Bobby Riggs on 60 Minutes

[clearflower]

I never trust these hyped exhibition matches. It's like watching "professional" wrestling.

[grasd2]

he still beat Margaret Court at the age of 55, she was the best female tennis player in the world at the time. if men and women are really equal in tennis, how could that possibly happen? using the men and women are truly equal in athletics logic, that would be like Björn Borg coming out of retirement and beating Djokovic right now. anyone could tell you that wouldn't be possible though.

[Bascomblodge]

Truth be told, Bobby was having arm problems at the time and was taking a medicine which caused his legs to be shaky. If you will note in the match he served and vollied a lot because he didn't have the legs to stay out there. Also because Bobby had defeated Margret Court so badly and Billie Jean was not as good as her, he didn't train as hard as he did for the first match. If BJK had given him a rematch he would have beaten her badly but BJK blackballed him from playing anymore ladies.

[xyPERSON]

I truly believe that Bobby Riggs was a decent guy and not the chauvanistic pig that the media and society made him out to be. Like his counterpart Billie Jean King,he was simply playing a role assigned to him and a lot of women who really only viewed King as their symbol of femininity found it more convenient to hate his guts.

[peterpeterxxo]

the riggs v king battle of the sexes in sept 1973 was at the houston astrodome i think it must have been on tv or at least recorded, but folk on here say they cant find any clips ????.

[molecularmadness]

pffft...men are better athletes than women. An old man playing a professional female tennis player at her peak? How is that an actual contest?? Federer would annihilate any of the top 5 women (as would any other guy int he top 20).

[MaxSachs]

This guy must have had a fun time in life.

[thefairlysimple1]

we were discussing this today, so i looked this up, and this guy was a really nice guy, i love him, i was very young in 73, but i hadnt heard of this game for a long time, brings back a lot of memories thanks for uploading

[dredandmrbears]

hahahaha master showman, by todays standards almost loveable, but I remember when I was a kid he was quite controversial.

[donniedarkodevotte]

Well, he lost that last bet. He died at the age of 77. Can't win them all. Not when you're betting against death.

[stonem001]

haha this guy reminds me of larry david!

[mermaidofsuburbia]

Billie Jean said in a documentary about her that she spoke to Bobby the night before his death and his last words to her were 'i love you'. He also said he did not want her to visit him because he didn't want her to see him in a weakened condition.

[celticbanner18]

I just searched the internet and Answers.com say that he got both serves and did not have to cover the doubles alleys. However, I would like to see the match again myself to verify their answer.

[OutlanderWarrior]

@celticbanner18, I can settle it for you (I'm a tennis pro myself). The match was played under normal rules. However, Riggs was 55 years old at the time, while King was 29 and the second-ranked female player in the world. Even so, he had beaten Margaret Court, the best female player, 6-2, 61 the year before at the age of 54. But he had let his conditioning slip markedly between the two matches (gained some weight, for instance), and, at 55, that was just too much of a liability.

[kloatlanta]

@celticbanner18

They played on equal terms...that is well known. I have seen the match.

[celticbanner18]

Here is why I think the match is not on youtube:

The rules totally favored Billy Jean. He only got one serve to her two. I think she also got the doubles alleys.. If this is true, it gave her an unbeatable advantage and diminishes Women's Lib's great victory. Therefore, it isn't politically correct to show the match and thus display her unfair advantages. I have searched and searched and have not found the video which would prove the rules one way or another. Does anyone have it?

[conostar]

anyone interested in bobby riggs should read the book, Fast Company by Jon Bradshaw. Each chapter focusses on a different hustler. There's quite a long section on Riggs match v Margaret Court

[golchhasanchit]

Bobby earlier beat Margret Court in straight sets an Australian, and then lost to Billie Jean a fellow American. Great hustle huh.

[plzbmine02]

i agree with sconz32...

why isn't it on youtube?

[MaxSachs]

Bobby Riggs was a LEGENDARY hustler, what better time to increase the hustle is in your 50s. Rofl!

[Diamidov11]

hahaha 135 pills 3 times a day?

[Currymastuh]

those vitamins cant be healthy

[SPOOKSTR]

A fist full of pills and a slug of liquor ...right on bobby...is he still alive and kicking? or did he die soon after the drug cocktail?

Good to see the old Brown Bomber...

[laxman9677]

pills and scotch. what a champ

[insultcomic]

she only won cause she's a Hermaphrodite she got a dick inside her/him

[Sconz32]

why the fuck isnt the actual match on youtube

[DIANAROSS4EVER]

yeah i'd love to watch it

[deltapunk21]

Vitamin Man

[murphyjohndaniel]

looks like a real fun guy to be around

[mao12345]

He does sound very good natured and not at all mean spirited.

[loveneo89]

wow! many pills!

[OutlanderWarrior]

Except that the sexes aren't equal in the physical realm. men are far better at sports (even at the age of 54, Riggs destroyed the best female player, Margaret Court, the year before playing King). Why pretend otherwise?

[ApopheniaIV]

wonder if nadal or federer played with poodles tied to their legs.

[thewomandirector]

Bobby Riggs...one of the greatest characters who ever lived!

[gameguyomega]

god bobby riggs was a dousche! he wasnt hustled, he challenged Billie Jean King. hes just full of himself. sexist pig.

[landmineyouth]

live to be one of the greatest in the field in something you do in your life an then come back and talk to us about being full of yourself.

[gameguyomega]

... what the hell... excuse me, but i didnt post that... i have no idea who did...

[chrisrei10]

bobby riggs was a showman beyond all else....most people dont know that he won the triple at wimbledon in 1939......he had played margaret court earlier and defeated her easily...so he challenged king....but it was a way for him to make a buck at 55....he and king ended up being true friends...

[chapaev36]

You're wrong. Bobby was actually good friends with Billie; they were very close. A little bit of friendly competition didn't sour their relationship - if anything, it strengthened it. It's easy to prejudge, but Bobby was a good chap, quite lovable.

[angela333]

Was he also stupid? What the f*ck is he thinking by taking all those pills??!! Vitamins can kill too... idiot...

[cyberob12]

Bobby Riggs was more king con than king kong. In the Astrodome he was hustled by Billie Jean King.

[chrisrei10]

riggs was 55 at the time....king 29, at the peak of her career...it was pretty obvious who was gonna win to anyone....he was a showman, harmless if you look at todays crowd...

[OutlanderWarrior]

Yes, but even at his age he could have won. King said herself in a recent PBS interview that if he had been training he probably would have beaten her. Remember, he did destroy the number one female player, Margaret Court, the year before.

[orbison1988]

Bobby Riggs was a great tennis player!!!

[chrisrei10]

im glad someone else appreciates his skills...sure he hustled people for a living, but he was harmless...it wasnt like he put a gun to anyones head....he used to beat people playing with a broom... and he won the triple at wimbledon in 1939......

[topjazz69]

he may have helped Women's tennis but I still despise all of the demeaning stuff that he said towards women athletes in general. And all credit to Billie for beating him at his own "softball game". All the pressure was on her; after all, she had more to lose since margaret Court already lost to Riggs.

[usmctanks1]

he was also what 100 years older than Billy? In his prime he would have destroyed her, and remember he did NO training for the match, it was a laugher for him, he wore a Big daddy warm up jacket for the 1st set !!! RIP Bobby

[topjazz69]

Precisely. Didn't you understand my post? That's why Billie didn't have to play her normal all out net rushing game; she hit like him (junk balls & slices) and made him generate his own pace. What Billie prove is that women though limited in natural physical prowess, can still compete using their heads & that Bobby's claim that women are too emotional to perform under pressure. In 1973, Billie wasn't in top physical shape either; at 29, she was battling knee injuries.

[OutlanderWarrior]

Wrong, that's not why she played that way. Rather, it was a strategy she employed because she believed it would give her the best chance to win. Just so you know, the female pros would have trouble getting even a game off the male pros. Unless, that is, like Riggs was, they're 55 years old. I'll also point out that King said herself in a PBS interview that Riggs would have beaten her if he had been training or had been a bit younger.

[topjazz69]

No you're wrong. You are not a player and thus, you don't know how hard it is to generate pace when soft balls are coming at you. Billie employed that tactic to tire out bobby. He merely used Margaret's pace. Margaret didn't attack enough and was trapped into playing soft balls which wasn't her style at all. You're just biased and ignorant on tennis.

[OutlanderWarrior]

Fine, if you believe that, let's play for money. Put your money where your mouth is. I'm certainly willing to.

[OutlanderWarrior]

Also, maybe you should argue with King herself. She did say in the PBS interview I mentioned that Riggs might have beaten her had he been training or had he been a year younger (he was 55). So, either accept that you're wrong, or go tell her that she doesn't know what she's talking about.

[chrisrei10]

he said all that to make king play him, the guy was totally harmless...he gave women a reason to band together in those days....remember , most women were just starting to branch out from being housewives, it was a huge time of social change....he knew that, so did billie....it was a way for her to take tennis to the masses.....she did more for tennis , in general, than any other player ever....how many more singles titles could she have won ( 12 majors) had she just focused on herself?

[Moxe44]

@orbison1988 Your correct Bobby Riggs was a great tennis player and a fun guy. He kept winning Seniors Tennis Tournaments right up until the time that he left us at 77. He did more for the popularity of tennis then any other player. Thanks Bobby Riggs and Rest In Peace !