ESPN Classic looks back at some of the most memorable moments in Wimbledon history.

July 2, 1938
In the battle of the antagonistic Helens, Wills Moody takes advantage of an injury to her arch-rival Jacobs and wins Wimbledon for an unprecedented eighth time.

The score is tied at 4-4 in the first set when Jacobs, serving at 40-30, strains her right Achilles tendon in a vain attempt to volley Moody's passing shot. Jacobs, who first injured the ankle in the semifinals, doesn't win another game, with the second set lasting a mere eight minutes, as Moody registers a 6-4, 6-0 victory.

The two do not exchange a single smile or remark from the time they take the court until Moody runs up to shake hands with her defeated rival. "Too bad, Helen," Moody says after beating her for the 11th time in their 12 matches.

After emerging from her dressing room, Moody is serenely cool and happy. "I was very sorry about Helen's ankle," she says, "but it couldn't be helped, could it? I thought there was nothing I could do but get it over as quickly as possible."

July 3, 1920
Bill Tilden, using his slice shots to perfection, cuts up Australia's Gerald Patterson to become the first American to win Wimbledon.

Even after losing the first set, Tilden is confident of victory. He takes advantage of his opponent's vulnerable backhand, continually using his famous cut strokes to exploit the defending champion's weakness. It looks as if Tilden is toying with his opponent in the final three sets of his 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory.

"The technique and cleverness (Tilden) displayed, although probably beyond the comprehension of the average spectator in the finer points, were not lost upon seasoned tennis followers," says The Associated Press story in The New York Times.

July 5, 1975
Two weeks ago Jimmy Connors announced a $5 million libel suit against Arthur Ashe for having criticized Connors' refusal to join the U.S. Davis Cup team. Connors had previously filed three other suits for a total of $20 million against the Association of Tennis Professionals, of which Ashe is president.

So there's no love lost when the fiery Connors and cool Ashe meet in today's Wimbledon final. Connors, the defending champion who hasn't lost a set in the tournament, is a 3-20 favorite, 9-10 to win in straight sets. Just in case Connors has forgotten about the Davis Cup controversy, Ashe is wearing a blue warmup jacket with "USA" in red on the chest when they come out for the match.

After Connors win the first game, Ashe takes him apart. Relying on "junk," Ashe chips, dinks and lobs his way as he astonishingly wins 12 of the next 13 games. His 6-1, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 victory enables him to become the first black man to win Wimbledon.

When the dismantling is complete, Ashe puts one more dagger into his adversary, pointing out how Connors had put about 70 percent of his errors "into the middle of the net. He hardly ever put the ball beyond the baseline -- that's a sign of choking."

July 6, 1957
Althea Gibson fights back tears as she receives congratulations from England's smiling Queen Elizabeth II after becoming the first African-American to win Wimbledon.

"At last! At last!" the 29-year-old Gibson says as the Queen, who is making her first Wimbledon appearance, presents her with the silver plate.

Gibson earns the award with her strong serve-and-volley performance in beating Darlene Hard, 6-3, 6-2 on the famed center court in the final. "Althea didn't miss a volley," Hard says. "I usually try to get in after the first volley. Today I didn't get a chance. That first volley after the service was too devastating."

Gibson wins the women's doubles title as well, teaming with Hard to defeat Mary Hawton and Thelma Long, 6-2, 6-1. However, her bid for a sweep falls short as she and Neale Fraser lose 6-4, 7-5 to Hard and Mervyn Rose in mixed doubles.

July 7, 1990
Martina Navratilova breaks her tie with Helen Wills Moody and becomes the first player to win nine Wimbledon singles titles when she dismantles Zina Garrison, 6-4, 6-1 in a 75-minute final.

"There were no glitches this time," says Navratilova, who lost the last two finals to Steffi Graf. "Everything came up nines." The victory improved Navratilova's Wimbledon singles record to 99-9.

A win over Garrison is not surprising for the 33-year-old Navratilova, who is 28-1 over her younger opponent. "She was a step ahead of me the whole time," Garrison says.

Navratilova says she hopes to meet the woman she had shared the record with some day. "I was in Carmel (where Helen Roark, formerly Moody, lives in California) a few years ago and I had the itch just to drive by her home, but I didn't want to invade her privacy," Navratilova says. "I've always wanted to meet her, not just because I've broken her record."

June 8, 1984
Because of his terrible temper tantrums, John McEnroe is often referred to as McNasty in the British tabloids. Today, the only person he's nasty to is Jimmy Connors, whom he overwhelms in winning his third Wimbledon championship in four years.

In the most one-sided Wimbledon men's final in 46 years, since Don Budge also allowed just four games in 1938, McEnroe plays the match of his life in crushing two-time champion Connors, 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 in only 80 minutes.

"That's the best I've ever played. I overpowered him, and that's something I haven't done too often," says McEnroe after beating Connors for the sixth straight time to raise his record to 15-12 against him.

McEnroe's serve is devastating, both on his slices wide and his hard one up the middle. The lithe left-hander connects on 74 percent of his first serves, has 10 aces, no double faults and loses only 11 points in his 11 service games. That says a lot because Connors has the best return of service in the game.