June 5, 1971: Evonne Goolagong wins the Women's Singles tournament at the French Open, at Stade Roland Garros in Paris. She defeats her fellow Australian, Helen Gouray, 6-3, 7-5. Goolagong did not lose a single set during the tournament.
It was all the more remarkable in that she was still a teenager, and also that it was her 1st "major" tennis tournament. She was also the 1st Aboriginal Australian to become a well-known sports star.
Evonne Fay Goolagong was born on July 31, 1951 in Griffith, New South Wales, Australia. New South Wales is the same State that Sydney is in, but Griffith is no suburb: It's 350 miles to the west, deep into the Outback.
She grew up during the time of "the Stolen Generations," from 1905 to 1967, when, as part of the "White Australia Policy," the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent were removed from their families by the Australian federal and State government agencies and church missions, under acts of their respective parliaments. She was directly impacted by it, saying:
Lucky not to be taken away by the stolen generation, because I've had to hide a few times under the bed. We visited my cousin in Griffith, which is where I was born, in the mission there. Every time a shiny car would come down the road, my mum used to say, "You better run and hide. The welfare man's going to take you away." So I remember hiding very nervously under the bed, 'cause I didn't want to get taken away.
Despite this widespread disadvantage and prejudice, Goolagong was able to play tennis in Barellan from childhood, thanks to an area resident, Bill Kurtzman, who saw her peering through the fence at the local courts, and encouraged her to come in and play.
After winning the French Open, a few weeks later, she won Wimbledon. She won 4 straight Australian Opens: 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1977. She didn't complete the career Grand Slam, though, going 0-for-4 in U.S. Open Finals.
In 1975, she married former junior British tennis player Roger Cawley, who also became her manager. They moved to America, and settled in Naples, Florida. She played the 1976 U.S. Open while pregnant, and her daughter, Kelly Cawley, was born the following Spring. (Until 1985, the Australian Open was held in December. There was no 1986 Australian Open, and since 1987 it's been held in January.)
In, 1980, she won Ladies' Singles at Wimbledon for the 2nd time, making her the 1st mother to win the title in 66 years. The following year, her son, Morgan Cawley, was born. He went on to play in Australia's National Soccer League (The A-League).
Evonne also won 6 majors in women's doubles, and the 1972 French Open in mixed doubles. While she was never a member of a Davis Cup team, she helped Australia win the Federation Cup (now the Billie Jean King Cup) in 1971, 1973 and 1974. She retired from competitive tennis in 1983.
She went on to do commercials for Sears, which sold her "Go Goolagong" clothing line; Kentucky Fried Chicken, which is very popular on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, particularly in Australia and Japan; and Geritol: In a popular ad in 1984, Kelly taunted, "Mommy beat Daddy!" but Evonne mentioned it wasn't easy, saying she had become anemic after Morgan (with her accent, I thought at the time that his name was "Malcolm") was born, and that her doctor had prescribed Geritol.
She was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1988. Since 2005, she has run the Goolagong National Development Camp for Indigenous girls and boys, using tennis to promote better health, education and employment, and operates in the suburbs of Sydney.
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June 5, 1971 was a Thursday. Actor Mark Wahlberg, formerly the rapper Marky Mark, was born.
These Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Kansas City Royals, 11-7 at Yankee Stadium. The Royals scored 6 runs in the top of the 7th inning. Roy White hit a home run for the Yankees.
* The New York Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Don Sutton allowed 8 hits in 5 innings, while Pete Mikkelsen allowed 2 over 4, but they kept a shutout. The losing pitcher was Nolan Ryan. Steve Garvey hit a home run.
* The California Angels beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-4.
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Washington Senators, 6-1 at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington. Jim "Catfish" Hunter was the winning pitcher. Sal Bando and Rick Monday hit home runs. Reggie Jackson went 2-for-5 with an RBI.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-4 at Atlanta Stadium (later Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium). The Cubs scored a run in the top of the 11th, but in the bottom of the 11th, Mike Lum hit a 3-run home run to win the game. Ernie Banks, in his final season, did not play. Hank Aaron only appeared as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base.
* The Houston Astros beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-1 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Larry Dierker outpitched Steve Blass. The Pirates went on to win the World Series, anyway. Roberto Clemente appeared as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base. Willie Stargell went 2-for-4.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-3 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Joe Hague hit 2 home runs for the Cards. Lou Brock went 3-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Pete Rose appeared as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base. Johnny Bench went 1-for-4.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-3 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Al Kaline went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 12-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Jim Palmer went the distance for the win. Paul Blair hit a grand slam. Frank Robinson went 3-for-3 with 2 walks. Brooks Robinson went 2-for-6.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins, 10-2 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Ray Fosse went 2-for-5 with 4 RBIs. Graig Nettles went 4-for-6 with 3 RBIs. Eddie Leon went 4-for-5. Ray Lamb outpitched Jim Kaat. Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Rod Carew did not play.
* The Montreal Expos beat the San Diego Padres, 2-1 at San Diego Stadium (later Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium).
* And the Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco 49ers, 5-3 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Willie Mays appeared as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base.
