I Always Wanted To Be Somebody: Part 6

One of the high spots I am not likely ever to forget from my tennis career is my welcome home to New York a couple of days after I won at Wimbledon. I truthfully did not expect anything like what happened when I got off the airplane.

There was a crowd, including my mother and a city official who was representing Mayor Wagner, and a whole lot of newspaper, radio and television people.

They tell me my mother was one of the first people to get to the airport, and I know she was the first person I ran up to when I got off the airplane. I guess she cried a little, and I heard her telling the reporters, “I always knew Althea could do it.”

I remember thinking I was glad she did because I hadn’t always been so sure. But it made me feel good right down to the tips of my toes to see Mom so happy.

The Old Neighborhood

And a few hours later, when we got to 143rd Street, I saw that Daddy was taking it big, too, with all the people on the block standing on the sidewalk and him leaning out of…