DALLAS (1080 KRLD) - They called her "Little Mo," but she was a giant in women's tennis.
In a ceremony Tuesday at Southern Methodist University, the U.S. Postal Service issued a Forever stamp that honors tennis legend Maureen Connolly Brinker.
In the early 1950s, the 5-foot-4-inch Connally dominated her sport. From 1951 to 1954, she was the top-ranked women's player in the world. Connally won three Wimbledon titles among her nine major singles championships. In 1953, she became the first woman to capture the single-season Grand Slam, claiming victories in the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Championships.
A sportswriter dubbed Connally "Little Mo" - after the battleship USS Missouri, known as "Big Mo" - while watching her unleash one explosive groundstroke after another.
Connally's tennis career came to a stunning end in 1954, when her leg was severely injured in a horseback riding accident. The following year, Connally married Norman Brinker, who would go on to oversee the locally-based Brinker International restaurant empire.
Connally Brinker was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1968.
Connally Brinker spent the remainder of her life in Dallas with her husband and their two daughters. She died from cancer at age 34 in June 1969.
