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:59 Mar 01, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4130.IH
H4130
jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
South Orange, New Jersey. Her outstanding grass 
play caused the USLTA to reevaluate its policy pro-
viding Althea a bid to Forest Hills. 
(6) Althea was the first African-American to 
win championships at famous tournaments, such as 
the French Open, the United States Open, the Aus-
tralian Doubles, and Wimbledon in the 1950s. 
(7) Althea broke the color barrier to become the 
first African-American player, either male or female, 
to be allowed to enter the Forest Hills, New York, 
Championship in 1950. 
(8) Althea Gibson’s tennis career flourished, 
even in the face of discrimination. She was the first 
African-American invited to Wimbledon in 1951, 
eventually winning both the women’s singles and 
doubles in 1957 and 1958. 
(9) She would go on to become the first Afri-
can-American woman to win the championship at 
the French Open in 1956. 
(10) During her career, she won 56 doubles and 
singles titles before gaining national and inter-
national acclaim for her athletic feats in professional 
tennis leagues. In the late 1950s, Gibson won eleven 
major titles including three straight doubles at the 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:59 Mar 01, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4130.IH
H4130
jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
French Open in 1956, 1957, and 1958 and the U.S. 
Open in 1957 and 1958. 
(11) Althea was the first African-American to 
be named as the Female Athlete of the Year by the 
Associated Press in 1957. She was given that honor 
again the following year. When she won her second 
U.S. Championship, she went professional at the age 
of 31. 
(12) As further evidence to Althea’s athletic 
gift, after finishing her amateur tennis career, she 
became a professional golfer in 1959. She was also 
the first African-American woman to hold a mem-
bership in the Ladies Professional Golf Association 
(LGPA). 
(13) After retiring from golf, Althea Gibson 
shifted her focus to public service. In 1975, Althea 
Gibson was named the New Jersey Commissioner of 
Athletics. She held this position and also served on 
both the State’s Athletics Control Board and the 
Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness. 
(14) Althea Gibson was inducted into the pres-
tigious International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1971 
and to the International Women’s Sports Hall of 
Fame in 1980. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:59 Mar 01, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4130.IH
H4130
jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(15) In 1991, the National Collegiate Athletic 
Association (NCAA) honored Althea Gibson with the 
Theodore Roosevelt Award, the highest honor the or-
ganization may confer on an individual. She was the 
first woman ever to receive this distinguished honor. 
(16) Althea passed away in East Orange, NJ, 
on September 28, 2003. 
(17) Althea Gibson was a trailblazer whose ex-
periences and successes paved the way for other 
great African-American tennis players like Arthur 
Ashe. 
(18) The legacy of Althea Gibson continues to 
serve as an inspiration and a shining example for 
the Nation’s youth. 
(19) Joining the ranks of other distinguished 
Congressional Gold Medal recipients would be a fit-
ting accolade to the achievements of Althea Gibson. 
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 
the House of Representatives and the President pro tem-
pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 
for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of the Con-
gress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemo-
ration 
of 
Althea 
Gibson, 
in 
recognition 
of 
her 
groundbreaking achievements in athletics and her commit-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:59 Mar 01, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4130.IH
H4130
jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
ment to ending racial discrimination and prejudice within 
the world of athletics. 
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 
presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 
of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 
devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec-
retary. 
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 
bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 
under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 
a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 
materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 
and the cost of the gold medal. 
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 
(a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu-
ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 
51 of title 31, United States Code. 
(b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 
5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 
under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:59 Mar 01, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4130.IH
H4130
jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS