Iconic Photo: Photo 5

Alice Marble
circa 1932

Alice Marble was the first woman in Tennis to both serve and volley, if you can believe it. She was a number one ranked tennis star of her time, and in fact won 18 Grand Slam Championships between 1936 and 1940.

Her sports career actually began at a young age when, considered a tomboy, Miss Marble began playing, and excelled at baseball. It was uncommon for women during the early 1900's to play baseball, however, and so she was encouraged to play "the more ladylike" game tennis. She quickly excelled at the sport and became known for her aggressive style. Even so, she was also known for her friendly interest in have a discussion with her opponent after a match to discuss each player's techniques and what they might each be able to do to improve play next time. In this way Alice was both well-respected and well-liked in the game.

As shown in the picture above, Alice Marble actually introduced women wearing shorts in tennis. Prior to her such attire was unseen on the ladies of the game.

After illness pushed Marble into retirement from Tennis she went on to become a consultant for DC Comics and helped develop the character Wonder Woman. She became an associate editor for the Wonder Woman series and introduced the "Wonder Women of History" feature to the comic, which would focus on a different inspiring woman each issue, thus introducing positive female role models to young comic book readers.