This February, Sports Illustrated is celebrating Black History Month by spotlighting a different iconic athlete or group of athletes every day. Today, SI looks back on the legacy of Ora Washington.
Ora Washington was so good at tennis that white champions refused to play her.
Helen Wills Moody, then the top white champion in tennis, declined to play against Washington, a match that according to The New York Times was one of Washington's "greatest desires."
Washington was also a standout basketball player. Her team, which barnstormed the country during the 1930s, was so entertaining that they would "make you forget the Depression," according to a Sports Illustrated story from 2018.