Lendward “Lenny” Simpson was first introduced to the game of tennis at age 5. His parents’ backyard backed up to the property of Dr. Hubert and Celeste Eaton, a local physician who lived in a two-story home with a spacious property of about five acres. The property featured a pool, three-car garage and, most notably, a first-class clay tennis court. The Eatons’ property was known locally as the “Black Country Club.” During the Jim Crow era, the many local parks were for whites only. Even the one park designated for blacks had whites-only tennis courts. The Eatons’ court was the only court available to blacks, and then only to a privileged few.
Simpson’s introduction to this court came via a friend and next-door neighbor, Nathaniel Jackson. A 20-time ATA national champion, Jackson escorted Simpson onto the property through the big side gates and introduced him to world champion Althea Gibson. The first thing Gibson said to him was, “Hello, Champ. What took you so long?” then handed Simpson his first tennis racquet. He hit off the backboard for the next two years with Gibson and Jackson at his side each day after they finished playing. Simpson was told that, to be a champion, he had to “beat the backboard” and to this very day, is still trying to beat that backboard.
In 1957, Simpson played in his first tournament at age 8 and won the 11 & Under Doubles. At age 9, recommended by Gibson, Jackson and Eaton, Simpson attended Dr. Walter “Whirlwind” Johnson’s predominately black American Tennis Association (ATA) Junior Development Team to develop his tennis talents. He traveled all over the country, from Chattanooga to Connecticut, becoming one of the top juniors in the ATA and then the USTA. A young Arthur Ashe was also on the team, living through countless nights when they struggled to find accommodations in the South and ended up staying in segregated YMCAs. Sometimes, they drove through the night to a tournament for which they qualified only to be told they could not play. Being five years younger than Ashe, Simpson was placed under the watch of the future world champion, forming a brotherly bond that would last the rest of their lives.
Partnered at age 9 with Bonnie Logan in mixed doubles, the pair never lost a match and won several ATA titles. “I’ve seen all the greats,” Logan said. “None of them have the kind of spring movement in their legs that Lendward had – and that includes Roger Federer. He was just so quick to the net.”
This ability helped Simpson receive academic and athletic scholarship to attend two of the best prep schools in the country: Hill School in Pennsylvania and Cheshire Academy in Connecticut. There he won the National Prep School Championships and was on the “Who’s-Who” list in America for tennis, soccer and basketball. Simpson was the ATA National Boys’ singles & Men’s doubles champion from 1964-67. With his doubles partner, Luis Glass, Simpson was in the top 10 of every age group in singles and doubles from the 10s to 18s at the Boys’ National Championships in Kalamazoo, MI, and Chattanooga, TN. With their success in doubles, both Simpson and Glass were nominated for the US Junior Davis Cup Team. Simpson was selected as the No. 1 player to represent North Carolina in a rivalry North Carolina vs South Carolina team event, during which he defeated Peyton Watson in three sets. Simpson won several states; championships in the North and in the South in singles and doubles before defeating Dick Stockton in the Eastern Boys’ Championships in Forest Hills, N.Y., to qualify for the US Nationals.
In 1964, at the age of 15, Simpson played his first of three consecutive US National Championships, known today as the US Open. He was, at the time and for some 40 years following, the youngest male to play in the prestigious tournament although it was barely noted. Winning his first round, he advanced into the second round to discover his opponent was Ashe, his mentor, coach and hero in the ATA and USTA.
Simpson accepted an academic and athletic scholarship to East Tennessee State University where he played from 1968-72 and won four ATA mixed-doubles titles while double-majoring in Psychology and Physical Education and earning the ETSU “Who’s-Who” in America in tennis and basketball. Simpson was a quarterfinalist in one NCAA tournament and played No. 1 in singles and doubles all through his college career. He was Ohio Valley Conference champion in singles and doubles and coached the team in 1972-73. In 1973, Simpson married JoAnn and the couple moved to West Bloomfield, MI. They had two daughters, Celeste and Jennifer, both earning academic and athletic scholarships to Division schools. Simpson was the Director of Tennis at the Square Lake Racquet Club in West Bloomfield and helped run the Michigan Junior Development Program. Simpson turned pro in 1974 and was the first black player to play World Team Tennis, playing for the Detroit Loves. The team included Rosie Casals, Phil Dent, Allan Stone, Butch Seewagen and Trish Faulkner.
Simpson has produced over 65 exhibition matches and events with the first featuring Billie Jean King and Hana Mandlíková in 1980. Following matches included top players Serena Williams, John McEnroe, Todd Martin, James Blake, Zina Garrison, Martina Navratilova, Chandra Rubin, Katrina Adams, Caroline Wozniacki, the Bryan brothers, Andy Roddick, John Isner and many others. It was the 2012 Azalea Festival that brought him back to Wilmington, N.C., for an exhibition match with John McEnroe, Todd Martin, Rubin and Katrina Adams, the largest event on the city’s social calendar. Invited to be a special Celebrity and sit in a VIP section along the 3rd Street parade route, he reflected that as a young boy sitting on the curb in hopes of catching a piece of candy during the parade, where he was called every derogatory name in the book. Now he would soon be sitting where he never felt welcomed before. Perhaps the world had changed enough that it was time to return to Wilmington to make a difference in his hometown community, to give an opportunity and hope to at-risk kids, just like Eaton and Gibson did for him so many years ago.
2013 saw the founding of the Lenny Simpson Tennis & Education Fund (LSTEF), a not-for-profit focused on working with at-risk kids in Wilmington and beyond. The name stemmed from Arthur Ashe Tennis & Education Center and, as Simpson has said many times, “if it was good enough for Arthur Ashe, it was good enough for Lenny Simpson.” The primary program of the LSTEF is One Love Tennis. One Love travels to all the city centers and afterschool programs, bringing tennis instruction and an academic enrichment program to develop kids both academically and athletically after school during the school year and in the mornings during summer camps. Program participants peak at more than 550 kids a week. One Love charges nothing for its services to ensure that no child is denied the opportunity for academic support and to play the great game of tennis.
One Love started by bringing the Bryan brothers to Wilmington for an exhibition match and clinic. One Love has been honored by USTA North Carolina and USTA Southern for its Academic Enrichment program, sent a team that won the Junior Team Tennis Under 10s Nationals, was awarded the USTA North Carolina NJTL Chapter of the Year, has twice been invited to escort Fed Cup players onto the court and participate in Fed Cup Opening Ceremonies, has twice been selected to perform on-court skills demonstrations at the US Open on Opening Day and flip the ceremonial coins (three times), and was invited to sit in the President’s Suite to celebrate Arthur Ashe Kids Day at the US Open four years in a row. One Love also was invited to have front row seats at the USTA National Tennis Center for the Althea Gibson Statue unveiling ceremony. The 40 letters that One Love kids wrote in 2017 requesting recognition for Althea Gibson at the US Open helped make the statue of Althea Gibson – unveiled in 2019 – a reality. These kids will forever be a part of history.
One Love was invited to screen the acclaimed documentary film, “Althea,” by Rex Miller at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, commonly known as Wimbledon, for its exclusive membership and formed a partnership with the club’s Wimbledon Foundation and Wimbledon Learning Center to teach yearly outreach clinics for at-risk girls in England. One Love screened the film for every student in New Hanover County, N.C., in elementary, middle and high school, both public and private. One Love brought the Breaking the Barriers Exhibit to Wilmington for display during Black History Month. Simpson has his own live morning radio show each week called “Tennis Tuesdays,” that covers the world of tennis and topics of the day, reaching a large listening audience on the air and Internet. One Love has been involved with several film projects, including the CBS Sports Network documentary “Althea & Arthur,” two USTA special documentary films and two Tennis Channel documentary films that were shown during the US Open in 2019 to accompany the unveiling of the Althea Gibson statue. One Love was featured in print media from around the world in the lead-up to and following the statue’s unveiling. For his work with One Love, Simpson has been recognized with the USTA Southern Marilyn Sherman Spirit Award, the prestigious USTA NJTL Founder’s Service Award and made the USTA Foundation’s NJTL 50th Anniversary list “50 For 50” as well as being presented with a Community Service Award by the mayor and prosecuting attorney for making the community a better place through his service to children and families in Wilmington.
Simpson has been inducted into the Cheshire Academy Hall of Fame, the Hill School Hall of Fame (for basketball), the Black Tennis Hall of Fame, the Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame and the North Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame. He is also featured in the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s Breaking the Barriers Exhibit and has a personalized engraved paver in the Avenue of Aces walkway at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, which is just outside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Perhaps the most significant accomplishment of One Love is the purchase of the former Eaton property at 1406 Orange Street in Wilmington. The historic and iconic backyard clay court had all but disappeared through years of neglect except for some fencing that indicated where the court used to be. A complete restoration saw the court reopen for use in 2019 as the “home court” for One Love kids, spawning congratulatory media coverage throughout the world of tennis. The home is being completely restored and will house the One Love offices. Gibson’s upstairs living quarters will become an Academic Enrichment Center with a stairway and observation deck leading right to the court. The Simpsons will live in the home as caretakers of the property, protecting and sharing the legacy of those who lived, trained and played there. The property will be listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a marker will be installed. Starting his tennis career just feet away from the 1406 Orange Street court and now acting as caretaker, teacher and coach, just as Eaton did, brings Simpson’s story and tennis career completely full circle. As his friend, coach and mentor Ashe once said, “The way to change the world is one heart at a time, one person at a time, one child at a time.” Simpson and his wife, with the entire One Love family, are weaving their own legacy into the legacies of Eaton, Johnson, Gibson and Ashe, to be an inspiration for the next generation of 5-year-olds who will be handed a racquet and warmly greeted, “Hello, champ.”
His accomplishments and honors include:
- Awarded the USTA NJTL Founder’s Service Award, USTA North Carolina Educational Merit Award, USTA Southern Educational Merit Award, USTA Southern Marilyn Sherman Spirit Award, USTA North Carolina NJTL Chapter of the Year, Wilmington Community Service Award and selected for the USTA Foundation NJTL 50 For 50
- Inducted into the Cheshire Academy Hall of Fame, the Hill School Hall of Fame (for basketball), the Black Tennis Hall of Fame, the Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame and the North Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame
- Ranked top 10 nationally in every junior age group in singles & doubles
- Captain of the Eastern Tennessee State University tennis team 1968–72 and listed in the “Who’s-Who” in America athletes in tennis and basketball
- Ohio Valley Conference Champion in singles & doubles
- Entered the Pro Tour in 1974 as the first African American to play World Team Tennis on the Detroit Loves
- Served as Tennis Director for Nick Bollettieri junior and adult tennis camps
- Founder of the Lenny Simpson Tennis & Education Fund, which includes One Love
- Owner and caretaker of 1406 Orange St., Wilmington, N.C, the former home of Dr. Hubert Eaton
