Stuff You Should Know

The Battle of the Sexes

February 26, 2026

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  • The 1973 Battle of the Sexes match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs occurred during a period of significant momentum for women's rights and advocacy, including the recent passage of Title IX. 
  • Billie Jean King's victory was highly symbolic for the women's rights movement, contrasting with Bobby Riggs's behavior, which may have been largely a calculated publicity stunt or 'pre-internet troll' act to generate hype. 
  • Prior to the main event, Margaret Court lost a match to Bobby Riggs (the 'Mother's Day Massacre'), which motivated Billie Jean King to accept the challenge to ensure the symbolic importance of the women's movement was not set back by a loss. 

Segments

Podcast Introduction and Roles
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(00:01:46)
  • Key Takeaway: The hosts of Stuff You Should Know introduced the episode by assigning themselves the roles of Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs for a dramatic reading.
  • Summary: Josh and Chuck began the episode by setting the stage for the story of The Battle of the Sexes. Chuck took on the role of Bobby Riggs, the self-proclaimed male chauvinist pig, while Josh played champion Billie Jean King. This framing device was used to introduce the central conflict of the episode.
Chuck’s High School Visit
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(00:01:59)
  • Key Takeaway: Chuck shared a positive experience speaking to a junior class of about 200 students at Midtown High School in Atlanta about podcasting.
  • Summary: Chuck detailed a recent visit to Midtown High School where he addressed a junior class about creating podcasts inspired by Stuff You Should Know. The students were highly engaged, asking great questions and debating philosophical topics. Chuck left feeling optimistic about the future based on the quality of the students and teachers he met.
Setting the Stage: Early 1970s Context
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(00:09:27)
  • Key Takeaway: The early 1970s were a volatile time marked by major women’s rights advancements, including Roe v. Wade and Title IX, coinciding with tennis becoming increasingly popular due to the introduction of ‘Open’ tournaments.
  • Summary: The early 1970s saw significant momentum for feminism, evidenced by the ERA and Title IX requiring equal athletic opportunities in schools. Simultaneously, tennis popularity surged as major tournaments began allowing professionals, leading to increased media attention for the sport.
Billie Jean King’s Activism and Pay Disparity
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(00:11:40)
  • Key Takeaway: Billie Jean King was already a highly accomplished player and tireless activist fighting wage disparity, noting that in 1968, male champions earned two to three times more than women, a gap that widened as the sport grew.
  • Summary: By 1973, Billie Jean King was a top-ranked player and a dedicated feminist activist, recalling an early incident where she was excluded from a photo for wearing shorts instead of a skirt. In 1968, the prize money disparity at Wimbledon was significant, with the men’s champion earning 2,000 pounds compared to the women’s 750 pounds.
Founding the Virginia Slim Circuit
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(00:14:18)
  • Key Takeaway: To combat pay inequality, Billie Jean King and Gladys Heldman organized the ‘Original Nine’ to boycott a tournament and form their own professional circuit, sponsored by Virginia Slims cigarettes.
  • Summary: When the Pacific Southwest Open offered a $12,500 purse for men versus $1,500 for women in 1970, King and Heldman created a competing tour. The USLTA threatened suspension, but the nine players signed $1 contracts to form the Virginia Slim Circuit, which eventually forced the USLTA to merge with them.
Formation of the WTA
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(00:21:32)
  • Key Takeaway: Billie Jean King spearheaded the formation of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) in 1973, which immediately leveraged its power to successfully demand equal prize money at the US Open.
  • Summary: In 1973, Billie Jean King organized 63 other players in London to form the WTA, establishing a union for female athletes. This new organization immediately threatened to boycott the US Open unless equal prize money was provided, a demand which was subsequently met.
Bobby Riggs’s Persona and Challenge
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(00:22:41)
  • Key Takeaway: Former top player Bobby Riggs, known as a gambler and ‘pre-internet troll,’ publicly challenged Billie Jean King to prove his chauvinistic views that men were superior to women in tennis.
  • Summary: Bobby Riggs, a former world number one who turned to hustling and gambling, adopted an offensive, loudmouth persona to gain media attention for his challenge. He claimed any top-100 male player could beat Billie Jean King, viewing the match as a publicity gambit.
The Mother’s Day Massacre Match
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(00:26:44)
  • Key Takeaway: Margaret Court, the world number one at the time, accepted Riggs’s challenge first on Mother’s Day 1973 and lost after Riggs employed ‘joke tennis’ tactics like drop shots, which threw her off her game.
  • Summary: Margaret Court lost to Bobby Riggs in a three-set match on Mother’s Day, where Riggs used distracting, non-serious shots to win. Riggs trained intensely for this match, and his presentation of roses to Court was seen by King as playing into his hands.
King Accepts the Challenge
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(00:29:08)
  • Key Takeaway: Motivated by Court’s loss and the perceived disrespect shown to Riggs, Billie Jean King agreed to play, leading to massive media hype dubbed ‘The Liber versus the Lobber.’
  • Summary: King agreed to play Riggs because she felt she needed to step up after Court’s loss, viewing the event as symbolic of women’s rights. Riggs amplified the spectacle, appearing on the cover of Time magazine and making increasingly offensive comments, such as suggesting King would choke due to lack of emotional stability.
Match Day Spectacle and Arrival
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(00:33:32)
  • Key Takeaway: The match on September 20, 1973, at the Houston Astrodome drew 30,000 live spectators and an estimated 90 million global viewers, making it a massive media event.
  • Summary: The event was heavily commercialized, with ABC earning $1.2 million from ads, and featured elaborate entrances: Riggs arrived on a carriage pulled by women in togas, while King arrived on a platform carried by shirtless men in togas. Riggs was sponsored by Sugar Daddy Candy and presented King with a giant candy, to which she countered by gifting him a piglet named Bobby Riggs.
The Match Outcome and Strategy
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(00:40:19)
  • Key Takeaway: Billie Jean King won the best-of-five-set match in straight sets (6-4, 6-3, 6-3) by strategically tiring Riggs out with long volleys after losing an early lead in the crucial first set.
  • Summary: King recognized the importance of winning the first set to maintain psychological control, coming back from a 3-2 deficit to win it 6-4. She then deliberately extended rallies to tire the 55-year-old Riggs, who had not trained as rigorously for this match as he had for Court’s. King’s victory was decisive, securing her $100,000 prize from George Foreman.
Media Reaction and Riggs’s Dignity
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(00:42:45)
  • Key Takeaway: Despite the media focusing on sensationalized, sexist narratives, Bobby Riggs accepted his defeat with grace, hopping the net to tell King he underestimated her, though rumors persist that he threw the match for gambling debts.
  • Summary: Media coverage often reverted to sexist tropes, such as the New York Times focusing on King collapsing in tears, missing the significance of her athletic victory. Riggs, however, maintained his dignity post-match, admitting King was too strong, though later reports suggested he may have thrown the match due to mob-related gambling debts.
Billie Jean King’s Legacy Post-Match
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(00:47:15)
  • Key Takeaway: Billie Jean King continued her advocacy by founding the Women’s Sports Foundation in 1974 and later courageously stood by her identity after being forcibly outed in 1981, eventually marrying fellow tennis player Ilana Kloss in 2018.
  • Summary: King established the Women’s Sports Foundation to support female athletes, continuing her fight for equality long after the match. In 1981, she was outed via a lawsuit but refused to deny her sexuality, remaining married to her husband until 1987 before marrying Ilana Kloss. The fight for equal pay in tennis continued, with full equality across all Grand Slams not achieved until 2007.
Listener Mail and Apologies
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(00:50:59)
  • Key Takeaway: The hosts apologized to an Irish listener for accidentally committing ‘Irish erasure’ by incorrectly identifying explorer Ernest Shackleton and Tom Crean as British during a previous episode.
  • Summary: The hosts dedicated listener mail to apologizing for misidentifying Irish figures Ernest Shackleton and Tom Crean as British during a discussion on Third Man Syndrome. The listener, Aoifa, pointed out that Shackleton was born in County Kildare and Crean in County Kerry, noting that Irish people often object to being called British.