A $1.25 million pediatric AIDS research endowment named for tennis legend Arthur Ashe will be established at St. Jude Children's Hospital, officials said Saturday.
The hospital was founded by entertainer Danny Thomas and opened in 1962 to treat catastrophic children's diseases. The announcement came during the Kroger-St. Jude International tennis tournament.Ashe, the only black man to win Wimbledon and U.S. Open tennis championships, died Feb. 6 of AIDS-related pneumonia. He had worked for increased AIDS awareness and helped raise funds for AIDS research programs.
"One call to Arthur and he was quickly on board," said J. Wayne Richmond, executive vice president of the IBM-ATP Tour. "He worked up to 48 hours before his death to make this happen."
The Racquet Club of Memphis, site of the tournament, Kroger and the IBM-ATP Tour Charities committed to raising the money.