How Billie Jean King changed the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billie_Jean_King

Before the start of the open era in 1968, King earned US$100 a week as a playground instructor and student at Los Angeles State College when not playing in major tennis tournaments.

In 1967, King criticized the United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) in a series of press conferences, denouncing what she called the USLTA's practice of "shamateurism", where top players were paid under the table to guarantee their entry into tournaments. King argued that this was corrupt and kept the game highly elitist. King quickly became a significant force in the opening of tennis to professionalism. King said this about the amateur game,

In America, tennis players are not people. If you are in tennis, you are a cross between a panhandler and a visiting in-law. You're not respected, you're tolerated. In England, you're respected as an artist. In Europe, you're a person of importance. Manuel Santana gets decorated by Franco. The Queen leads the applause. How many times have I been presented at the White House? You work all your life to win Wimbledon and Forest Hills and all the people say is, "That's nice. Now what are you going to do with your life?" They don't ask Mickey Mantle that. Stop 12 people on the street and ask them who Roy Emerson is and they're stuck for an answer, but they know the third-string right guard for the Rams. I'd like to see tennis get out of its "sissy" image and see some guy yell, "Hit it, ya bum" and see it be a game you don't have to have a lorgnette or a sash across your tuxedo to get in to watch.<107>

When the open era began, King campaigned for equal prize money in the men's and women's games. As the financial backing of the women's game improved due to the efforts of World Tennis magazine founder, publisher and editor Gladys M. Heldman, King became the first woman athlete to earn over US$100,000 in prize money in 1971;<108> however, inequalities continued. King won the US Open in 1972 but received US$15,000 less than the men's champion Ilie Năstase. She stated that she would not play the next year if the prize money were not equal. In 1973, the US Open became the first major tournament to offer equal prize money for men and women.

King led player efforts to support the first professional women's tennis tour in the 1970s called the Virginia Slims, founded by Heldman and funded by Joseph Cullman of Philip Morris.<109> Once the tour took flight, King worked tirelessly to promote it even though many of the other top players were not supportive. "For three years we had two tours and because of their governments Navratilova and Olga Morozova had to play the other tour. Chris , Margaret , Virginia , they let us do the pioneering work and they weren't very nice to us. If you go back and look at the old quotes; they played for the love of the game, we played for the money. When we got backing and money, we were all playing together – I wonder why? I tried not to get upset with them. Forgiveness is important. Our job was to have one voice and win them over."<10>

In 1973, King became the first president of the women's players union – the Women's Tennis Association. In 1974, she, with husband Larry King and Jim Jorgensen, founded womenSports magazine and started the Women's Sports Foundation.<110> Also in 1974, King helped to found World TeamTennis.<111> She became league commissioner in 1982.

King is a member of the Board of Honorary Trustees for the Sports Museum of America,<112> which opened in 2008. The museum is the home of the Billie Jean King International Women's Sports Center, a comprehensive women's sports hall of fame and exhibit.<113>

...she's a b**b**ter...and that's what it took to move the game forward. I don't think many of today's players realize just how much they owe to her.

and much more for younger girls...

Awesome tennis player. Wouldn't be a Venus and Serena without Billy Jean. (And I'm a huge fan of the Williams sisters, even though I hate tennis, damned elitist sport.)

like: I remember her, at 36, playing a Wimbledon semifinal, I think, against Tracey Austin, who was then ranked #2 or 3 in the world. And Billie Jean, who'd had a series of knee surgeries in the 70s--when knee surgery kept you out of commission for 6 months or so and left large scars--took Tracy deep into the third set. I loved her all court game, her aggressiveness, and her smarts, which usually made up for what she lacked in natural athletic ability.

I've managed to meet her (and I even got a peck on the cheek). She has always been a hero to me. She was an activist from early in her career and she remains one today.

on the sidelines...Billie got beat by Chrissie in the semis, but it was an amazing performance by Billie at the end of her career.

4'33"