Billie Jean King won six Wimbledon singles championships and four US Open titles.
She was ranked No1 in the world five years. She defeated such magnificent players as Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Margaret Court. Yet of all her matches, the one that is remembered most is her victory against a 55-yearold man.
History has recorded all that King accomplished in furthering the cause of women’s struggle for equality in the 1970s. She was the lightning rod in starting a professional women’s tour. But what is remembered most is that she humbled Bobby Riggs.
The “Battle of the Sexes” captured the imagination with King, then 29, running Riggs ragged, winning 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.
Other memorable events on this day…
1968: New York Yankee legend Mickey Mantle hits his 536 and final homer against the Boston Red Sox.
1988: Greg Louganis wins his second Olympic gold medal in springboard diving.
2013: Alex Rodriquez sets new MLB record with 24 Grand Slam home runs for the New York Yankees.
