150 years ago today on 24th September 1871, Charlotte 'Lottie' Dod, a British sportswoman who was highly skilled in a variety of sports, was born in Cheshire.
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| Lottie Dod, aged 20 |
Best known as a tennis player, she won the Wimbledon ladies’ singles tennis championship 5 times, the first of which at age 15 in 1887. She remains the youngest winner of the title which is a record unlikely ever to be taken away from her.
She also won the British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship, played hockey for the England ladies' national team on two occasions (which she also helped found) and won a silver medal for archery at the 1908 London Olympics.
The Guinness Book of Records has named her the most versatile female athlete of all time, along with track and field athlete, and fellow golfer Babe Zaharias.
She passed away in June 1960, aged 88.
If the BBC SPOTY had been around in those days, I think it’s pretty certain she would have carried off the trophy on numerous occasions.
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