Today in Wheeling History: February 19--Tennis pioneer and International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee Peachy Kellmeyer born in Wheeling (1944).
Fern Lee "Peachy" Kellmeyer was born in Wheeling, West Virginia on February 19, 1944. Her family moved to Pittsburgh for two years when she was young, then settled in Charleston, West Virginia, when she was 6 years old. Despite having a clubfoot as a child, she excelled at tennis, earning her nickname "Peachy" for maintaining a sunny disposition while dealing with pain. She began winning local titles at the Charleston Tennis Club at age 11. In 1956 and 1957, she won West Virginia State Singles Championships at Oglebay Park in Wheeling. At age 15, she became the youngest female player to compete in the U.S. National Championships at Forest Hills. She went on to star at the University of Miami, where she made history as the first woman to play on a Division I men's tennis team. In 1973, she became the first full-time employee of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), serving as tour director. Her most significant contribution came through a landmark 1973 lawsuit that helped dismantle rules prohibiting athletic scholarships for female college athletes, paving the way for Title IX implementation. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2011 and the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2014, becoming the first tennis player inducted into the latter. Her career spanning over four decades helped build women's tennis into a premier global sport.
To learn more: International Tennis Hall of Fame (https://tinyurl.com/4easvc2c), Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/pc9pvcwr), WTA (https://tinyurl.com/jyhserz4), ESPN (https://tinyurl.com/4x5crv4e), Sunday News-Register (https://tinyurl.com/mvtaa4u3) (https://tinyurl.com/38ssdjp9), YouTube (https://tinyurl.com/338h7yfc)
Photo credits: USTA Midwest Hall of Fame via Youtube, International Tennis Hall of Fame
Fern Lee "Peachy" Kellmeyer was born in Wheeling, West Virginia on February 19, 1944. Her family moved to Pittsburgh for two years when she was young, then settled in Charleston, West Virginia, when she was 6 years old. Despite having a clubfoot as a child, she excelled at tennis, earning her nickname "Peachy" for maintaining a sunny disposition while dealing with pain. She began winning local titles at the Charleston Tennis Club at age 11. In 1956 and 1957, she won West Virginia State Singles Championships at Oglebay Park in Wheeling. At age 15, she became the youngest female player to compete in the U.S. National Championships at Forest Hills. She went on to star at the University of Miami, where she made history as the first woman to play on a Division I men's tennis team. In 1973, she became the first full-time employee of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), serving as tour director. Her most significant contribution came through a landmark 1973 lawsuit that helped dismantle rules prohibiting athletic scholarships for female college athletes, paving the way for Title IX implementation. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2011 and the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2014, becoming the first tennis player inducted into the latter. Her career spanning over four decades helped build women's tennis into a premier global sport.
To learn more: International Tennis Hall of Fame (https://tinyurl.com/4easvc2c), Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/pc9pvcwr), WTA (https://tinyurl.com/jyhserz4), ESPN (https://tinyurl.com/4x5crv4e), Sunday News-Register (https://tinyurl.com/mvtaa4u3) (https://tinyurl.com/38ssdjp9), YouTube (https://tinyurl.com/338h7yfc)
Photo credits: USTA Midwest Hall of Fame via Youtube, International Tennis Hall of Fame
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