29 Facts About Nehemiah Atkinson

Nehemiah Atkinson was a professional tennis player and tennis coach in New Orleans, Louisiana USA.

Nehemiah Atkinson managed public tennis facilities in New Orleans and played competitive tennis into old age.

Nehemiah Atkinson was particularly noted for teaching young African-Americans, especially the underprivileged, to play the sport of tennis.

Nehemiah Atkinson was the first of ten children in the family.

Nehemiah Atkinson's family moved to New Orleans just before the Great Depression as his father became bishop of the Christ Holiness Church there.

Nehemiah Atkinson attended New Orleans Public Schools, including two years of high school.

Nehemiah Atkinson began playing tennis at age nine, learning without the benefit of professional instruction, being attracted to the sport despite its dominance by white people.

Nehemiah Atkinson's role was as a medical corpsman for the 97th Engineer Regiment.

Nehemiah Atkinson returned to New Orleans after his tour of military duty in December 1945.

Nehemiah Atkinson subsequently returned to New Orleans, where he obtained employment with the Dryades Street branch of the YMCA.

Nehemiah Atkinson established and taught tennis clinics for young people.

In 1947, as part of his experience with the Dryades Street YMCA, Nehemiah Atkinson co-founded the New Orleans Hard Court Tennis Club, which provided opportunities for African-Americans to play competitive tennis in the segregated society of the time.

Nehemiah Atkinson taught youngsters the sport of tennis regardless of their ethnic background.

Nehemiah Atkinson participated in many tournaments sponsored by the American Tennis Association, and he supported them by doing volunteer work on behalf of the association.

Nehemiah Atkinson became the manager of the facility, a position he held until his retirement in 1995.

At the time of his retirement, Lloyd Dillon became manager of the facility, whom Nehemiah Atkinson has mentored for the position.

Nehemiah Atkinson helped Pettis obtain a scholarship from the Southern University men's tennis team, an indication that he broke boundaries in both race and gender relations.

Nehemiah Atkinson wrote a column for the Louisiana Weekly newspaper, with a readership of mostly African-American tennis players, entitled "Hard Court Tennis Notes".

Much of Nehemiah Atkinson's career coincided with the era of the Jim Crow South, and he frequently was taunted at integrated tennis tournaments in which he participated.

Nehemiah Atkinson had urine-filled tennis balls and other objects thrown at him.

Nehemiah Atkinson received inappropriate foot-fault calls and sometimes was verbally abused by tournament officials.

Nehemiah Atkinson subsequently won the Men's 70+ Singles in 1994 through 1997 and then again in 2000 and 2001.

In 1993, Nehemiah Atkinson was named Player of the Year for the United States Professional Tennis Registry.

In 1999, Nehemiah Atkinson won the 80s National Hard Court Championship in San Diego, California, and, with a doubles partner, the World International Senior Tennis Championship in Barcelona, Spain.

Nehemiah Atkinson died of cancer at the Kenner Regional Medical Center in 2003 and was then interred at the Biloxi National Cemetery.

Nehemiah Atkinson served as a pallbearer at the funeral of tennis star Arthur Ashe.

In 1977, Atkinson received the Robert F Kennedy Memorial Ripple of Hope Award.

Nehemiah Atkinson was the first African-American to be inducted into the Southern Tennis Hall of Fame.

In 2000, Nehemiah Atkinson was inducted into the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame.