Helene Elliott: Billie Jean King's 'Battle of the Sexes' triumph still inspiring 50 years later
LOS ANGELES — Billie Jean King was carried out to the makeshift tennis court set up in the Houston Astrodome on a gilded, feather-decked chair held by muscular costumed athletes from Rice University, an over-the-top entrance for an over-the-top event.
Bobby Riggs was brought out in a rickshaw, escorted by models known as "Bobby's Bosom Buddies." After a successful career in which he won U.S. amateur and professional championships, a Wimbledon singles title and the No. 1 world ranking in 1939, he had slid into gray territory, becoming a bettor and brash hustler. True to form, he wore a jacket bearing the logo of Sugar Daddy candy that night. The women who surrounded him wore tight T-shirts with the same logo.
