This Week In American History: On September 20, 1973 Billie Jean King, a top women’s tennis player, beat Bobby Riggs, a former No. 1 ranked men’s tennis player, during what came to be known as the “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match. Bobby Riggs was a self-proclaimed male chauvinist who had claimed women were inferior to men. Billie Jean King went on to beat Bobby Riggs 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.
The “Battle of the Sexes”
The match was a huge media event, witnessed in person by over 30,00 spectators at the Houston Astrodome and witnessed by another 50 million TV viewers worldwide. King made her entrance on a gold litter carried by men dressed as ancient slaves. Meanwhile, Riggs entered the stadium in a rickshaw pulled by female models. Not only did King’s victory over Riggs help legitimize women’s professional tennis and female athletes, her achievement was seen as a victory for women’s rights in general.
Billie Jean King Before The “Battle of the Sexes”
Growing up, King had been a star softball player. However, her parents encouraged her to try tennis. They considered it more ladylike. King naturally excelled at the sport. In 1961, at only 17 years of age, she won the women’s doubles title during her first outing to Wimbledon. Ultimately, King would score 20 Wimbledon victories in singles, doubles and mixed doubles over the cross of her tennis career. Ten years after her first Wimbledon win, King became the first female athlete to earn more than $100,00 in prize money in a single season. Nevertheless, significant pay disparities existed between male and female athletes at the time. King lobbied hard to change that. In 1973, the U.S. Open became the first major tennis tournament to award the same amount of prize money to winners of both sexes.
Billie Jean King Off the Tennis Court
In 1972 Sports Illustrated chose King as their “Sportsperson of the Year”. King was the first woman to be chosen for this award. A year later, in 1973, she became the first president of the Women’s Tennis Association. King also established a sports foundation and magazine for women and a team tennis league. As a coach of the Philadelphia Freedoms, in 1974, King became the first woman to head up a professional co-ed team.
Billie Jean King Once She Retired From Tennis
King retired from tennis with 39 Grand Slam career titles. She’s known as the “mother of modern sports”. Although retired, King remained active as a coach, commentator and advocate for women’s sports. The USTA National Tennis Center, home of the U.S. Open, was renamed in King’s honor in 2006. There are some who consider King “the single most important person in the history of women’s sports”.
The Merdes Law Firm has been helping injured Alaskans for more than 30 years. It’s who we are. And while we hope you never need us … We’re here if you do. ~ Ward Merdes
Info Source: History.com
Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons
