Today In History, September 21.
Top female player Billie Jean King, 29, beats Bobby Riggs, 55, a former No. 1 ranked men's player, in a highly publicized "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match on September 21, 1973. A self-proclaimed male chauvinist, Riggs (1918-1995) had boasted that women were inferior, that they could not sustain the strain of the game, and that he could beat any female player at his age. The match was a major media phenomenon, witnessed in person by more than 30,000 fans at the Houston Astrodome and 50 million other TV viewers around the world. On a gold litter carried by men dressed as ancient slaves, King made a Cleopatra-style entry, while Riggs arrived in a rickshaw pulled by female models. Howard Cosell, the legendary sportscaster, called the contest, where King beat Riggs 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. The success of King not only helped legitimize professional women's tennis and women's athletes, but it was seen as a triumph for the rights of women in general. There were still major wage gaps between male and female athletes, however, and King pushed hard for reform. The U.S. in 1973 The Open became the first major tennis tournament to offer winners of both sexes the same amount of prize money.
In 1972, King became the first woman to be selected as "Sportsperson of the Year" by Sports Illustrated and in 1973 she became the first president of the Women's Tennis Association. King has set up a women's sports foundation and magazine, and a tennis league for the squad. In 1974 she became the first woman to head up a competitive co-ed team as a coach of the Philadelphia Freedoms, one of the league's teams.
With 39 Grand Slam career titles, the "mother of modern sports" has retired from tennis. As a mentor, commentator and advocate for women's sports and other causes, she remained involved. The USTA National Tennis Center, headquarters of the United States, in 2006. Open, was renamed in honor of King. Tennis great John McEnroe called King "the single most influential person in the history of women's sports" during the dedication ceremony.
The 1973 match was the theme of a film starring Emma Stone and Steve Carell in 2017.
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