The list is endless. Women Only Over Fifty (WOOFers) who lead vibrant, meaningful lives and just seem to get younger every day.
Photo courtesy of Archive Photos, Inc.
I'll bet every WOOFer remembers the 1973 Battle of the Sexes: Billie Jean King against that male chauvinist, Bobby Riggs. What a doofus! Did he really think he could beat her - just because he was a man and she, a weak female??
Guess that question was answered in short order. King easily beat Riggs in a televised match in the Houston Astrodome.
But, on to more relevant information about one of the best tennis players, ever.
Billie Jean (Moffitt) King was born on November 22, 1943, in the southern California city of Long Beach. She developed an interest in tennis at age eleven and saved money to buy her first racket, winning her first championship at age fourteen.
In 1961 Billie Jean competed in her first Wimbledon tournament in England but was defeated in the women's singles. She teamed, however, with Karen Hautze to win the doubles (two-person team) title, and in 1965, won her first Wimbledon singles championship, then repeated in 1967. That same year she also won the U.S. Open singles title at Forest Hills, New York.
In 1968 King won both the women's singles and doubles titles at Wimbledon. In 1971 she became the first woman athlete to win more than one hundred thousand dollars.
The list goes on and on. To read more about this great tennis legend click on the Wikipedia Bio page.
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2 comments:
Thanks so much for selecting Billie Jean King as one of your featured "Women Over Fifty." When you consider all she accomplished in the name of women's rights (and fought against the deeply entrenched sexism in the sports' world) she's a true heroine worthy of our greatest respect and gratitude. And, by coming out, she also did much to support other gay women in and outside of the public eye.
I admire this woman tremendously--a wonderful choice for WOOF!
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