When Billie Jean King left college in 1964, she had a purpose. Within a few years, she had become the top-ranked tennis professional in the world. Over a trailblazing career, she won 39 championships, a Presidential Medal of Freedom and a congressional Medal of Honor – all while pushing publicly for gender and pay equality.
Last year, she finally returned to finish the degree in history she started more than six decades ago. On Monday, she graduated, at 82 years old.
“It is a privilege for me to be here as a member of your graduating class,” King said at her commencement. “Yeah baby, only 61 years!”
King recalled growing up in a working-class family, the daughter of a firefighter father and homemaker mother.
“Like so many of my fellow graduates, I am the first member of my immediate family to graduate college, like many of you,” King said.
She chose Cal State Los Angeles, then known as Los Angeles State College, because the tennis coach, Scotty Deeds, trained men and women together. He said it would help give her the level of competition she needed to excel.