Battle of the Sexes

Bobby Riggs was a world champion tennis player in 1939 and retired from professional tennis in the 1950's. He boasted of his superior male attributes. He planned to prove men were better athletes; when he challenged a top female tennis on the professional circuit, Billie Jean King, in a dual on the tennis court.

The winner would walk away with a $100,000 winner-take-all prize. The match occurred in Sept. 20, 1973 at the Houston Astrodome and televised worldwide. 

The 29 year old, Billie Jean King defeated the 55 year old, Bobby Riggs in straight sets 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.

This became one of the most talked about events in U.S. sports history and virtually ended Bobby Riggs' career.

 

At the time, women titlist made significantly less than men with the same professional ranking. After this win, Women Tennis Players began to earn more equatable pay for their winnings.  

She was a King

MLK's widow, Coretta Scott King accomplished an amazing amount in her years and is considered one of the most significant advocates of civil rights.


Coretta Scott was a classically trained opera singer who married Martin Luther King Jr. in 1953. MLK was assassinated in 1968 and she took up his cause and had great success.

She has met with almost every president in her time to discuss civil rights. She worked in the USA and abroad to help end racism, including apartheid in South Africa, and also took up the fight for Gay Rights. 


In 1968, She founded The King Center which is a memorial dedicated to the advancement of the legacy and philosophy of Martin Luther King Jr.


She campaigned to make her husband's birthday a National Holiday and in 1983 she was present when President Reagan signed the bill that enacted it.


The world lost a great Leader in 2006 when Coretta Scott King passed away.


She held a graceful and unwavering determination in the fight to banish injustices.

♦ THE FIRST LADY OF CIVIL RIGHTS ♦

We Shall Overcome by Praiz