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duPont, Margaret Osborne

(Encyclopedia) duPont, Margaret Osborne, 1918–2012, American tennis player, b. Joseph, Oreg. Known for her aggressive play and endurance, she was one of the finest female players in the mid-20th cent…

Hoppe, Willie

(Encyclopedia) Hoppe, Willie (William Frederick Hoppe)Hoppe, Williehŏpˈē [key], 1887–1959, American billiards champion, b. Cornwall, N.Y. He practiced billiards from a very early age and gave…

Sarazen, Gene

(Encyclopedia) Sarazen, GeneSarazen, Genesäˈrəzən [key], 1902–99, American golfer, b. Harrison, N.Y. The son of an Italian immigrant carpenter, he entered golf as a caddie at Rye, N.Y. In 1922—at the…

Spassky, Boris

(Encyclopedia) Spassky, Boris, 1937–, Soviet chess champion. A child prodigy, he became an international master at the age of 16 and in 1955, at age 18, he became an international grand master.…

Wills, Helen Newington

(Encyclopedia) Wills, Helen Newington (Helen Wills Moody Roark), 1905–98, American tennis player, b. Centerville, Calif. She studied art at the Univ. of California and later gave exhibitions of her…

Wooden, John

(Encyclopedia) Wooden, John, 1910–2010, American basketball coach, b. Martinsville, Ind. He was the first athlete to be honored in the basketball Hall of Fame as both player and coach. An All-…

Jordan, Michael Jeffrey

(Encyclopedia) Jordan, Michael Jeffrey, 1963–, American basketball player, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. As a freshman at the Univ. of North Carolina, he made the shot that won the 1982 National Collegiate…

Lewis, Carl

(Encyclopedia) Lewis, Carl (Frederick Carlton Lewis), 1961–, American sprinter and jumper, b. Birmingham, Ala. A star in high school and at the Univ. of Houston, he became possibly the greatest track…

Johnson, Jimmie Kenneth

(Encyclopedia) Johnson, Jimmie Kenneth, 1975–, American auto racer, b. El Cajon, Calif. Johnson began racing at five on motorcycles, progressed to off-road buggies and trucks as a teenager, and then…