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It is a discredit to Billie Jean King to have her listed on these pages merely as the sports figure of the 1970s. A huge figure in the women's rights movement, she just as easily could have been considered a newsmaker. A brilliant labor organizer and business woman, she could have been listed in that category as well. Finally, as a consummate performer, King would fit in easily as an entertainer.
King's tennis prowess ranks her among a handful of players at the top of her sport. She holds the record of 20 Wimbledon titles (singles and doubles); four US Open titles and had a victory in both the French Open and Australian Open.
While she dominated women's tennis, King will always be most remembered for her 1973 match against Bobby Riggs. In what was called "The Battle of the Sexes," King crushed Riggs 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, beating the 55-year-old former Wimbledon champion in all aspects of the game.
Life Magazine named King as one of the 100 most important Americans of the 20th Century. In 1971 King became the first woman athlete, in any sport, to earn over $100,000. In 1975, Seventeen Magazine reader's poll voted King the most admired woman in the world, beating out Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir.
The following year was an extremely busy one for King. She founded WomenSports magazine, started the Women's Sports Foundation, and formed World Team Tennis.
"In the '70s we had to make it acceptable for people to accept girls and women as athletes," she said in an interview with ESPN. "We had to make it OK for them to be active. Those were much scarier times for females in sports."
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