A 99-year-old tennis legend who was once the top player in the country will be honored Thursday at a street naming ceremony in Miami.
Gardnar "Gar" Mulloy, will have a section of Northwest 9th Avenue and North River Drive in Spring Garden named in his honor at a 3 p.m. ceremony.
"I think it's fantastic," Mulloy said. "How many people have had a street named for them?"
VIDEO: Old Man Tennis Gardnar Mulloy
Mulloy's father taught him to play tennis in Spring Garden, where he has lived his whole life.
"The difference is it wasn't paved," Mulloy said. "It was crushed rock."
There, he reached the No. 1 ranking in the U.S. in 1952 when he was the runner-up in the US National Championships.
As a doubles player, Mulloy was a 4-time US Nationals Championships winner and won Wimbledon once, in 1957. He is enshrined in nearly a dozen tennis Halls of Fame throughout the country.
Tennis Legends Compete in HSBC Cup in Fort Lauderdale
"Gardnar Mulloy is a tennis treasure," said friend Jim Martz. "He's the only person I know in the world who is 99 years old and is still as sharp as can be in everything about tennis."
Mulloy, a graduate of the University of Miami, started the tennis program at the school. He was also inducted into the Hall of Fame at Miami Senior High School, is a Navy veteran, and the author of two books.
