On this day in 1975, Arthur Ashe becomes the first black man to win Wimbledon

July 5, 1975, marks the day 31-year-old Arthur Ashe shocked the world. He defeated 22-year-old Jimmy Connors to win the men’s singles title at Wimbledon.

In 1968, Ashe became the first black man to win the U.S. Open. Two years later, he won the Australian Open for his second Grand Slam title.

Ashe retired from tennis in 1980 after suffering a heart attack. He published the three-volume book A Hard Road to Glory in 1988 detailing the struggle of black athletes in America. Ashe died of AIDS-related complications on Feb. 6, 1993. He contracted the disease from a blood transfusion following double-bypass surgery. In 1997, the U.S. Open’s new home court was named Arthur Ashe Stadium.