VARIOUS LOCATIONS (FILE. 1975-1993)
1. ARTHUR ASHE BEATS JIMMY CONNORS TO WIN WIMBLEDON, 1975 (BBC)
2. ASHE ANNOUNCES HE HAS AIDS AT PRESS CONFERENCE, NEW YORK, (APRIL 8, 1992) (NBC)
3. ASHE WITH HIS WIFE JEANNE AND DAUGHTER (RECENT) (NBC)
4. ASHE ON ANTI APARTHEID MARCH (FILE) (RTV LIBRARY)
5. ASHE SPEAKING AT UNITED NATIONS (FILE) (RTV LIBRARY)
6. ASHE WITH AWARD AS SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR (DECEMBER 15, 1992) (REUTERS TV) NEW YORK CITY, FEBRUARY 4 (NBC)
7. ARTHUR ASHE VIDEOTAPE MESSAGE - "AIDS PATIENTS ARE NOT TO BE PITIED. NONE OF US WANT PITY. WE DO WANT COMPASSION, WE DO WANT UNDERSTANDING. OUR LIFE IS GOING TO BE DIFFICULT ENOUGH AS IT IS WITHOUT PEOPLE ENGAGING IN ACTS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST US" NEW YORK CITY, FEBRUARY 7 (RTV)
8. DR HENRY MURRAY, ASHE'S DOCTOR, SPEAKING AT PRESS CONFERENCE - "AROUND CHRISTMAS TIME, WITH ALL HIS DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES, HE BECAME BREATHLESS. EVENTUALLY, ON NEW YEARS DAY HE WAS SEEN AND SHORTLY AFTERWARDS ADMITTED HERE - FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1988 - AND THE DIAGNOSIS OF PNEUMONIA WAS MADE SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, FEBRUARY 5 (PRIME NETWORK)
9. JIMMY CONNORS SPEAKING IN ENGLISH - "TENNIS WAS HIS FORTE BUT HE MADE HIS MARK NOT ONLY IN TENNIS BUT IN WORLD ACTIVITIES AND THAT TO ME IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN HIS TENNIS, EVEN THOUGH HIS TENNIS WAS IMPORTANT, AND WAS WHAT GOT HIM TO THE FOREFRONT. BUT THE WAY HE HANDLED HIS LIFE, AND HIS ABILITY TO TREAT THE GOOD AND THE BAD THE SAME, AND ACTUALLY GO BEYOND THAT - WAS PRETTY STRONG" CHICAGO, ILLIONIS, FEBRUARY 6 (NBC)
10. PAM SHRIVER SPEAKING - "I THINK OF HOW HE HANDLED HIMSELF UNDER EXTREME PRESSURE, NOT ONLY IN THE LAST NINE MONTHS, BUT ALSO BEFORE THAT, AS A BLACK MAN IN A WHITE SPORT. HE WAS SUCH A GRACEFUL PERSON". MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, FEBRUARY 6 (NBC)
11. ROD LAVER SPEAKING - "HE WAS EVERYTHING TO TENNIS. I THINK CERTAINLY FOR THE BLACK CONTINGENT THAT PLAY TENNIS, AND WERE PART OF HIS LIFE, IT REALLY IS A SAD MOMENT". WASHINGTON, D.C., FEBRUARY 6 (NBC)
12. BILL CLINTON SPEAKING - "HE WAS A FRIEND OF MINE AND I'M VERY SAD ABOUT IT".



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Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
Background: Tennis champion Arthur Ashe, the first black man to win the Wimbledon Men's title died on Saturday (February 7) from pneumonia resulting from AIDS (Acquired Immune-Deficiency Syndrome).

His death at the age of 49 came 10 months after he revealed he was HIV-positive, carrying a virus which leads to AIDS.

Ashe was the only black to win the men's singles title at Wimbledon when he beat Jimmy Connors in 1975. He went on to lobby for racial equality throughout the world.

His later years were marred by illness. A heart attack forced him to retire from competitive tennis in 1979. After his first heart operation he was named Davis Cup captain and steered his team to victories in the 1981 and 1982 finals.

He became HIV-positive from infected blood received after surgery, most likely after his second operation in 1983. In 1992 he stated he was HIV positive. He said he had delayed the announcement to protect his family from prejudice against those infected.

Ashe worked to bring tennis to inner-city youth and in 1985 was arrested in an anti-apartheid demonstration in front of the South African Embassy in Washington.

He continued defying colour barriers and campaigning for AIDS awareness until the end of his life.

President Bill Clinton and celebrities from the tennis world paid tribute to Ashe as a player and anti-apartheid activist.