Original subtitles

( theme music playing )

Downloaded from YTS.MX

Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX

Announcer: The following is a special presentation

of the HBO Sports documentary series

"Legends & Legacies."

Billie Jean King: I had poor vision as a youngster

and I just loved it when I got my glasses

'cause I could really see clearly.

Everybody at school would always say,

"Girls with glasses get no passes."

I didn't like that.

But I was pretty pragmatic.

Okay?

King: I'll put those glasses on to play, that's for sure.

Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen, now our special guest.

- Thank you. - Thank you.

Announcer: As player, promoter, and innovator,

she's done more to advance the cause of women's sport

than any man or woman before or since.

A warm Wimbledon welcome, please, for Billie Jean King.

( applause )

( silent )

( music playing )

King: 12 years old, I have an epiphany.

If God gave me this gift,

I was gonna do everything in my power

to make this world a better place.

The whole world was in tumult...

and so was I.

I was just going through hell.

I was a feminist. I was proud of it.

( camera shutters click )

King: I just had to win. It was just life and death.

We tried again, but it was a lie.

Little did I know what was gonna follow in my lifetime.

A champion has got to say to themselves,

"I want the ball no matter what"

and be willing to be at high risk.

You just gotta do it.

My mother was pregnant with me, and my dad was in Virginia

training to go to war.

Betty Moffitt: Well, Bill was in service,

and I just felt I should name her Billie Jean after her daddy,

not knowing if he was going to come home.

King: So that's how I got called Billie Jean.

I love my name 'cause it's different.

( laughs ) I've always liked it.

I'm just a basic kid from Long Beach, California.

Middle America,

family pretty conservative.

- ( siren blaring ) - King: My dad a firefighter, my mom a homemaker.

It was fun to go to the firehouse.

He would grab me in one arm

and we'd go down the pole

and I'd go, "Daddy, Daddy. Let's do it again."

He's the one that gives 100 percent in sports.

My dad was very hyper on the court

and very inappropriate sometimes,

shall we say, with his temper.

When I was five, the guys wouldn't let me

play out in the street and my dad made them.

And I held my own just fine.

One of the most exciting days was when my brother came home from the hospital.

My mom put Randy down on the sofa and I'm like,

"Oh, this is the greatest."

Ever since I was a young boy, she was always just "Sis."

It was a lot easier to say than "Billie Jean."

( singing )

King: It was just a typical blue-collar family.

It was very religious.

Very.

Loved going to church on Sundays.

Reverend Bob Richards, who was an Olympic pole vaulter,

had a sports story in every sermon.

He was just so motivating.

He was unbelievable.

We used to always play touch football

out in the front yard.

My mother called me in one day and said,

"You can't play football anymore.

I want you to be a lady at all times,

and playing football is not being a lady."

And I said, "What does that mean? What is a lady?"

In fifth grade, my friend Susan Williams--

who was the best tennis player in Long Beach--

asked me if I wanted to play tennis,

and I said, "What's tennis?"

She says, "Well, you get to run,

you get to hit a ball, and you get to jump."

"I'll try that. I'll try that."

So I think tennis, being a "sissy" sport--

in the '50s particularly-- my mom could handle that.

To her it was more of a feminine sport.

My parents made me earn the money for my first racket,

so I went around to neighbors and begged,

and they gave me these odd jobs.

So we went to this sporting goods store in Long Beach.

A guy comes up. "What are you looking for?"

And I said, "Whatever $8.29 will buy."

So I got this racket and I had my first lesson,

and by the end of that lesson,

I knew I'd found what I wanted to do with my life.

She was very definite about what she wanted to do.

There wasn't one question.

"I found what I'm gonna do with my life.

I love this game.

I wanna be the number one player in the world."

And I'm telling my mother this as she's driving me home,

and I was jumping up in the seat.

I just kind of agreed with her and said,

"That'll be fine, honey, if that's what you want to do."

She's more the killjoy in the family,

so I'm like, "Mom, you don't get it.

I really wanna do this."

"That's fine, dear." You know, as she's driving home,

and, "You've got piano lessons."

I go to the L.A. Tennis Club for the first time.

Very excited. My mom has sewn me these shorts.

And now it's time for the group photo,

and the czar of tennis, Perry T. Jones,

looks at me and says, "Hey, little girl.

You can't be in the photo because you're wearing shorts.

You have to wear a skirt or a tennis dress."

Because of our ignorance and inexperience in the sport,

we hadn't ever seen a tennis dress until that day,

and I started to understand what it was to be a girl

and kind of be on the outside looking in.

I have an epiphany that I want to change things.

I didn't like the fact that tennis was so elitist.

I didn't see any people of color in the game.

It was just snooty, it was closed, it was rigid,

and it was very clear that unless I was number one,

I wouldn't be listened to.

But I always had all these things bubbling up in me.

If God gave me this gift,

I was gonna do everything in my power

to make this world a better place.

That's it.

I would go to tournaments every weekend,

and I get in the Dudley Cup in Santa Monica, California.

I end up winning the 13-and-under,

and I just remember I had to get up

and thank everybody for the first time,

and then I realized if I'm gonna be any good in tennis,

if I'm gonna be number one like I want to be,

I'm gonna have to do this often.

I watched aggressive players--

Darlene Hard, Althea Gibson, Louise Brough.

Alice Marble helped me when I was 15, which was huge.

She was just an all-time great.

I'm seeing all these great champions,

and I want to just be better than they were.

Every weekend when I would come back from a tournament,

Randy would actually count the trophies.

He'd add them up and keep adding them.

I loved it. It was tough, though,

because sometimes people would come up to me and say,

"Oh, there's no way you can be number one.

Have you ever seen a number one player wear glasses?"

Uh-oh, I think they might be right.

But that didn't deter me at all.

I used to sleep with my racket,

and I would dream about Wimbledon.

I loved Wimbledon.

Gerald Williams, who was with the "Daily Mail,"

took me up to the top of Centre Court when I arrived.

And I thought, "It looks so small,

but it looks intimate, and I like that."

I belong here. This is my home.

Frank Deford: Wimbledon is the beating heart of the tennis world.

All that tradition, all that glory,

and, yes, all that snobbishness.

For Billie Jean, this was the Mecca.

King: My biggest thrill was '61.

I won doubles with Karen Hantze.

We weren't seeded.

She said, "Billie, we can win this."

I'm 17, she's 18.

We'd only played two weeks before Wimbledon.

She was right,

and we just giggled our way through the tournament.

Yes! ( screams, laughs )

Deford: The British fell for her.

She was this chubby little thing

with the hideous, tacky glasses.

It was her energy and her passion that they loved.

King: We were the youngest team to have ever

won women's doubles at Wimbledon.

Betty Moffitt: Oh, we got all kinds of phone calls.

I was at work in the fire station. Remember that?

- Uh-huh. - And they phoned.

Yes, he did. Someone did phone them.

- Someone phoned me... - Mm-hmm.

and told me what Billie Jean had done.

King: I'm getting all this attention when I play at Wimbledon,

and then I'm going back home, back to my real life.

Tennis, at that time, was still a part-time gig.

I'd go back to school every September,

Cal State L.A.

I walk in the library at school

and I see this guy, and he is adorable.

He's blond, he's gorgeous.

Marcos Carriedo, who was on the tennis team,

kept telling me, "He's really smart

and he plays on the team."

Marcos Carriedo,

for a couple of months, was saying,

"Larry, I want you to meet my doubles partner."

I thought she was the cat's meow

from the first time I met her.

King: We just started spending time together all the time.

I fell in love with him pretty quickly.

He's the one that made me into a feminist.

We were walking along, hand in hand, past the tennis courts,

and he said, "You know, you're a second-class citizen."

I said, "What?"

Larry King: I pointed out that I had a scholarship

and she didn't.

She was the equal of the best player on the men's team,

and she didn't get her gas money.

And he said, "Why? Because you're a girl."

All these feelings that had been bubbling up in me--

he brought everything into focus.

I really needed to go follow my dream,

and I couldn't get the training I needed in college.

I got this offer to go to Australia.

She went to Australia for four months to work on her game,

to be the best player she could be.

King: The Australian guys are the ones who made my game.

If I'd married a guy who was very different,

ooh, I probably would've stayed home.

Well, in '65, we got married.

It was a beautiful wedding.

Larry King: We were really young-- I was 20 and she was 21.

We had about $300 to our name.

She worked for the Parks Department after school.

King: Larry was working at night,

and I would take him lunch at 2:00 in the morning.

Larry King: It was a great life, and we helped each other.

King: Wimbledon, 1966.

I was 22 years old, and I finally had the opportunity

to be number one in the world.

Male commentator: The ladies' final.

Here come the girls, coming onto the court.

Female commentator: Billie Jean King

against Maria Bueno.

The championship match at Wimbledon in '66 was huge.

King: I step on the court, it's total commitment.

It's no putzing around. I was there.

Female commentator: Here's the little spunky Californian

with the spectacles.

Frank Deford: She was always just scampering all over the court.

It was just constant motion,

and I think that was so different

and so much fun.

( spectators clapping )

King: I would've liked to have been a little bit taller,

but I had enough,

and I could get down so well because of my short legs.

Male commentator: So, it's the American number one

serving for the championship.

I was sitting in the player's box

chewing my nails and watching Billie Jean.

- ( screams ) - Male commentator: That's it, she's won it.

Billie Jean, who toured Australia

in an effort to raise her game,

has certainly worked really hard for this triumph today.

King: First year I won singles,

you know, you're just in a different place.

Your head and your heart, your gut--

oh, it just took my breath away.

Reporter: How does it feel to be the new champ?

Well, I was very excited right after,

but right now I can hardly believe I've won,

and I probably won't realize it until tomorrow.

I presumed that she was gonna pursue her tennis,

but I was pretty naive.

My expectations were we'd settle down and have a family.

♪ This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius... ♪

King: I was pretty wired in the '60s.

I was interested in what was going on.

I think the women's movement was probably

one of the most misunderstood movements.

( chanting ) Equal pay for equal work!

When do we want it? Now!

King: The media, they always talked about

burning bras or something.

And, really, what it was was about empowering women.

Equality!

Larry King: The burning of bras just went right by her,

but once she got the connect that,

oh, this is about why she couldn't play football.

This is trying to move people

toward equal pay and equal treatment--

then Billie Jean understood it totally.

Women: Equality!

( spectators clapping )

King: By then, I was number one in the world.

I thought, "This is ridiculous.

Look at all these people paying money to come and watch us.

But we're not getting any of it."

Larry King: Of course, being number one in the world in tennis

wasn't a $14 million career like it is today.

It was an activity that you did till you got a real job.

Deford: Billie Jean grew up in a system

where you had to pretend to be an amateur,

and everybody around her, including her brother,

who was a baseball player,

was paid a dollar for a dollar's work.

You were supposed to play tennis for love,

and this didn't work

because the best players needed to be paid,

so that money came under the table.

It was called "shamateurism."

But in 1968, Wimbledon, among others, said,

"We're gonna go pro. We're gonna go open."

Suddenly, every amateur of any consequence

was a professional.

What it means is we finally started getting prize money.

But Larry thought, with open tennis,

that the men would squeeze the women out.

He was right.

I also had some other things weighing on my mind.

( shouting, chanting )

King: During the late '60s, early '70s,

the whole world was in tumult...

and so was I.

I was just a lost soul.

Usually, the court was my sanctuary.

I was just going through hell.

Larry King: She always feels grouchy during Wimbledon.

There's a lot of pressure.

It's not so much that she takes it out on me

as that she leaves me out of it.

Like, she likes to get off by herself and just think.

King: And I told Larry, "I don't know-- things aren't right."

And I didn't want to get into exactly why.

I'd think you'd like to be together and talk things out.

By then, I knew I had some interest in women.

And I'm going, "Oh, no.

I don't understand what's going on."

I felt like I was betraying him.

I was a mess.

I had no thought to anything else

other than being with Billie Jean,

even though our lives were taking us seriously

more and more into separate space.

King: Oh, I think he was getting inklings,

but I couldn't even get the words out.

I was so ashamed. I couldn't even say "gay"

or "homosexual" or something to that--

or "lesbian" to Larry. I couldn't even get it out.

I couldn't even get it out to anybody, let alone him.

I couldn't even get it out for myself.

To speak about being gay or lesbian was a no-no,

and if it was talked about at all publicly,

there was so much hostility.

Besides all this, we're in the beginning

of women's professional tennis.

( applause )

Deford: Women's tennis never had the cachet

that men's tennis had.

When it came time for the guys to make money in an honest way,

they had no interest in bringing the women along.

So you take someone like Jack Kramer,

who ran the big tournament in Southern California.

In Jack's eyes, the "dames" didn't put anybody in the seats,

so he said, "All right, we'll give 'em 10 percent

and they can fill in a few hours in the afternoon."

The ratio was something like the men got 12,000,

the women got about $1,500 for winning,

and for Billie Jean, that was not right.

Deford: She decided, "We've gotta set up our own equivalency

of what the men are doing."

Unless we got together as a group,

we weren't gonna have any power or say

as to what prize money was available for us.

Deford: Gladys Heldman put together a magazine called "World Tennis,"

and Gladys derived a lot of power from this.

She was who Billie Jean turned to

when it was time to try to strike out on their own.

Two other players-- Nancy Richey and Rosie Casals-- and I

went to Gladys Heldman and talked to her

about having a tour.

I said, "We've gotta have a contract with you, Gladys."

And she goes, "Okay, $1."

So we signed a symbolic $1 contract with her

just to get started.

Deford: When Billie Jean and the eight other players

became pros for $1,

the USLTA could've said, "You're out of here, ladies."

It's hard to imagine now that tennis federations

absolutely controlled players.

So it wasn't just that they were rebelling,

they were risking absolute banishment from tennis.

King: The women were scared because the USLTA

told us they weren't gonna let us play

in any tournaments anymore.

They said, "Well, we're gonna lose everything."

I said, "We've got bupkis.

We've got nothing. We have nothing to lose."

Deford: They couldn't just be

these wild nine women screaming, "We're pros!"

They had to have some substance,

and the substance came from Virginia Slims and Philip Morris.

Of course, it's an irony that it was a cigarette

which promoted this athletic venture.

As much as Billie Jean hated smoking,

she felt this extraordinary loyalty

and an obligation to Virginia Slims.

King: I knew what they could do for marketing our sport.

I knew they had the most money.

And bottom line,

we needed the money for our tour to succeed.

We really stepped it up after we started

the Virginia Slims Tour.

Deford: Billie Jean was the whole act.

She had to do all the promoting.

She was so clever about playing up to the press.

Aren't men really better tennis players than women?

I don't know. An awful lot of fellas

have been coming out to our tournaments.

I don't know if it's to watch the lace panties or what, but...

There was a certain kind of flirtation that went on,

trying to make this crazy act fly.

King: So the USTA reacted by starting their own professional tour,

and the Virginia Slims Tour is a professional tour,

so now we're divided.

And it just came down to who had the goods to survive.

Chris Evert was the best thing that happened to women's tennis.

When she played at the '71 U.S. Open,

it was unbelievable the coverage she got.

Reporter: What's it been like now that you're a tennis celebrity?

Chris Evert: I was just a shy little kid.

During the match, I'd be dreading the interviews

rather than my opponent.

Deford: Chrissie was adorable.

She was "Miss America Pie."

King: She has the looks like the girl next door.

People like that in America.

Commentator: This crowd has been all for Evert,

the little girl.

Now we could learn to love women's tennis

because Chrissie Evert was gonna be part of it.

Stage presence and extremely competitive.

I went, "Whoo-hoo, I think we have the next champion."

I think Billie Jean understood me right from day one.

The other tennis players,

many of them wouldn't even talk to me.

King: One of the biggest reasons that the other players

were having trouble was because Chris didn't come on our tour

and she was getting all the attention

and we're the ones who paved the way.

Evert: My dad made that decision. I had no say.

All I knew was that Virginia Slims

were sort of the "rebel circuit,"

and the USTA had threatened anyone

who joined the Virginia Slims Tour.

We had this vision,

and if she wasn't gonna be a part of it,

we probably weren't gonna make it.

Commentator: No doubt that this tennis match has created more excitement

than any match at Forest Hills in a long time.

When I played Chris in '71, that was the only time I've cried before a match.

Commentator: Billie Jean knows that if Chrissie

gets into this match at all,

13,000 people will be riding right with her.

King: If she won,

the Virginia Slims Tour could fail. I couldn't take a chance that it could happen.

( spectators cheering )

Commentator: Billie Jean is not gonna let go today.

She wants to send this kid back to school quick.

I'm really glad I won. ( laughs )

Commentator: That's it. Billie Jean is the winner.

Deford: It was perfect because it built women's tennis up,

but it didn't allow Chris to run away

with women's tennis at that time.

She's a personality now, and I think that's why those people were there,

and I think that's great for tennis.

Deford: Billie Jean had the foresight to tell the other players,

"Hitch your wagon to this star

'cause she's gonna take us forward."

Evert: When I joined the Slims Circuit two years later,

it was the right time.

Everybody was ready to form into one professional circuit.

The bottom line is we have to be together.

We have to be together in this.

To the queen of tennis.

I bet you my head's too big.

( reporters clapping )

In 1971, Billie Jean was winning $100,000 in prize money.

- Richard Nixon: Hello? - Hello, Mr. President?

Yes, I just wanted to congratulate you on the--

I'm glad to see a fellow Californian gets over $100,000.

Well, thanks very much.

Larry King: I ran eight or nine tournaments that year,

so I was totally busy.

It's a wonder that I managed to get Billie Jean pregnant.

King: Every woman has her reason.

No one ever takes that lightly.

You signed that "We had an abortion" declaration in "Ms."

I knew we'd have to get into this.

King: "Ms." magazine was trying to get as many women as possible

to say they had an abortion.

I don't think it's really anybody's business.

Yeah, but on the other hand, you signed the public declaration.

Oh, I know. I had an abortion.

- Yeah. - But I don't think the reason--

anyone has to know. I can say that it was not because of my career.

Larry's the one that entered my name,

and he told me after the fact.

I was not happy.

Larry King: She was really lukewarm

to having her name in "Ms." magazine,

even though she wanted to support them,

and she felt it was a woman's choice.

I thought the greater good

was to stand with the other women.

I encouraged her to do it,

and the only objection that she had

was that her mother would find out that she had an abortion.

I like to tell my parents first. That's important to me.

Do you want to have children one day?

Yes, I do.

I wanted children.

I didn't want to be married to Larry anymore.

I wanted a divorce in '69.

Larry didn't,

and I didn't want to bring a child into the world

when our relationship was, um...

not right.

If she had these thoughts, she never expressed them to me,

or I never recognized them if she expressed them.

I didn't hear them, which is, I guess, a male trait--

you don't hear what you don't want to hear.

We come here as women who earn 58 cents

for every dollar earned by men.

( chanting ) Hey, hey, what do you say? Ratify the ERA.

King: I was a feminist. I was proud of it.

I used to have discussions with Gloria Steinem and others.

...projects that allow women to maximize

their chances for change...

King: Feminism to me--

and I think it meant different things to everybody--

to me, it just means equal opportunity for boys and girls.

And girls are underserved. It's very easy.

I testified on Capitol Hill

on behalf of Title IX,

and everybody thinks it's about sports and it isn't.

It was about everything.

Deford: Title IX is very simple--

if the men get this in school, the women get this in school.

They gotta have the same amount of money.

Basically, that's it.

I think it's fair to say that Title IX

was absolutely revolutionary.

As far as budgets, it's 99-to-one

in favor of boys' programs in the school system.

Deford: Billie became not only a leader in tennis,

but a symbol in the women's movement.

How do you think that it got that way to begin with--

that there was such a discrepancy?

Because men are the ones who have the control.

And the word "strident" was applied to her,

I think, in the same way that any African-American

at that time who voiced themselves

was being called "arrogant."

"Billie Jean was strident."

Commentator: That's it.

King: Everybody knew who I was in 1972, '73.

Those were big years for the tour, for feminism, for me.

Deford: The "Sports Illustrated" Sportsman of the Year Award

was very much giving the magazine's

stamp of approval to someone as a person

and not just a player.

'72 was a tremendous push from women

who thought that Billie Jean King deserved it.

A lot of men felt that John Wooden was the obvious choice.

It had always gone to a man.

I don't think a woman had ever been seriously considered.

Andre Laguerre, who was the managing editor, passed me in the hall and he said,

"What's this I hear about Billie Jean King being a lesbian?"

And I said, "Andre, come on.

You know they say that about all women athletes."

That's all I said.

Finally, you know, he "split the baby,"

but someone had broached the subject with him

and he was prepared to pull her out.

It's the first time "Sports Illustrated" has ever honored a woman athlete,

so, for me, I feel fantastic about it.

Of course, at this time in my life--

it comes at a really great time.

King: When I first met Marilyn Barnett,

I met her as my hairdresser.

I enjoyed talking to her, but I had no idea

we were gonna have an affair.

She did travel with me the year of 1973.

Larry King: The first time I met Marilyn, I didn't think much about it.

Billie Jean had always needed somebody to tour with her,

carrying her bags and answering the phones.

Later on, it became obvious that Marilyn was more than a bag carrier.

King: She was a refuge for me.

It was fun just to have a place

that wasn't a part of my usual world.

Larry King: If that's where her life took her,

then I still loved her.

My love was not conditioned on her patting my head.

Evert: When I saw Larry sitting with Marilyn

watching Billie Jean,

I was just trying to figure out-- how did it work?

Nobody was making any judgments,

and everybody was cool with it.

Larry King: I never worried about it as long as it didn't

intrude on my relationship with Billie Jean.

She was beautiful, she was sweet,

but I started to see parts of her that I didn't like--

being selfish and extremely controlling--

so I started getting scared.

I needed to wake up, but I was right in the throes of playing tennis.

A lot was happening. 1973 was a real pivotal year.

A few years earlier, the men had formed the ATP.

I said, "I hope you're including the women."

They said, "You must be joking."

Deford: You know, she came from a union family,

and I think she understood that if the men players had a union,

then it was pretty damn important for the women, too.

We had this meeting in London, "Okay, we're gonna vote,"

and lo and behold, we had the Women's Tennis Association--

the WTA.

I was thrilled that the women could truly join each other

and make us much stronger.

Deford: She's putting a union together at night,

and then she'll go out and play matches during the day.

( spectators applauding )

Commentator: Billie Jean, of course,

is about to attempt to create a postwar record,

her fifth Wimbledon final.

Evert: When I walked on the court with Billie Jean,

I didn't give myself much of a chance.

( spectators applauding )

Evert: She was at the peak of her game.

Yeah, I was intimidated.

Commentator: It's out, and there's the championship

for Billie Jean.

Deford: She was going out and winning at Wimbledon--

mixed, doubles and singles--

and created a union, too.

And on the seventh day, Billie rested.

King: That was a thrilling year, '73, when I won all three.

Yeah, oh, yeah. I had to play that guy, Bobby Riggs, also.

Bobby Riggs: American women are the most privileged group

of all time in history and they're still not satisfied.

King: I used to hear all the Bobby Riggs stories.

I grew up in Southern California where he grew up.

And he-- ( laughs )

he was born a hustler.

He was a "PK." He was a preacher's kid.

Either they follow Daddy into the ministry

or they go off in a completely different direction,

and that was the kind of PK that Bobby was.

He was a little guy,

and in '39, he swept Wimbledon.

He won it more up here than he did anywhere else.

He got into women's tennis,

and this was the supreme hustle of all time.

King: He wanted to make a lot of money.

You know, when we started the tour,

we started to get some attention,

and Bobby Riggs wanted to get in on it.

Deford: He seemed to get this ragtag army of men

who rejected the women's movement.

He became an icon, and he played it to a hilt.

I'm fighting for the guys.

They're all gonna get married in the next--

when they get 20, 21 or two,

and we gotta stop those women right now, see.

Deford: Riggs, being a very clever guy,

he wanted Billie Jean King.

It was assumed that if he was this loudmouth

speaking out for men,

then that's what she had to be for women,

which wasn't the case at all.

I didn't want to get caught up in this sideshow.

Next challenge, Matt. Next challenge.

King: He's 55 years old, and from an athletic point of view,

it's no big deal even if I beat him.

If I lose, people can start using this

as a reason not to want women

to have equal opportunity.

When Billie wouldn't have anything to do with him,

the only person who was on the level with her

was Margaret Court of Australia.

Commentator: Margaret Court, who has won more major

tennis championships than anyone else.

Deford: Maybe Margaret was the marginally better player,

but whatever that meter is where people's popularity is known,

Margaret Court was down here and Billie Jean was up here.

Evert: You know, Margaret wasn't a real women's libber, anyway.

She didn't have a clue what the significance of this match was.

She thought she was just playing this old guy for a lot of money.

King: Margaret told me,

"Oh, I'm gonna play Bobby Riggs, by the way."

And I said to her, "Whatever you do,

promise me you're gonna beat him."

Deford: He caught her off guard by presenting her

the flowers for Mother's Day at the net at the beginning.

King: Margaret lost the match when she curtsied.

Oh-hh. I said, "How could she do that?"

And after that, it was just disaster written all over it.

For having won more Grand Slam titles than anybody, she choked.

Commentator: It's over. Bobby Riggs wins the point, the set, and the match,

beating the oddsmakers and Margaret Court.

When she lost-- ( smacks armrest )

that was it. I had to play him.

Margaret, I feel, had the most to lose.

Now that she went ahead and lost,

I feel like I have something to gain.

She's got to make it right now for women's tennis

because Margaret Court let all the women down all over the world.

Reporter: How are you gonna prepare for this match?

King: The contract was September 20th at the Astrodome.

Primetime television.

$100,000, winner-take-all.

$100,000 winner-take-all?

I'm known as the greatest match player of all time.

Any time they play for big money,

everybody'll tell you, you gotta go with Bobby Riggs.

I think Bobby enjoyed everything that led up to the match.

He was basking in that limelight.

All the ladies that he got,

all the hype, all the attention.

He had everybody going.

Billie Jean realized that Bobby was gonna try a lot of things.

King: I knew how Bobby Riggs played.

He hit a lot of spin and he hit a lot of lobs.

Ladies just don't know how to put the ball where I put 'em

with the stuff I put on the ball.

I had to be ready

and practiced about 350 overheads a day.

And as each day goes by, I get calmer and calmer.

- I think I'm better. - Well, what makes you think that I won't be able

to psych you out of the match just like I did Margaret?

Now what makes you think that?

I'm not Margaret Court. I love pressure.

You can try to psych me all you want.

Some people in professional tennis

are mortified at the circus atmosphere

surrounding this match.

Deford: I can't think of anything like it

in the history of sports.

It was all this women versus men,

and people are wearing buttons--

"I'm for Billie Jean," "I'm for Bobby."

And it is going to be the battle of the sexes.

Don't let anybody tell you it's any different.

King: There were a lot of battles going on behind the scenes.

One of them was I didn't wanna play this match

if Jack Kramer was in the booth.

Rosie Casals: When ABC selected Jack Kramer

to be the commentator with Howard Cosell and myself,

Billie Jean definitely said no.

She was still mad at Jack Kramer

going back several years

when he had run the big Southern California tournament

and wanted to give the women players a pittance.

She never got over that.

King: He didn't believe in women's tennis,

so why should he be a part of this match?

He doesn't believe in half of the match.

She said, "Larry, call Roone. Tell him the match is off."

Deford: Roone Arledge is the most powerful

and innovative sports television impresario.

I don't think Roone had the foggiest idea

that Billie Jean was prepared to pull out of the whole thing

if he kept Jack in the booth.

I'm not playing. Either he goes, I go.

Roone was fit to be tied.

"No athlete's gonna tell me

who we're gonna have as a commentator."

King: This is one time I had some leverage.

It was kind of exhilarating and, like...

empowering.

Larry King: Billie Jean had just faced him down,

and Roone recognized it and folded.

Announcer: Live from the Astrodome in Houston, Texas,

the Tennis Battle of the Sexes--

Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs.

I think probab Bobby Riggs will win it.

I think Billie Jean King is an excellent player.

I saw Bobby beat Margaret,

and I think that he's really a tough player,

so I'd have to give him the edge over Billie Jean.

Oh, I was such an idiot in those days.

I laugh when I see myself. I laugh.

I go, "You know, I-- I've changed."

Howard Cosell: What a scene it is-- the Houston Astrodome.

A wild scene almost reminiscent of college football.

Casals: I'm up in the booth with Howard Cosell

realizing how big this was.

Deford: It was part circus, it was part political convention,

it was part spectacular.

Cosell: More than 30,000 people are in this arena

for an all-time record tennis audience anywhere...

King: My parents were there. You know how often

my parents came to tennis? Rarely.

We know that Billie Jean can take Bobby to camp,

and that's why we're here-- to watch her win this big one.

Deford: Billie Jean showed up in this sedan chair

with this glistening outfit

that looked like she'd come from Las Vegas.

King: Jerry Perenchio, the promoter,

didn't think I'd get on it.

Well, a feminist can understand show business.

Deford: And Riggs comes out

with all kinds of beautiful women surrounding him,

and Billie Jean gives him a pig.

Cosell: Look at that male chauvinist pig.

The whole thing takes on almost a surreal atmosphere.

Cosell: And so the two players are out on the court.

King: My plan A was to be super aggressive--

get the point over with.

And then I thought, "You know what?

That doesn't feel right. I think I'm gonna go to plan B."

Cosell: They have started the match.

I was gonna make him run...

and run and run and run.

I don't care, whatever it takes.

I'm gonna beat you.

- Cosell: Look at that. - Casals: Fabulous shot.

Cosell: She's got him running.

Larry King: He hadn't prepared for Billie Jean,

and she was cold, cool, and determined,

and Bobby was sweating like a pig.

And Bobby, he's in trouble.

Cosell: He's fighting for his tennis life now.

He didn't know how to beat her.

She just manhandled him.

I mean, it was a complete rout.

( cheering )

Cosell: Let's watch Bobby Riggs gracefully accept...

I was just like a washrag,

and it was all I could do to get up.

I was so happy for Billie Jean.

Cosell: Excitement engendered all over the country...

Larry King: This is one of those moments you treasure forever.

There was no security at this match,

so George Foreman became one of my bodyguards.

- And $100,000. - ( laughs )

Randy Moffitt: I was sitting in my bed

eating chicken wings and watching my sister.

I did quite well financially that day, too.

( laughs )

King: I know people think it was just fun.

It was not fun for me.

( cheering )

King: I wanted to get it over with, have it part of history.

Margaret went and opened the door,

and I hope I shut the door.

Deford: If she'd lost,

it truly would've hurt women's tennis,

and it would've hurt Billie Jean King.

I don't think that she would have remained

as substantive a character thereafter.

I'm sure that most people felt

that she couldn't stand Bobby Riggs.

I think there was a great part of her that liked him.

She stayed in touch with him literally till the day he died.

King: Near the end, in a very soft voice,

he said, "We really did make a difference, didn't we?"

The last thing I ever said to Bobby was, "I love you."

Larry King: Beating a man wasn't really the important thing.

The important thing was that women professional athletes

deserved an opportunity to be as good as they could be

in whatever endeavor they chose.

That's what won that night.

Billie Jean King triumphed

over the self-proclaimed "male chauvinist pig" Bobby Riggs.

The outcome even drew attention on the Senate floor.

Democratic leader Mansfield said he was delighted and, quote,

"There has to be good news once in a while."

Minority leader Scott said Mrs. King's victory, quote,

"ratified the 26th amendment."

That's the Equal Rights Amendment.

Deford: She was absolutely a symbol at that time.

Everywhere she went, she was known.

"Seventeen" magazine polled its readers,

and she was voted the most respected woman in the world.

Golda Meir of Israel was second.

Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Billie Jean King.

King: Being a celebrity was really important,

because if you're gonna transcend your sport,

you've gotta touch people's hearts somehow, or their minds,

and get them to pay attention.

( audience applauding )

Hi, Billie Jean. Long time no see.

Who'd you hustle today?

Well, at least you're smarter now. You're only playing men.

She couldn't go anywhere without women coming up

and wanting to touch her.

In tennis, she was not only near the top of her game,

but she also was sort of running the show.

Commentator: Look out.

Deford: She was sort of like an octopus.

She had her tentacles everywhere.

I am pleased to present you with this award

as Outstanding Woman Athlete of 1973.

Thank you.

King: The Women's Sports Foundation was formed in May of '74.

Well, I'd like this to go to Women's Sports Foundation...

King: Got a $5,000 check from Bob Hope.

We wanted to change the attitude

towards girls and women in sports,

and we wanted to give grants to grassroots programs.

To do this and be successful,

we're gonna need some high-profile trustees

to get behind the idea.

And that's how I met Sparky.

Charles Schulz-- Sparky's his nickname--

I just loved him from the very first moment.

He became an immediate trustee

and believed that we could do anything.

I was so thankful that he was in my life...

because some people are really highly skilled

or number one in their field

and they're not really nice people

or not really the kind of person I want to be around.

But I did want to be around Sparky

and I did want to be around Elton.

I fell in love with Elton John in '71.

Elton John: I first met her at a party in Hollywood.

We're both glasses wearers.

I think we both hid behind our glasses a little bit,

but as soon as I met her, I warmed to her immediately.

King: And Elton said, "Okay, we have to get together."

I called him and he came right over in his Rolls-Royce.

That's what he had. 28 speakers.

( music playing )

John: So I blasted her out of that car.

King: And a little later on, I was at one of his concerts.

It's Billie Jean King.

King: Now I became an immediate BV-- backup vocalist.

( singing )

King: I did that quite often, actually,

and I had no idea what I was doing

and I loved every minute of it.

John: She wanted to feel what I felt onstage.

I could never do that on court with her

except at a World Team Tennis Match.

Great shot!

King: In '74, Larry and I were involved

in forming World Team Tennis.

World Team Tennis was everything Billie Jean wanted for tennis.

The idea allowed the men and women to be totally equal.

King: And Americans understand team sports.

They understand city versus city,

and all those things were very important to us.

Announcer: The great Billie Jean King

will be playing for Philadelphia.

( audience cheering )

Announcer: Billie Jean King!

Evert: I loved the concept.

I'm a big fan of World Team Tennis.

I was cheering on my teammates

as well as they were cheering me on,

and it was just totally a new concept for me.

Evert: There's so much excitement in that arena,

and with the different color court,

it was pure entertainment.

Commentator: Evert forehand, King backhand,

volley, backhand, volley.

Evert backhand, volley, and a point!

Oh, Mother Freedom, Billie Jean King delivers.

Martina Navratilova: I loved it. All the top players played.

It's great as a tennis player that you can be part of a team.

It makes sense.

Evert: You get to travel together and form friendships,

some people more than that, and it was a ball.

John: I said to her that I'd like to write a song

for the Philadelphia Freedoms.

It's lucky that they were called the Philadelphia Freedoms

and not the Boston Lobsters.

♪ Philadelphia Freedom... ♪

John: And, you know, it's lasted quite a long time.

Every time I play it, I always think of her.

♪ Yes, I do... ♪

Yes!

Commentator: That's one of them.

At the end of '78, I ran into Martina,

and she said, "Let's play Wimbledon next year,

get your 20th."

Commentator: Mrs. King in search of this 20th title.

No doubt the pressure's beginning to bear a bit.

Navratilova: I knew this was probably Billie's last chance

at breaking the record 'cause she was past her prime.

I wanted Billie to win that title and make history.

I was glad that I was able to help her.

- Martina: All right! - Commentator: That's it, she's done it.

( spectators cheering )

An historic day and another chapter

now written by Billie Jean King.

Evert: I mean, you can take anything else

away from her tennis record-wise,

but don't take the Wimbledon one away from her.

Commentator: Her 20th title.

One wonders whether it will ever be beaten.

Six singles, 10 doubles, and four mixed.

Evert: Billie Jean is Wimbledon.

King: I felt safe on a tennis court.

It's my stage for whatever time I was out there.

I'm gonna enjoy this moment

and escape all the other problems in my life.

But it didn't last.

A palimony suit has been filed against Billie Jean King,

the tennis player, by a woman who lived with her in the 1970s.

Marilyn Barnett alleges that she and Mrs. King

had a lesbian relationship.

She is seeking half the property

Mrs. King acquired during that time.

I hardly saw Marilyn, actually,

except for the year 1973.

It was emotional blackmail, financial blackmail.

Quite frankly, I was really afraid of her,

and that's when I really wanted that press conference.

Was I scared to death? Yes.

But I'd felt truly-- if I was true to myself,

I didn't have a choice.

I did have an affair with Marilyn Barnett.

It's been over for quite some time,

but it's very important to me

to thank Larry because I love him very much.

He's my lover, my husband, and my best friend.

Has been for 19 years.

Larry King: Anybody would support their wife in this situation--

you know, when they get stabbed in the back.

I would like to thank my parents for standing by me.

Randy Moffitt: It was a really tough time for our family.

And coming out as she-- well, she didn't come out.

She was kicked in, basically, I'd call it.

Navratilova: To be outed in that form--

you wouldn't wish that on your worst enemy.

Billie Jean, it's now being said...

King: The one thing I did say is that it was a mistake.

I did make a mistake.

I am married, it is wrong.

King: And I think the lesbian/ gay/bisexual/

and transgender community

felt it was a mistake because I'd been with a woman,

and that's not what I meant.

It was a mistake because I believe in monogamy,

and I think people got confused,

and I'm sorry there was that confusion.

Can your marriage survive this?

It can as far as I'm concerned.

I don't anticipate that it wouldn't.

Well, for me, it can. I was--

I told you, you can divorce me anytime.

King: We tried again after that, but it was a lie,

and I tried to get him to leave.

I'd ask him, but then he'd always come back,

and I'd let him in.

So that was really my fault.

Reporter: It was a decision met by Billie Jean King

with tearful emotions.

I have to resolve that issue against Miss Barnett.

King: The judge ruled that it was the closest to extortion

that he'd ever seen.

But, you know, for me personally,

the damage had already been done.

Deford: She knew she was going to lose

all sorts of endorsements in the process.

Here she was, the former champion of the world,

and she's playing without a clothing contract.

She was just wearing stuff off the rack.

Navratilova: To be losing endorsements,

what, because of your sexual orientation?

She did not deserve what she got on that one.

Ilana Kloss: She's getting ready to retire.

It was a scary time. I mean, I think--

Billie Jean was still married,

I was starting to be in her life.

King: I hadn't really seen her or talked to her for years.

I'd say hi to her on the tour, like, in passing.

I met Ilana for the first time-- she was a ball girl.

Kloss: It was 1967, the South African Open.

She was my idol.

I met her when I was 11 years old.

Little did I know what was gonna follow in my lifetime.

For some reason, we went out to dinner in '79,

and I hadn't seen her for all these years

and I thought, "Jeez, I'd like to see more of Ilana."

At that time, I didn't think of it in a romantic way.

I did spend some time with Billie Jean then as a friend.

She asked me to play doubles with her.

I realized that she was really somebody that I loved.

King: We really started getting interested in each other.

It took her a little while to, you know, be able to say,

"You know what? I shouldn't be married.

It's not right for me. It's not right for Larry.

It's not fair to me."

King: I had wanted this divorce from Larry for a long time.

I was so paralyzed for so long,

and I needed to stop it.

Larry King: I think Billie Jean felt that she was releasing me

and letting me have the life I expected.

I wasn't a Goody Two-Shoes.

I was having relationships,

and people make accommodations.

She was helping me and I was helping her

by being divorced.

I knew this was-- you know, Ilana's the one.

Ilana's much more grounded.

I'm more the highty-flighty, expansive one.

When you're around Billie Jean...

Thanks a lot.

Kloss: ...you really are attracted

by this energy and this commitment.

You're improving. Keep working on your game.

Oh, thanks. I really appreciate that.

Kloss: You know, I do think we complete each other.

Okay, it's been real.

King: I really feel it took me till I was 51

to come to peace with my parents about my sexuality.

I probably tried to talk to my mother for the first time

in the early '70s about it,

and I just...

no guts, no glory, and I just couldn't do it.

She walked-- my mom walked out of the room and...

"I don't talk about things like this.

You're not like that."

But I grew up in a family where doing

is what we talked about, not what we're feeling.

Later in life, my family therapist really helped.

We really did try to talk it through.

That was tough. It was tough on my parents,

and...

my dad was so cute.

"Be patient with your mother. She'll come around."

( laughs )

So...

my mom took longer, but she got there.

Most parents dream of their children

growing up and getting married and having kids,

but I think it's hard to argue with the love

that Billie Jean and I share.

Randy Moffitt: They have a great relationship, my parents do, with Ilana.

It's just a good situation.

King: I have a great life with my parents now.

No lies, no secrets.

It's just like-- whew--

I can breathe.

If you ask Billie Jean where is her favorite place to go to lunch?

She will tell you it's Costco with her parents

for a hot dog and a frozen yogurt.

King: Everything is reconciled.

Every little thing, and that's what I wanted.

Woman: Would you please welcome Billie Jean King?

( cheering, applause )

King: What's really interesting is I finally have gotten paid

because I'm a lesbian.

There's a market out there now.

Because, I tell ya, it really helps if you know,

truly, who you are,

and to be dedicated to your truth is huge.

Dedication to my truth.

I mean, that is so contrary

to what I experienced 25 years ago.

I still think it's a dream.

I'd like everyone to wish her the best.

- Happy birthday, Billie. - Thank you.

King: I feel like a youngster inside.

In my heart, I feel like I'm 17 years old still.

I always want to remain young at heart

'cause that's what gives me the drive to keep going.

And I'm really lucky and very blessed

with the people and friends in my life.

Betty Moffitt: I could see the growth through the years

of what she was trying to do and accomplish.

To have a dream come true is very important.

Randy Moffitt: Billie Jean was never afraid to voice her opinions.

Made a lot of people angry, made a lot of people happy,

but that's my sister.

Larry King: Billie Jean's true to her character.

She wants to change the world.

She's inspiring.

Never regretted a day I spent with Billie Jean.

I don't think anybody does.

She is somebody you believe in

when she tells you you can achieve, you can accomplish.

As great a tennis champion as she was,

I don't even think about what she did on the court

as much as how she had the vision

to look ahead and see how far she could take

not only women's tennis, but women's sports.

Navratilova: We needed somebody that could really spearhead

the movement of equality for women tennis players,

therefore women athletes, therefore women.

We're all grateful for that.

Deford: She and Jackie Robinson

are the two figures in sports

who stand out in the culture.

She should be honored for what she did.

She did a lot.

If there was a knighthood system in America,

she'd be Dame Billie Jean King.

She deserves that sort of accolade

for what she's done with her life.

Kloss: When you are a Billie Jean King

and you're a pioneer and you're trying to crash down doors,

you don't always feel a lot of love,

and for Billie, it's about the process,

and that certainly yields the greatest gift.

King: I'm having a great time

even though I get discouraged sometimes.

If you're a girl or woman, you're supposed to be really happy

when you get the crumbs.

I don't want the crumbs anymore.

I want the cake and the icing,

and everybody deserves the cake and the icing.

( music playing )

Announcer: This has been a presentation of HBO Sports.