Posted on 08/26/2013 6:49:21 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
Jean King, Bobby Riggs an 'elaborate mob setup'
Tennis star Bobby Riggs, top, and Billie Jean King are shown in action during the "Battle of the Sexes" match in the Astrodome in Houston, on Sept. 20, 1973.
The ultimate “Battle of the Sexes” — a 1973 match between the No. 2 -ranked woman tennis player and a retired male Wimbledon champion — was rigged so Mafia bosses could cash in on the betting, a new report claims.
The incredible claims have been lobbed at the reputation of the late hard-court hustler Bobby Riggs, by one of his former country club co-workers.
Hal Shaw told ESPN that Riggs’ famous loss to Billie Jean King was orchestrated by a mob boss who the tennis icon was into for $100,000 in gambling debts.
Riggs was a retired 55-year-old champ when he lost to King, then the world’s No. 2 women’s player, on Sept. 30, 1973, in the most-hyped match in tennis history.
Riggs — who died of prostrate cancer at age 77 on Oct. 25, 1995 — artfully played the role of male chauvinist pig in the weeks before the match. King’s win subsequently became a watershed moment in the women’s lib movement.
But it was all a huge setup, according to Shaw, who was an assistant golf pro 40 years ago at the Palma Ceia Golf and Country Club in Tampa, Fla. where Riggs was also working.
Shaw said he was toiling late one night fixing golf clubs when he saw mob lawyer Frank Ragano, notorious Florida mob boss Santo Trafficante Jr. and New Orleans crime boss Carlos Marcello enter the clubhouse.
Ragano told the men that Riggs was going to “set up two matches … against the two best women players,” Shaw told ESPN’s “Outside the Lines.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Works for Islamic assassins, mafia bosses, and the US government.
Read the entire ESPN published story at:
“The Match Maker
Bobby Riggs, The Mafia and The Battle of the Sexes”
by Don Van Natta Jr.
http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/9589625/the-match-maker
In other news Rene Richards played herself to win the He/she prize.
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.....
I don’t know which is more ridiculous & phony - feminism or sports.
Another sham medal ... on par with the Nobel Peace Prize.
Lots of old Tampa money there. Doctors, lawyers, Indian chiefs.
Rod Laver in his book just flat out said that Riggs threw the match with King. It certainly makes sense that it was a setup.
Riggs first challenged Number 1 seed Margaret Court to play and he beat her very handily. I would say easily. Embarrassingly easy.
The is no way Billy Jean King would have played him after that match unless she knew she would win. Since Riggs destroyed the player rated better than King then all the money would be on Riggs.
As I said, Laver just flat out said Riggs threw the second match.
I heard someone ask one of the old pros how many on the men’s tour Serena Williams could beat — and the response was NONE. Even the 100th player would beat her 0 and 0.
Gee, you mean this was a set up??? Who knew?? (serioiusly, I didn’t know the mafia angle, but as a young kid, I never did believe the result was legit)
Sad. He always said he wanted to die on his feet
Anyone who has lived in a Mob town has seen a whole lot of manly, man-hating women.
Washed up athletes, gambling?
Hard to believe!
I worked in a legitimate business Carlos Marcello owned in New Orleans back then. I overheard several of the big bosses talk about this “event” back when it happened. Riggs had two choices, turn into a Federal snitch, (Marcello was under a lot of scrutiny then from everywhere, including the DOJ for possible JFK connections), or play tennis. Guess he made the only choice he could.
Is that the gland that knocks you flat on your back?
The government of Chicago doesn't fart without permission from John "No Nose" DiFronzo. You will notice that the Fibbies haven't moved on any Mob operations since Obama took office...
Sounds plausible. I remember the matches and the large amount of money that changed hands. On the other hand, I don’t pay much attention to college or professional sports much any more because of all the cheaters and that most of it is fixed.
I watched both matches. It looked like Riggs was patting the ball over the net to King basically giving her easy putaways. After reading about Riggs betting history, it, the idea he threw the match, made a lot of sense.
To the author of the article, it’s prostate not prostrate.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.