This past Monday night most of the great women athletes of both yesteryear and today gathered at a black tie gala in New York to raise money for Billie Jean King's Women's Sports Foundation. Billie Jean King wasn't a country club kid. She came from the public courts right here in Long Beach. The first day she ever touched a racquet, at age 10, she came home to boldly declare two things to her mother. First, she said, "Mom, I'm going to be the best tennis player in the world." Next, she vowed, "I'm going to make sure the black girls at school get a chance to play, too."
