Deep in her heart Billie knows Bobby "rigged" the match. But it's hard for her to fully admit bc not only does it diminish her win, but it takes away the women's movement for equal rights in sports. But Billie knows the truth.
@@MontagZoso just watch the match ffs lol. A professional tennis player of Rigg's talent doesn't whiff half their opening serves. They don't smash it into the bottom half of the net on baby returns. A 15 year old would have played better because a 15 year old would have actually tried.
Riggs HAD to throw the match. He had crushed Margaret Court in a previous match and the betting money HEAVILY favored Riggs over King. The amount of money bet legally and illegally on Riggs was estimated to be at least 40 times the amount of money bet on King. The Mob not only controlled ALL of the illegal money bet, but it also controlled MOST of the money bet legally at casinos in Nevada at the time. Not only that, but the total HANDLE (amount of cash in total bet) was one of the largest for any single sporting event. This meant that a Riggs win would be devastating for the Mob. Moreover, Riggs was a highly skilled player who was an expert at making mistakes on the tennis court when he wanted to (a skill necessary for all good hustlers), as well as making terrific shots when he wanted to. Also, consider that he has had relationships with members of the Mob for DECADES and was frequently in debt to them. So, you draw your own conclusions about what happened.
I think the other thing that everyone should consider is how many eyes were on this match -- ordinarily you would think that this is a situation where you "couldn't hide it in plain sight." But also consider that the VAST majority of the viewers were seeing tennis for the first time. The fact of the un-sifted viewership allowed Bobby all the room in the world to play crap tennis and get away with it. To the contrary, the audience for the Court match was tiny -- maybe a couple thousand at most, and most of them were tennis connoisseurs themselves. The result was the perfect score -- Bobby strung those two pearls together perfectly, and in the right order. Court, on paper, was a far better player than BJK, but BJK had a bigger mouth, and could be drawn into the show a little more easily. She, because of her advocacy, was a perfect and unwitting participant in Rigg's strategy. No one could have played a better "foil" to Bobby's loud-mouthed ranting about "male chauvinism" and "women staying in the kitchen" etc. In a way, you have to admire Riggs's genius in setting this up -- and if you like, you can also credit him for getting the women's tour the respect it deserves, and has repeatedly demonstrated it deserves, presently.
Damn. It’s hard to believe anything else with just a little information. And I didn’t watch the movie , never looked this up before.. was never interested until now and it’s just hard to deny (I’m a girl Jordan ;)
I knew Bobby Riggs casually in the 1980's. He threw the match, period. He was still playing quite well in 1973 and the only issue was that his tanking was just WAY too obvious!
The beauty of this match, the absolute genius of it, was that you weren’t allowed to say he took a dive. The women would attack you for saying that. In a normal sporting event this is a much easier sell. However, if you are insulted and labeled as a sore loser by an entire gender it insulated the fraud.
@Frank Castle he was the former number 1, and did you know the difference of testosterone between men and women ......? There is literally 0 evidence but misogynist like you can’t accept the truth. You are all so pathetic go cry because the result is the result and it’s will be always remembered
@Frank Castle there is no evidence but like I said misogynist believe what they wants to believe, she wasn’t also in her prime she was 30 years old and 99,99% of men in their prime wouldn’t have be able to beat him even at 55. The only reason you can’t accept she beat him is because she is a woman so yeah you are a misogynist Frank
He was 55, and over the hill, Billie was in the prime of her career, plus, there was a huge cash incentive to throw the game lol. Well played Riggs, well played.
King is very good at talking up her wins and downplaying those of the contemporaries that defeated her. This was the tennis equivalent of a Harlem Globetrotters game. Patently manufactured result and Billie Jean has never worked out that the fix was in and she was the patsy? Blinded by pride, perhaps.
Look at the odds. He was a 5/8. He wasn’t the only one who knew something was up. If you just destroy the #1 easily and now you face #2, those odds should have been much higher for Riggs
Billie even denied that Bobby gets involved with Mobsters, she didn't knew Riggs that well.. To say that Riggs didn't threw the match was completely dishonest of her... because she still wants the illusion of beating an old man in a tennis game...
a guy hiding out in a dark closet in ear shot of an unwitting mob making plans? sounds like a scene in every poorly written movie ever made, but not real life. I suppose anything's possible though.
Riggs HAD to throw the match. He had crushed Margaret Court in a previous match and the betting money HEAVILY favored Riggs over King. The amount of money bet legally and illegally on Riggs was estimated to be at least 40 times the amount of money bet on King. The Mob not only controlled ALL of the illegal money bet, but it also controlled MOST of the money bet legally at casinos in Nevada at the time. Not only that, but the total HANDLE (amount of cash in total bet) was one of the largest for any single sporting event. This meant that a Riggs win would be devastating for the Mob. Moreover, Riggs was a highly skilled player who was an expert at making mistakes on the tennis court when he wanted to (a skill necessary for all good hustlers), as well as making terrific shots when he wanted to. So, you draw your own conclusions about what happened.
I grew up playing junior tennis, played on my HS team and went to my university on a tennis scholarship. No one dumps these high floaters into the bottom of the net unless they intend to do it. Riggs tanked.
@@@Provemewrongwithfacts WATCH the MATCH!! First of all. he played against and overpowered a #1 ranking woman and then later shit the bed badly against King. It was very obvious in some spots that he was throwing it. It was almost overacting LOL
Bobby obviously threw this match. When I watched it I knew right away. When he wasn’t missing incredibly easy shots he was hitting every ball right back to Billy Jean at the net so she could put them away. He looked like a 2.0 player at best.BJ had to say it wasn’t fixed to keep her credibility and her win in tact.
You nailed it. Of course he threw the match. Look how easily he put away that first top female player. I can't believe anyone ever thought this match was legit.
@@TheNorgate I'm sure he had a friend betting money for him, and against himself. A scam, but still fun. What the heck. What is strange is why didn't we see many more matches like that? Borg or Mac vs. a modern female pro....
@@stevebee92653 it has happened severally. This match is the only match the woman wasn't massacred. Men and women are different, no more evident than physically. It is the damn women feminists that don't seem to get it
I watched it and still see the repeated image in my memory of Riggs standing center baseline and dumping shots into the net and wondering what was wrong. The tennis was awful even by 1973 standards. Of course, the match could have been thrown, just as the promoted winner-take-all million dollar head-to-head matches in that era were a fraud on the public. PS - I looked into evidence after this comnent & know now it's clear Riggs threw the match.
@Stephen A. Smith It's more than suspect. I searched thru all the "mainstream" propaganda search engines show & found sone reality. Without doing it again, here are the main facts. The original investigator/reporter was told by a man named Shaw that claimed to overhear gangsters discussing the fix. Riggs owed gambling debts (Riggs had a massive gambling problem) & they would be eliminated + more $'s. Shaw also heard soneone from CHICAGO named as the contact with Riggs to arrange things. Later, when investigator arranged meeting with Riggs son & match fix was brought up, son independently confirmed - no knowledge of Shaw's revelations - that gangster types had been visting Riggs home in weeks before match & when asked at time by son, Riggs told him they were gangsters from CHICAGO & basically to mind his own business. It's also known Riggs, who trained very hard for matches - 10+ hrs./day for Court match - didn't train for King match & partied instead. The majority of tennis players asked at a major tournament - I don't remember details - said Riggs played terrible AND the match was probably fixed. It was so obviously all about making money to Riggs that he wore his "SUGAR DADDY" warm up jacket the entire first set for $'s.
@@sbtopjosh4098 Not to mention that a guy who wasn't even ranked in the top 200s after playing golf and knocking back a few beers beat both the Williams sisters back to back the same evening. It's also rumored that that gentleman took it easy on them and was thought they probably couldn't beat someone ranked in the 600s.
Watch the "points" starting at 6:12. His misses weren't even reaching the net. That is really hard to do. Watch tennis at any level. Beginner up to pros like BJ King and Riggs. Ain't nobody hitting shot after shot short of the net. He did a pathetic job of disguising the throwing of the match. Was it fixed? Let's see. For you non-tennis players. It'd be like Jordan air balling shot after shot. Ted Williams missing every pitch in batting practice. Tom Brady missing receivers by yards. Tiger Woods duffing shot after shot...
This video omits a critical fact about the Riggs-King match from the 1970s. And that fact is that the Mob controlled the sports betting operations not only in Las Vegas, but also effectively controlled all illegal bookmaking. Betting was heavy on the match, with Las Vegas setting 5-2 odds with Riggs as the favorite. According to gambling experts, the money being bet on this match was phenomenal and attracted bets from people who never wagered a dime before on sports events. Because Riggs had crushed Margaret Court in an earlier match, most of the public assumed that he would do the same to Billie Jean King. Approximately 70% of the money being bet was wagered on Riggs. At the end of the day, the Mob stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars from the event if King won, some of which would be skimmed at the casinos and an even larger amount from the unreported illegal bets placed through bookmakers they controlled or were "partners" with. There is no question that Riggs had to lose so the Mob could win. Of course, to his death, Riggs would never admit that the match was Rigged. To admit that the fix was in would be like breaking Omerta and could have dire consquences.
I watched that match and it was quite evident to me that he was purposefully dumping balls into the net. When someone has played the game, you can tell that very well, it's painfully obvious.
I thought the same thing. It looks like he is deliberately hitting the balls low, so they will go straight into the net. It happened too many times to be a mistake.
I didn't even need to see the match. The circus made it very evident what was going on. I mean really, a sport where you get in trouble for farting too close to the umpire or wearing the wrong clothes... but one guy is wearing a candycaker-themed jacket and is presented a pig to represent his chauvinism?
If you watched that match and listened to the announcers you would have noted they commented on the fact that his legs seemed wobbly. He just physically had a bad day and would have beaten King had she allowed him a rematch. She ducked him.
I wouldn't care if a woman beats a man, but this was a work, plain and simple. Bobby was the master hustler. He destroyed Margaret Court earlier in 1973 to set up the betting angle, then spent the entire match with King hitting balls right to her at the right times. If you think she won legitimately you are a mark for feminist causes and simply want to believe it. Bobby Riggs 100% threw this match. And by the way, I think Billie Jean knew, and was ok with it because she was the champion of the feminist movement and was working hard for equal prize money for women. I think it was planned.
I'm sure he did want to win, as King states, but he also wanted to get out of debt with the mob, thus accounting for his statement to his son about 'the worst thing he had ever done.'
Most likely his plan was to bet on King and then tank to collect the higher odds, then go for a rematch and bet on himself to win and also set the record straight. I mean, we know for a fact the match contract had a rematch clause in it. We know Riggs tried to use it, and we know King refused. If she's convinced she beat him soundly and legitimately, why refuse the rematch she already agreed to?
@@BobPapadopoulos " mean, we know for a fact the match contract had a rematch clause in it. " Do we? Have you seen the contract? The only source for that is the Van Atta article & he didn't see the contract.
Very good little documentary. I've read so much about this match from people like Jimmy the Greek and Robert Evans and so on. They say that he just partied too much and didn't train like he normally did. But maybe that was part of Bobby's way to "sell" dumping the match.
I loved the part where BJK states “Bobby didn’t get involved with mobsters” and the interviewer replied “actually he did”!! BJK’s lower jaw drops to the ground! LOL! Also telling is the fact that Larry, Bobby’s son, refused to even accompany his father, and stay Court-side, like he normally would have, but wouldn’t give any reason, other than appearing embarrassed.
Everyone is missing one key element: motivation. To protect her legacy, she would never admit to the possibility that he lost on purpose. She's being dishonest with the public and maybe even herself by objectively denying beyond resonable doubt that Riggs could have tanked to settle with the Mafia. It was the perfect set-up. And just because she's "pro" doesn't mean she can look into someone's eyes and know what they're thinking, that's ridiculous. I've played tennis my whole life, and I can tell by his body positioning when he hit some of those volleys that the bottom of the net was his intended target. He didn't do a great job of faking it IMO.
To understand this match, all one must do is watch match point, the ACTUAL match point, not the one shown in the movie! It is beyond obvious that Riggs dumped a duck volley into the bottom of the net. At 77 years old, I could make that volley. With my left hand. With my old 16 oz wooden Kramer racket. With my eyes closed.
You contradicted yourself. You say she's a pro, but she couldn't tell, but you also said he didn't do a good job of faking it. That doesn't make any sense.
@@theoriginalthinker9199 Just to interject, I'd say that there is not necessarily contradiction there. A lot may have ridden on King's ego. First, questioning that Riggs was throwing the match could run counter to the how she views herself. She likely can't make herself accept that Riggs could possibly have been even partly correct about the level of play in the women's game. Do we honestly believe she'd ever risk putting herself even further down the tennis ladder than she's fallen since her playing days by admitting that he was tanking? She has a dozen GS singles titles but quite a few other players have eclipsed that since she roamed the court. She has a career slam but so does Maria Sharapova. That Riggs match is pretty much the only thing she's known for now. Second (related to the first), she likely viewed Riggs as kind of a fool anyway, and may have actually believed that his floundering around was an accurate display of his skill set.
No evidence was needed to know this was fixed. I’ve known since I was in my 20s and watched this for the first time that Riggs was not trying to win. You really have to be a brick short of a full load to think he was trying his hardest. Ridiculous.
Verbal Volley Margaret the choker? Margaret...the most decorated tennis player (male or female) in history. I don't know where you get your delusions laser brain. Riggs probably looked nervous because he owed so much money to the mob. The fix was in, he tanked that match. They we're terrible misses from a really good tennis player. Rigged.
Verbal Volley Margaret the choker? Margaret...the most decorated tennis player (male or female) in history. I don't know where you get your delusions laser brain. Riggs probably looked nervous because he owed so much money to the mob. The fix was in, he tanked that match. They were terrible misses from a really good tennis player. Rigged.
12:56 well of course. I am sure he wanted to win. But multiple witnesses cannot be wrong, and look at the way he played. Billie Jean cannot be serious with the way Riggs played
This was smartly played by Riggs , win against the number one player in the world (odds were for him to lose that match so he makes more $$ ) reason why he trained so hard for it - then lose the match that the odds were favoring you - a few ppl made a lot of money out that sneaky play and I’m sure he did too, why did he didn’t train as hard for the match against BJK? Makes a lot of sense
He threw it. Riggs won a match vs an approximately equal player a few months earlier 6-2, 6-1. Then he lost to a slightly worse player 6-4, 6-3. 6-3. And the way he lost was ugly and unforced. People who don't play tennis may not fully understand the difference in ability it takes to beat someone at that level in a 6-2, 6-1 match. You don't beat someone like Margaret Court 6-2, 6-1 by chance. You don't beat someone like her like that by just playing safe or not making mistakes. The reason he was able to do it was cause of an overwhelming difference in ability. It is unreasonable to believe someone could lose that much ability in just a few months.
bobdigital21 It happens all the time. I’m not weighing in on if he did or didn’t throw it, but people beat great players and get wrecked by unseeded players the next day.
haha Court...she was soooo good. The other women were smoked in their matches vs men also and well I mean the Williams sisters and Navratilova along with Court are the best there's ever been. Even with bent rules Conors beat Navratilova 6-2 in the second set. Even at 203 ranking Braasch beat the Williams sisters 6-1, 6-2 one after another. Court was anihilated and she was #1 at the time and this is a woman who dominated like no other. She won SIX slams that year!
You can watch this for about 2 minutes and figure out he threw the match. Its just that obvious. That doesn't mean that Billie Jean couldn't have beat him had he played her straight up but we'll never know because he threw this match!
We will never know because Billie Jean King refused the rematch stipulated in their contract. Bobby Riggs planned to make even MORE money beating BJK the second time, but BJK knew a rematch would be a huge mistake for her and for the women's tour, so she broke the contract and refused.
@@warrenbuggles9078 cant confirm that Kaufman got this angle idea from this match, the time frame is close enough, but Jim Ross himself has confirmed to me that Bobby would have been a natural 'heel manager' had he chose to go that way in his career.
Definitely a very high probability that he did. He was involved with these Mobsters and it was the perfect pay off. Everyone believed he was going to win easily so he figured make a killing on the bet. It makes sense.
For me it's pretty obvious and for Billy Jean King... Watch a couple of episodes of the British show "Would I lie to you?" and it's also obvious that pretty much anyone can lie and anyone can believe it's true. The evidence that he folded is a lot stronger then the opposite.
All-time greats Jack Kramer and Don Budge knew this match stunk to high heaven--and they caught hell for saying so. Four months earlier Riggs blew away Margaret Court with clever placement. Against King he seemed to be hitting the ball right at her every point. The real eyebrow-raiser was how badly Riggs served at critical moments versus King. He was known for his very accurate serve, but he double-faulted at key points of this match.
@@laustcawz2089 Good question. Money? Mostly I was just presenting a counter argument. Tennis is an extremely difficult game that requires tons of practice. Still, any great player can have a bad day.
That's interesting he played with chairs on the court, because for as long as I've been playing tennis, at least once a year or so I have a dream where I'm playing with all sorts of furniture, etc. on my side of the court.
Billie Jean cannot be serious when she says: "Bobby doesn't get involved with mobsters...." His nickname was "the hustler" FHS ! Who's Billie Jean kidding ?
@@theoriginalthinker9199 Who is more likely to be honest about the situation? A journalist with no bias or the person who was involved in said scam with EVERYTHING to lose if the truth comes out? Not much critical thinking being done for someone of your namesake...
@@patm3802 Do you really think the journalist "has no bias"? The journalist wants to expose a long held notion about a famous event. No bias, are you kidding me? No matter how much people believe the match was fixed, being that Bobby Riggs is dead, it will still be just an opinion. So King has NOTHING to lose!
@@patm3802 BJK has nothing at stake. Books and movies have been written about the legitimacy of that match. Her legacy is intact. The journalist wants to make a name for himself at the expense of BJK. But believe whatever you like.
when Riggs missed he would slump his shoulders or shake his head or throw up his shoulders and hands like "awww schucks you got me again" it was a total act and 100% threw that match, the money on bets was just too good for a gambler like him.
BJK says, "Bobby doesn't get involved with mobsters...' LOL. A notorious Vegas compulsive gambler celebrity, who was in deep debt, doesn't get involved with mobsters? PLEEEEAASE! Can she really be that naive? The whole thing was a psy-op. I wonder if they got to Margaret, too.....She didn't play her game, and looked so nervous....Bobby would never admit to what he'd done because it would put his family in danger. That's why he did it in the first place, to get out of debt, and save his family from destitution. It's what gamblers (and husbands) do!
@@Kimera92 An opinion with a lot of supporting circumstancial evidence. I mean really... tennis is a sport where sportsmanship rules are taken more seriously than most other sports, but one player gives the other a pig as an insult before the match begins? And the other guy sells billboard space on his jacket? Plus, if this was meant to settle anything, why did they have a rematch clause? That brings up the question of if Riggs bet against himself to lose the first match, took the cash, then tried to use the rematch clause to play against the odds again by betting to win against someone he already lost to. We know for a fact, not an opinion, that he later tried to invoke that very rematch clause, but King refused it. If she won legit, why would she shy away from the rematch she already agreed to?
there's a reason why you can't find a recording of this match anywhere. they don't want people to realize how obvious it was that it was fixed. billie jean king was in on it too. not before but after the match. she knew riggs threw it but has to deny it for the sake of her cause.
That's a fairly stupid remark. Sorry that you're so cynical! If you can't find a recording "anywhere", then how could you possibly know that it was rigged?
@@Provemewrongwithfacts You just answered your own question! Looks like you topped my remark for stupidity. Lol. You can easily find the lesser known Riggs-Court match and even the hardly remembered Connors-Navratilova match and yet, with all its hype and popularity, you can't find the Riggs-Kings match anywhere. Isn't that interesting?
@@jonayosores9944 Um, I saw the match when it originally aired. Riggs threw nothing. He got his ass whipped so bad, that at times it was comical. Margaret Court played horrible. If you said she threw that match it would be more believable.
@@Provemewrongwithfacts Um, you're basing your opinion on a distant memory that's over 40 years old. You really need to see the replay. What's comical is Riggs wasn't even good at pretending to try to win. It's obvious he threw that match-- a match he played just 4 months after beating Court, who at the time was the World Number 1 and better than King. Although the idea of Court throwing that match is an interesting one, it's unlikely since nothing in her past would suggest she might do that. Riggs, on the other hand, was a well known gambler who also bet on tennis matches. His suspicious play and his history of hustling led many to believe he threw his match against King.
@@jonayosores9944 Watch Margaret against any player. I think she was spooked playing against a man. She was missing the easiest shots, constantly! As far as my memory, it's not just mine: friends were saying the same thing, at the time, how bjk made Riggs look like a fool. I mean. Riggs was a little old man, maybe an inch taller than King. Don't judge the whole match by these few shots. Bjk destroyed him in straight sets and made him look like a fool in doing it. It wasn't even close. The fact that she has to defend herself, I find that to be utterly degrading. Riggs didn't beat Margaret Court, she beat herself. If Margaret plays her game, she would've destroyed him too.
It was obviously a tactic he was using to try and throw BJK off. He pretends he’s tired and she uses it as an opportunity to conserve energy; hence letting her guard down a little. It obviously didn’t work.
I watched it live on TV and it was clear the he did in fact throw the match. Let's not forget he beat Margaret Court only a few months before playing King.
The fact that he beat Margaret Court means NOTHING. If it was so "clear" then why wasn't anybody saying it back then? I saw the match, and it was "clear" that BJK destroyed Bobby Riggs, and everybody else who saw it back then believed it as well.
Lol. Did you see some of those shots that Riggs hit?!?! The only thing that they would indicate he was not tanking was how bad they were! Looking to watch the whole match, but unless he was on death's door, no way those were legitimate attempts to hit a shot. I'm 58 and I could have beaten him (based on those shots)?! I'm actually surprised that he made it so blatant, but at the same time, no way he was "trying" to make those shots. And I'm sure he expressed mocked frustration, and intensity, that BJK "saw in his eyes" during changeovers. As though during changeover one can't act intense and wanting to win... We're not talking an Oscar-worthy performance on the big screen with the camera up-close is necessary.
He was an old man! How can you expect him to make the same shots he did in his prime. Also, he was demoralized cuz BJK was kicking his ass, and making him look stupid.
I knew of a Chicago bookie, Sonny S., he got out and retired just a few weeks after this famous match, a friend of his told me that Sonny's ship had come in. He ended up buying nice place in Florida near Jupiter Beach on the river (he even invited my down and took me out fishing), and a beautiful home in Wisconsin. The last time I saw him some years ago, it looked like a good wind would blow him away, but he had a good looking live in nurse and he still was as tough talking as ever, he was quite the character.
I remember watching this match when I was a kid. I was wondering why Bobby Riggs wasn't chasing down balls that professionals normally do. It didn't look like he was trying. This rumor would explain it. I'm convinced Riggs did rig the match.
@@Provemewrongwithfacts Well then they did a pretty good job of picking those highlights. Couple that with his crooked history of throwing matches and you'd have to be pretty nieve to think that match was on the up and up.
@@TheNorgate I'm an expert on the game of tennis, and I saw this match. He didn't throw this match. One reason is because the match was too close, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. That's a close match, which means you have to try hard to make it that close. If it were 6-1, 6-1, 6-0, you might have a point.
He was a notorious gambler lol “He’d do anything for a buck” He promoted the match heavily and books took in a lot of action He owed money and this was the easiest way to pay it clean lol And he had to keep it secret to avoid problems His tennis didn’t even look right lol He threw a meaningless match like Satan vs Jesus Smart man
The easiest way to do anything, was to beat Billie Jean King! He would've made a helluva lot more if he did that. He thought he could, but he couldn't.
@@finnblower7075 Why would Riggs bet on himself to lose? The thought is laughable! Imagine Riggs' mindset at the time: "I'm gonna promote the hell out of this match, convince all these people to put up all this money, then I'm gonna bet on myself to lose, and convince millions of people that I'm trying to win. It will be the best acting job anyone's ever seen. I'll make a fortune! I'm a bad mother....." LOL What I've been trying to tell people in here, is that Riggs was a great tennis player. No doubt. But he wasn't THAT guy!
This is all History peeps, stop debating, you can't change it, I thank God for BJK, Women's tennis which is now dominate over Mens is because she helped pave the way!!!
Margaret Graham He missed countless incredibly easy shots. This match was 100% fixed and it’s really obvious. You can also watch Serena Williams completely unable to return a single serve against an unranked male player. Women can’t compete with men in tennis...period. The difference in serve power alone is insurmountable.
No one believes women can beat men generally in tennis. Men are stronger and faster than women. This is a fact of life. My point was that Steve here, who has never played tennis, could not have returned shots from Billie Jean King.
Bobby Riggs was 55 years old while she was at the top of her game. It wasn't fixed at all, why would it be ? She won fair and square whether you like it or not. Trust me at 55 years old you're way past it.
djrobriggs Your name says ewe are a relative of Bobby Riggs and you’re trying to blame Andre for doing the same thing yer relative did. So lier shud apologize
I think Riggs fell into the same trap that Mike Tyson did before facing Buster Douglas. The Court win got him overconfident and he did not train as hard for the BJK match because he thought it was a lock. Plus if he beat BJK, he was already planning on booking a match with Chris Evert for an even higher purse. Why would you be planning this if you planned to throw the BJK match?
accurate, lack of training, LOTS of partying, and over confidence and planning for more follow up. Losing on purpose?? This isnt wrestling. Thank you for the most reasonable comment I've seen about this.
You must be unaware of the part where there was a contractual rematch between the two of them, set up before the first match even took place. BJK broke the agreement and refused the rematch... obviously because she also knows he threw the first match and would beat her easily if he actually tried.
The whole thing wasn't that meaningful. BJK knew that she couldn't win against a top male player due to male strength/speed advantages. But he was well past his prime and, like King, under pressure and nervous. That easily explains why he made what might seem like obvious errors.
I don't need any reports from alleged witnesses 40 years after the event. As a long time tennis enthusiast I can see with my own eyes that Bobby rigged the match (pun intended) and threw it for reasons only he himself knew. It's glaringly obvious for everybody who ever watched the match, and Billie Jean King - whom I admire greatly for rising to the occasion in the first place - and her supporters have been in constant denial for decades. However, whatever Bobby Riggs may have done, I think that he later did the honorable thing. He realized how much the match meant to BJK and the cause of Women's Lib - and Bobby Riggs stuck to the version that he had been beaten fair and square. He could've easily planted doubts later, without having to fear serious retributions, but he never did. He took the secret into his grave.
Those "alleged witnesses" including me, saw the match. Did you? You can't judge this match by a few well chosen snippets specifically chosen to gull people like you.
![โจทย์โหดเหมือนโกรธเป็ดถีบ [อะไรอยู่บนหัวกูวะ ... EP.4]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Dqlb7EZ9PGk/mqdefault.jpg)
Deep in her heart Billie knows Bobby "rigged" the match.
But it's hard for her to fully admit bc not only does it diminish her win, but it takes away the women's movement for equal rights in sports.
But Billie knows the truth.
Oh stop it. Give it up!
@@MontagZoso oh stop it, give it up
@@MontagZoso just watch the match ffs lol. A professional tennis player of Rigg's talent doesn't whiff half their opening serves. They don't smash it into the bottom half of the net on baby returns. A 15 year old would have played better because a 15 year old would have actually tried.
OH SHE KNOWS DEEP DOWN…. But she’ll never admit it in public
100% This is so obvious if you see the actual match. He's hitting the ball into the net repeatedly
Riggs HAD to throw the match. He had crushed Margaret Court in a previous match and the betting money HEAVILY favored Riggs over King. The amount of money bet legally and illegally on Riggs was estimated to be at least 40 times the amount of money bet on King. The Mob not only controlled ALL of the illegal money bet, but it also controlled MOST of the money bet legally at casinos in Nevada at the time. Not only that, but the total HANDLE (amount of cash in total bet) was one of the largest for any single sporting event. This meant that a Riggs win would be devastating for the Mob. Moreover, Riggs was a highly skilled player who was an expert at making mistakes on the tennis court when he wanted to (a skill necessary for all good hustlers), as well as making terrific shots when he wanted to. Also, consider that he has had relationships with members of the Mob for DECADES and was frequently in debt to them. So, you draw your own conclusions about what happened.
I think the other thing that everyone should consider is how many eyes were on this match -- ordinarily you would think that this is a situation where you "couldn't hide it in plain sight." But also consider that the VAST majority of the viewers were seeing tennis for the first time. The fact of the un-sifted viewership allowed Bobby all the room in the world to play crap tennis and get away with it. To the contrary, the audience for the Court match was tiny -- maybe a couple thousand at most, and most of them were tennis connoisseurs themselves.
The result was the perfect score -- Bobby strung those two pearls together perfectly, and in the right order. Court, on paper, was a far better player than BJK, but BJK had a bigger mouth, and could be drawn into the show a little more easily. She, because of her advocacy, was a perfect and unwitting participant in Rigg's strategy. No one could have played a better "foil" to Bobby's loud-mouthed ranting about "male chauvinism" and "women staying in the kitchen" etc.
In a way, you have to admire Riggs's genius in setting this up -- and if you like, you can also credit him for getting the women's tour the respect it deserves, and has repeatedly demonstrated it deserves, presently.
That’s a great theory if spreads didn’t exist
Damn. It’s hard to believe anything else with just a little information. And I didn’t watch the movie , never looked this up before.. was never interested until now and it’s just hard to deny (I’m a girl Jordan ;)
Court choked
The Mob = the jesuit order of the catholic church
I knew Bobby Riggs casually in the 1980's. He threw the match, period. He was still playing quite well in 1973 and the only issue was that his tanking was just WAY too obvious!
He did throw the match. And everyone in his own family put money on King.
Rule one: Keep your rooting and betting interests separate.
I don't know how any tennis player can watch that match and not know he lost on purpose.
Anyone who watches the video and cannot see that he threw the match needs their head checking. And that's without even considering his character.
And anybody who thinks she threw the match, obviously didn't see the match.
Prove me wrong with facts. How could she have thrown the match? She won
It's all tv entertainment.
Riggs rigged the match. Shocking.
Bobby Rigged.
The beauty of this match, the absolute genius of it, was that you weren’t allowed to say he took a dive. The women would attack you for saying that. In a normal sporting event this is a much easier sell. However, if you are insulted and labeled as a sore loser by an entire gender it insulated the fraud.
All these insecure men in the comments are so funny
@Frank Castle he was the former number 1, and did you know the difference of testosterone between men and women ......? There is literally 0 evidence but misogynist like you can’t accept the truth. You are all so pathetic go cry because the result is the result and it’s will be always remembered
@Frank Castle there is no evidence but like I said misogynist believe what they wants to believe, she wasn’t also in her prime she was 30 years old and 99,99% of men in their prime wouldn’t have be able to beat him even at 55. The only reason you can’t accept she beat him is because she is a woman so yeah you are a misogynist Frank
@@cle2544 edited and still makes zero sense
@@tylergiusti6180 cry
He was 55, and over the hill, Billie was in the prime of her career, plus, there was a huge cash incentive to throw the game lol. Well played Riggs, well played.
King is very good at talking up her wins and downplaying those of the contemporaries that defeated her. This was the tennis equivalent of a Harlem Globetrotters game. Patently manufactured result and Billie Jean has never worked out that the fix was in and she was the patsy? Blinded by pride, perhaps.
Look at the odds. He was a 5/8. He wasn’t the only one who knew something was up. If you just destroy the #1 easily and now you face #2, those odds should have been much higher for Riggs
Billie Jean is naive if she thinks Bobby didn’t tank…
Billie even denied that Bobby gets involved with Mobsters, she didn't knew Riggs that well.. To say that Riggs didn't threw the match was completely dishonest of her... because she still wants the illusion of beating an old man in a tennis game...
What's your proof that Riggs was involved with mobsters? I don't think you "knew Riggs that well", either.
Lmao
@@Provemewrongwithfacts Hahaha
I think bobbys last name is very telling ;p
a guy hiding out in a dark closet in ear shot of an unwitting mob making plans? sounds like a scene in every poorly written movie ever made, but not real life. I suppose anything's possible though.
Riggs HAD to throw the match. He had crushed Margaret Court in a previous match and the betting money HEAVILY favored Riggs over King. The amount of money bet legally and illegally on Riggs was estimated to be at least 40 times the amount of money bet on King. The Mob not only controlled ALL of the illegal money bet, but it also controlled MOST of the money bet legally at casinos in Nevada at the time. Not only that, but the total HANDLE (amount of cash in total bet) was one of the largest for any single sporting event. This meant that a Riggs win would be devastating for the Mob. Moreover, Riggs was a highly skilled player who was an expert at making mistakes on the tennis court when he wanted to (a skill necessary for all good hustlers), as well as making terrific shots when he wanted to. So, you draw your own conclusions about what happened.
Hahaha
James Feldman i think alien nazi polo players from outter space were also involved
Well, he didn’t rig his victory against Margaret Court. So I wouldn’t accuse him of rigging shit.
I grew up playing junior tennis, played on my HS team and went to my university on a tennis scholarship.
No one dumps these high floaters into the bottom of the net unless they intend to do it.
Riggs tanked.
the opinions from the most knowledgeable players seem to favor that the match was thrown.
Or he rigged it
Sighing... Everybody misses easy shots from time to time!
Liar. You know nothing about tennis.
@@@Provemewrongwithfacts WATCH the MATCH!! First of all. he played against and overpowered a #1 ranking woman and then later shit the bed badly against King. It was very obvious in some spots that he was throwing it. It was almost overacting LOL
“99% of me thinks she beat him fare.” Lmao
Bobby obviously threw this match. When I watched it I knew right away. When he wasn’t missing incredibly easy shots he was hitting every ball right back to Billy Jean at the net so she could put them away. He looked like a 2.0 player at best.BJ had to say it wasn’t fixed to keep her credibility and her win in tact.
You nailed it. Of course he threw the match. Look how easily he put away that first top female player. I can't believe anyone ever thought this match was legit.
@@TheNorgate I'm sure he had a friend betting money for him, and against himself. A scam, but still fun. What the heck. What is strange is why didn't we see many more matches like that? Borg or Mac vs. a modern female pro....
@Marsili ILI Interesting! I'll have to check it out.
Be a man Admit he lost fair and square
@@stevebee92653 it has happened severally. This match is the only match the woman wasn't massacred. Men and women are different, no more evident than physically. It is the damn women feminists that don't seem to get it
I watched it and still see the repeated image in my memory of Riggs standing center baseline and dumping shots into the net and wondering what was wrong. The tennis was awful even by 1973 standards. Of course, the match could have been thrown, just as the promoted winner-take-all million dollar head-to-head matches in that era were a fraud on the public.
PS - I looked into evidence after this comnent & know now it's clear Riggs threw the match.
@Stephen A. Smith It's more than suspect. I searched thru all the "mainstream" propaganda search engines show & found sone reality. Without doing it again, here are the main facts. The original investigator/reporter was told by a man named Shaw that claimed to overhear gangsters discussing the fix. Riggs owed gambling debts (Riggs had a massive gambling problem) & they would be eliminated + more $'s. Shaw also heard soneone from CHICAGO named as the contact with Riggs to arrange things. Later, when investigator arranged meeting with Riggs son & match fix was brought up, son independently confirmed - no knowledge of Shaw's revelations - that gangster types had been visting Riggs home in weeks before match & when asked at time by son, Riggs told him they were gangsters from CHICAGO & basically to mind his own business. It's also known Riggs, who trained very hard for matches - 10+ hrs./day for Court match - didn't train for King match & partied instead. The majority of tennis players asked at a major tournament - I don't remember details - said Riggs played terrible AND the match was probably fixed. It was so obviously all about making money to Riggs that he wore his "SUGAR DADDY" warm up jacket the entire first set for $'s.
@@1158scott yeah you're research is right. People are afraid to be a bigot. So they keep quiet on these stuff
@@sbtopjosh4098 Not to mention that a guy who wasn't even ranked in the top 200s after playing golf and knocking back a few beers beat both the Williams sisters back to back the same evening. It's also rumored that that gentleman took it easy on them and was thought they probably couldn't beat someone ranked in the 600s.
😱
Watch the "points" starting at 6:12. His misses weren't even reaching the net. That is really hard to do. Watch tennis at any level. Beginner up to pros like BJ King and Riggs. Ain't nobody hitting shot after shot short of the net. He did a pathetic job of disguising the throwing of the match. Was it fixed? Let's see. For you non-tennis players. It'd be like Jordan air balling shot after shot. Ted Williams missing every pitch in batting practice. Tom Brady missing receivers by yards. Tiger Woods duffing shot after shot...
Guys... Billie says she "felt" that Bobby was playing to win. Good enough for me. Case closed 😂
This video omits a critical fact about the Riggs-King match from the 1970s. And that fact is that the Mob controlled the sports betting operations not only in Las Vegas, but also effectively controlled all illegal bookmaking. Betting was heavy on the match, with Las Vegas setting 5-2 odds with Riggs as the favorite. According to gambling experts, the money being bet on this match was phenomenal and attracted bets from people who never wagered a dime before on sports events. Because Riggs had crushed Margaret Court in an earlier match, most of the public assumed that he would do the same to Billie Jean King. Approximately 70% of the money being bet was wagered on Riggs. At the end of the day, the Mob stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars from the event if King won, some of which would be skimmed at the casinos and an even larger amount from the unreported illegal bets placed through bookmakers they controlled or were "partners" with. There is no question that Riggs had to lose so the Mob could win. Of course, to his death, Riggs would never admit that the match was Rigged. To admit that the fix was in would be like breaking Omerta and could have dire consquences.
@@brucesmith1544 5-2 odds if they bet like $50 million that’s a heavy pay day….
It doesn’t look like he was even trying. Lol
I watched that match and it was quite evident to me that he was purposefully dumping balls into the net. When someone has played the game, you can tell that very well, it's painfully obvious.
I thought the same thing. It looks like he is deliberately hitting the balls low, so they will go straight into the net. It happened too many times to be a mistake.
I didn't even need to see the match. The circus made it very evident what was going on.
I mean really, a sport where you get in trouble for farting too close to the umpire or wearing the wrong clothes... but one guy is wearing a candycaker-themed jacket and is presented a pig to represent his chauvinism?
If you watched that match and listened to the announcers you would have noted they commented on the fact that his legs seemed wobbly. He just physically had a bad day and would have beaten King had she allowed him a rematch. She ducked him.
Why did she LOSE the 1st 2 points? He clearly was out to beat her and beat her badly.
how about jumping the net at 55 yrs old! Impressive!
Uncle Tony right
I don't think 55 is old, its young .
@@lesleydekuna6222 depends
I didn't see a jump I seen him step over it
Compared to Tom cruise jumping over buildings at 55? Very impressive indeed :P
"Bobby doesn't get involved with mobsters." ...."Actually Billie, he did."
I wouldn't care if a woman beats a man, but this was a work, plain and simple. Bobby was the master hustler. He destroyed Margaret Court earlier in 1973 to set up the betting angle, then spent the entire match with King hitting balls right to her at the right times. If you think she won legitimately you are a mark for feminist causes and simply want to believe it. Bobby Riggs 100% threw this match. And by the way, I think Billie Jean knew, and was ok with it because she was the champion of the feminist movement and was working hard for equal prize money for women. I think it was planned.
Looks like it was fixed. Billie Jean would NEVER admit it even if she suspects it might have been fixed, it's a blow to her own ego and pride.
She LOST the first 2 points!
I'm sure he did want to win, as King states, but he also wanted to get out of debt with the mob, thus accounting for his statement to his son about 'the worst thing he had ever done.'
Most likely his plan was to bet on King and then tank to collect the higher odds, then go for a rematch and bet on himself to win and also set the record straight.
I mean, we know for a fact the match contract had a rematch clause in it. We know Riggs tried to use it, and we know King refused. If she's convinced she beat him soundly and legitimately, why refuse the rematch she already agreed to?
@@BobPapadopoulos " mean, we know for a fact the match contract had a rematch clause in it. " Do we? Have you seen the contract? The only source for that is the Van Atta article & he didn't see the contract.
Very good little documentary. I've read so much about this match from people like Jimmy the Greek and Robert Evans and so on. They say that he just partied too much and didn't train like he normally did. But maybe that was part of Bobby's way to "sell" dumping the match.
I loved the part where BJK states “Bobby didn’t get involved with mobsters” and the interviewer replied “actually he did”!! BJK’s lower jaw drops to the ground! LOL!
Also telling is the fact that Larry, Bobby’s son, refused to even accompany his father, and stay Court-side, like he normally would have, but wouldn’t give any reason, other than appearing embarrassed.
Everyone is missing one key element: motivation. To protect her legacy, she would never admit to the possibility that he lost on purpose. She's being dishonest with the public and maybe even herself by objectively denying beyond resonable doubt that Riggs could have tanked to settle with the Mafia. It was the perfect set-up. And just because she's "pro" doesn't mean she can look into someone's eyes and know what they're thinking, that's ridiculous. I've played tennis my whole life, and I can tell by his body positioning when he hit some of those volleys that the bottom of the net was his intended target. He didn't do a great job of faking it IMO.
To understand this match, all one must do is watch match point, the ACTUAL match point, not the one shown in the movie! It is beyond obvious that Riggs dumped a duck volley into the bottom of the net. At 77 years old, I could make that volley. With my left hand. With my old 16 oz wooden Kramer racket. With my eyes closed.
volleule9 better keep those eyes closed old man cause your dreaming if you believe that 😴🥱
Exactly. We're supposed to believe that King has absolutely no interest in perpetuating the myth that she could have beaten Riggs fair and square? No.
You contradicted yourself. You say she's a pro, but she couldn't tell, but you also said he didn't do a good job of faking it. That doesn't make any sense.
@@theoriginalthinker9199 Just to interject, I'd say that there is not necessarily contradiction there. A lot may have ridden on King's ego.
First, questioning that Riggs was throwing the match could run counter to the how she views herself. She likely can't make herself accept that Riggs could possibly have been even partly correct about the level of play in the women's game. Do we honestly believe she'd ever risk putting herself even further down the tennis ladder than she's fallen since her playing days by admitting that he was tanking? She has a dozen GS singles titles but quite a few other players have eclipsed that since she roamed the court. She has a career slam but so does Maria Sharapova. That Riggs match is pretty much the only thing she's known for now.
Second (related to the first), she likely viewed Riggs as kind of a fool anyway, and may have actually believed that his floundering around was an accurate display of his skill set.
Billie Jean played people who tanked. She, herself, admitted to tanking. Highlights of the match look like tanking.
No evidence was needed to know this was fixed. I’ve known since I was in my 20s and watched this for the first time that Riggs was not trying to win. You really have to be a brick short of a full load to think he was trying his hardest. Ridiculous.
Is this even a question?🤣 Certain people made a lot of money that day.
"99% of me would say that she beat him fair and square".... right, now that I've got that out of the way - now I can tell you what I really think....
Verbal Volley just a hunch...
Lol--I saw that!
What an idiot thing to say. As males, we don't really use our brain, do we?
@@hotice8885 deleted now!
@@troywright359 What is deleted?
The way he played looked like he didn't try to win. I watch this live on WWOS and remember how big this was.
He's hitting volleys straight into the net off of returns that BJK was just dinking over the net. This was obviously fixed.
Charles Fisher exactly!
Agreed
Verbal Volley Margaret the choker? Margaret...the most decorated tennis player (male or female) in history. I don't know where you get your delusions laser brain. Riggs probably looked nervous because he owed so much money to the mob. The fix was in, he tanked that match. They we're terrible misses from a really good tennis player. Rigged.
Verbal Volley Margaret the choker? Margaret...the most decorated tennis player (male or female) in history. I don't know where you get your delusions laser brain. Riggs probably looked nervous because he owed so much money to the mob. The fix was in, he tanked that match. They were terrible misses from a really good tennis player. Rigged.
Verbal Volley, I agree. Bobby was tired, & I doubt he would go for Billy Jean betting him, but wouldn't put it pass him. Bobby flat out lost.
Everyone with a decent pair of eyes can see that it's rigged. Dude is literally dumping the ball in nets 😂
Not only did he intentionally throw it, the guy was hung over. Lmao
12:56 well of course. I am sure he wanted to win. But multiple witnesses cannot be wrong, and look at the way he played. Billie Jean cannot be serious with the way Riggs played
This was smartly played by Riggs , win against the number one player in the world (odds were for him to lose that match so he makes more $$ ) reason why he trained so hard for it - then lose the match that the odds were favoring you - a few ppl made a lot of money out that sneaky play and I’m sure he did too, why did he didn’t train as hard for the match against BJK? Makes a lot of sense
It was absolutely thrown, I remember watching it and everyone in the room called it out in the first 5 minutes. It was a giant work
He threw it. Riggs won a match vs an approximately equal player a few months earlier 6-2, 6-1. Then he lost to a slightly worse player 6-4, 6-3. 6-3. And the way he lost was ugly and unforced. People who don't play tennis may not fully understand the difference in ability it takes to beat someone at that level in a 6-2, 6-1 match.
You don't beat someone like Margaret Court 6-2, 6-1 by chance. You don't beat someone like her like that by just playing safe or not making mistakes. The reason he was able to do it was cause of an overwhelming difference in ability. It is unreasonable to believe someone could lose that much ability in just a few months.
bobdigital21 It happens all the time. I’m not weighing in on if he did or didn’t throw it, but people beat great players and get wrecked by unseeded players the next day.
bobdigital21 s
haha Court...she was soooo good. The other women were smoked in their matches vs men also and well I mean the Williams sisters and Navratilova along with Court are the best there's ever been. Even with bent rules Conors beat Navratilova 6-2 in the second set. Even at 203 ranking Braasch beat the Williams sisters 6-1, 6-2 one after another. Court was anihilated and she was #1 at the time and this is a woman who dominated like no other. She won SIX slams that year!
Vs an "approximately equal player" who played horribly, ON CLAY. If you know something about tennis, you know that makes A LOT of difference!
How do you know Court didn't throw the earlier match?
He SOOOOO threw that match
You can watch this for about 2 minutes and figure out he threw the match. Its just that obvious. That doesn't mean that Billie Jean couldn't have beat him had he played her straight up but we'll never know because he threw this match!
We will never know because Billie Jean King refused the rematch stipulated in their contract. Bobby Riggs planned to make even MORE money beating BJK the second time, but BJK knew a rematch would be a huge mistake for her and for the women's tour, so she broke the contract and refused.
Illarion Bykov He should have sued her
King is just an extreme feminist delusional women. She’s so desperate for the atp and era to join so the women can make more money off the back of men
@@rickrick5041 Riggs was also hitting on her.
She couldn't/wouldn't have 🤣🤣🤣 notice the few times he actually put a little effort in she had no chance on the point. This was a horrible fix job
Billie doesn't wanna believe it because then it would make her legacy a bit tainted....even tho she had nothing to do with it.....OR DID SHE????? LOL
Maybe this is where Andy Kaufman got it from
Dam, you beat me to it, not the wrestling but his "feud" with Jerry the King Lawler.
@@warrenbuggles9078 cant confirm that Kaufman got this angle idea from this match, the time frame is close enough, but Jim Ross himself has confirmed to me that Bobby would have been a natural 'heel manager' had he chose to go that way in his career.
Chris Evert "99% of me says he didn't throw the match".
Uhh.......yeah.......because women think with emotion and men think with logic.
You sound like Bobby riggs
@@Tatakapendragon If Riggs had common sense......then yes, I do.
Of course he did. Did you see the slop? He owed the mob....this was his 'get out of jail' free card...
An expected answer of a male insecure about his sexuality
@@robertrabbit7809 stupid femenist. if he wanted to he would have destroyed her. his name should be bobby rigged lmao
@@LOL-ro9ef he lost. U lost and your wife probably fakes in the bedroom.
Fascinating
Definitely a very high probability that he did. He was involved with these Mobsters and it was the perfect pay off. Everyone believed he was going to win easily so he figured make a killing on the bet. It makes sense.
For me it's pretty obvious and for Billy Jean King... Watch a couple of episodes of the British show "Would I lie to you?" and it's also obvious that pretty much anyone can lie and anyone can believe it's true. The evidence that he folded is a lot stronger then the opposite.
All-time greats Jack Kramer and Don Budge knew this match stunk to high heaven--and they caught hell for saying so. Four months earlier Riggs blew away Margaret Court with clever placement. Against King he seemed to be hitting the ball right at her every point. The real eyebrow-raiser was how badly Riggs served at critical moments versus King. He was known for his very accurate serve, but he double-faulted at key points of this match.
He didn't blow her away. She missed easy shots. Played horribly. Why didn't anyone say Court threw that match?
They were both under pressure and nervousness easily explains that.
@@Provemewrongwithfacts What would've been her motivation?
@@laustcawz2089 Good question. Money? Mostly I was just presenting a counter argument. Tennis is an extremely difficult game that requires tons of practice. Still, any great player can have a bad day.
Margaret Court was also pregnant when she played that game. Of course she wasn’t on her game.
That's interesting he played with chairs on the court, because for as long as I've been playing tennis, at least once a year or so I have a dream where I'm playing with all sorts of furniture, etc. on my side of the court.
Of course he did those were the days of dodgy bookies everybody did something for money
Billie Jean cannot be serious when she says: "Bobby doesn't get involved with mobsters...."
His nickname was "the hustler" FHS !
Who's Billie Jean kidding ?
Billie: I beat a man fare and square!
Interviewer: Nope.
Billie: 😞
Yeah, the interviewer is a dope! Who knows more about that match, King or the interviewer?
@@theoriginalthinker9199 Who is more likely to be honest about the situation? A journalist with no bias or the person who was involved in said scam with EVERYTHING to lose if the truth comes out? Not much critical thinking being done for someone of your namesake...
@@patm3802 Do you really think the journalist "has no bias"? The journalist wants to expose a long held notion about a famous event. No bias, are you kidding me? No matter how much people believe the match was fixed, being that Bobby Riggs is dead, it will still be just an opinion. So King has NOTHING to lose!
@@theoriginalthinker9199 LOL if you say so. Yeah I'm sure this journalist is more invested and has more at stake than BJK... smh...
@@patm3802 BJK has nothing at stake. Books and movies have been written about the legitimacy of that match. Her legacy is intact. The journalist wants to make a name for himself at the expense of BJK. But believe whatever you like.
Looking at the real footage I say he threw the match not saying he would’ve won if he played hard but saying he made sure he lost
All I can say is watch the stinking match and keep count of errors by Riggs and really ask yourself if he looked like he was trying
Riggs earned a lot of money-I think
think he needed the money and also had problems with game-Mafia !
Schon wieder so ein Troll.
Riggs did the job
You see that volley?
It's harder to hit it under the net than to hit it over the net.
Bobby Riggs hustled America.
when Riggs missed he would slump his shoulders or shake his head or throw up his shoulders and hands like "awww schucks you got me again" it was a total act and 100% threw that match, the money on bets was just too good for a gambler like him.
Nah, dude. This is fantasy clown world. All of his actions were genuine.
BJK says, "Bobby doesn't get involved with mobsters...' LOL. A notorious Vegas compulsive gambler celebrity, who was in deep debt, doesn't get involved with mobsters? PLEEEEAASE! Can she really be that naive? The whole thing was a psy-op. I wonder if they got to Margaret, too.....She didn't play her game, and looked so nervous....Bobby would never admit to what he'd done because it would put his family in danger. That's why he did it in the first place, to get out of debt, and save his family from destitution. It's what gamblers (and husbands) do!
If he would've beat BJK, he would've made more money.
Dude this looks like some WWE type stuff. It is so obvious it was fake.
daytradernupe facts lol
@@Silvercharm5555 "facts" except its an opinion.
If it's "so obvious" then why weren't everybody saying it back then? What's obvious is your stupidity.
@@Kimera92 An opinion with a lot of supporting circumstancial evidence. I mean really... tennis is a sport where sportsmanship rules are taken more seriously than most other sports, but one player gives the other a pig as an insult before the match begins? And the other guy sells billboard space on his jacket?
Plus, if this was meant to settle anything, why did they have a rematch clause? That brings up the question of if Riggs bet against himself to lose the first match, took the cash, then tried to use the rematch clause to play against the odds again by betting to win against someone he already lost to. We know for a fact, not an opinion, that he later tried to invoke that very rematch clause, but King refused it.
If she won legit, why would she shy away from the rematch she already agreed to?
@@Provemewrongwithfacts They were saying it back then. lol
where did you get the footage ?
there's a reason why you can't find a recording of this match anywhere. they don't want people to realize how obvious it was that it was fixed. billie jean king was in on it too. not before but after the match. she knew riggs threw it but has to deny it for the sake of her cause.
That's a fairly stupid remark. Sorry that you're so cynical! If you can't find a recording "anywhere", then how could you possibly know that it was rigged?
@@Provemewrongwithfacts You just answered your own question! Looks like you topped my remark for stupidity. Lol. You can easily find the lesser known Riggs-Court match and even the hardly remembered Connors-Navratilova match and yet, with all its hype and popularity, you can't find the Riggs-Kings match anywhere. Isn't that interesting?
@@jonayosores9944 Um, I saw the match when it originally aired. Riggs threw nothing. He got his ass whipped so bad, that at times it was comical. Margaret Court played horrible. If you said she threw that match it would be more believable.
@@Provemewrongwithfacts Um, you're basing your opinion on a distant memory that's over 40 years old. You really need to see the replay. What's comical is Riggs wasn't even good at pretending to try to win. It's obvious he threw that match-- a match he played just 4 months after beating Court, who at the time was the World Number 1 and better than King. Although the idea of Court throwing that match is an interesting one, it's unlikely since nothing in her past would suggest she might do that. Riggs, on the other hand, was a well known gambler who also bet on tennis matches. His suspicious play and his history of hustling led many to believe he threw his match against King.
@@jonayosores9944 Watch Margaret against any player. I think she was spooked playing against a man. She was missing the easiest shots, constantly! As far as my memory, it's not just mine: friends were saying the same thing, at the time, how bjk made Riggs look like a fool. I mean. Riggs was a little old man, maybe an inch taller than King. Don't judge the whole match by these few shots. Bjk destroyed him in straight sets and made him look like a fool in doing it. It wasn't even close. The fact that she has to defend herself, I find that to be utterly degrading. Riggs didn't beat Margaret Court, she beat herself. If Margaret plays her game, she would've destroyed him too.
It's funny that if he was as tired as you all say
At the end of the match
he still ran and jumped over the net at the end.???
It was obviously a tactic he was using to try and throw BJK off. He pretends he’s tired and she uses it as an opportunity to conserve energy; hence letting her guard down a little. It obviously didn’t work.
@Michael Davis - wouldn’t know anything about that 🤷🏽♀️
fastest he ran all match
He definitely rigged it.
Lmao if you watch that match nd dont think bobby was purposely threw the match you aint a tennis fan
Simple answer "YES"
I watched it live on TV and it was clear the he did in fact throw the match. Let's not forget he beat Margaret Court only a few months before playing King.
The fact that he beat Margaret Court means NOTHING. If it was so "clear" then why wasn't anybody saying it back then? I saw the match, and it was "clear" that BJK destroyed Bobby Riggs, and everybody else who saw it back then believed it as well.
@Prove me wrong with facts. That’s not the answer I got after I watched the video
@@Provemewrongwithfacts people did say it back then as well
@@troywright359 Who? That's right, you don't know. You must be a democrat. Make claims but can't back them up.
Lol. Did you see some of those shots that Riggs hit?!?! The only thing that they would indicate he was not tanking was how bad they were! Looking to watch the whole match, but unless he was on death's door, no way those were legitimate attempts to hit a shot. I'm 58 and I could have beaten him (based on those shots)?! I'm actually surprised that he made it so blatant, but at the same time, no way he was "trying" to make those shots. And I'm sure he expressed mocked frustration, and intensity, that BJK "saw in his eyes" during changeovers. As though during changeover one can't act intense and wanting to win... We're not talking an Oscar-worthy performance on the big screen with the camera up-close is necessary.
He might have just been mentally deranged and lost because of it....
He was an old man! How can you expect him to make the same shots he did in his prime. Also, he was demoralized cuz BJK was kicking his ass, and making him look stupid.
@@Provemewrongwithfacts yeah he was demoralized so he stopped trying to beat her, eh?
6:08
😆😆😆😆😆🤣😂
Yea, *thats* the ticket!
I knew of a Chicago bookie, Sonny S., he got out and retired just a few weeks after this famous match, a friend of his told me that Sonny's ship had come in. He ended up buying nice place in Florida near Jupiter Beach on the river (he even invited my down and took me out fishing), and a beautiful home in Wisconsin. The last time I saw him some years ago, it looked like a good wind would blow him away, but he had a good looking live in nurse and he still was as tough talking as ever, he was quite the character.
Even McEnroe said Riggs threw the match *subliminally*
I remember watching this match when I was a kid. I was wondering why Bobby Riggs wasn't chasing down balls that professionals normally do. It didn't look like he was trying. This rumor would explain it. I'm convinced Riggs did rig the match.
Billy annihilated Margaret Court. Margaret was the #1 ranked woman in the world and couldn't beat a 55 year old man.
He was a genius. I wonder how much he made?
I think he saved his life more than anything...he was probably pretty close to wearing some cement shoes lol
Why is the match not on TH-cam?
Riggs being nervous is the dumbest thing ive heard in a long time, just because Billie were nervous doesnt mean Bobby is
From the highlights I saw, he absolutly threw the match. I could have played better than that and I've never picked up a racket in my life.
Those highlights were specifically chosen to gull people into thinking the match was thrown.
@@Provemewrongwithfacts Well then they did a pretty good job of picking those highlights. Couple that with his crooked history of throwing matches and you'd have to be pretty nieve to think that match was on the up and up.
@@TheNorgate Riggs doesn't have any history of throwing matches.
@@Provemewrongwithfacts Oh yes he does. It's in the documentary. I suggest you watch it before claiming to be an expert on it.
@@TheNorgate I'm an expert on the game of tennis, and I saw this match. He didn't throw this match. One reason is because the match was too close, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. That's a close match, which means you have to try hard to make it that close. If it were 6-1, 6-1, 6-0, you might have a point.
Clearly a throw
The look on her face when he tells her Bobby did know mobsters.
just watching the mach tells the story.
He was a notorious gambler lol
“He’d do anything for a buck”
He promoted the match heavily and books took in a lot of action
He owed money and this was the easiest way to pay it clean lol
And he had to keep it secret to avoid problems
His tennis didn’t even look right lol
He threw a meaningless match like Satan vs Jesus
Smart man
The easiest way to do anything, was to beat Billie Jean King! He would've made a helluva lot more if he did that. He thought he could, but he couldn't.
Prove me wrong with facts. Too risky and less odds to make money
@@Provemewrongwithfacts I actually heard that in the underground scene there was 40 times more the money bet on him to lose than on the legal scene .
@@finnblower7075 Why would Riggs bet on himself to lose? The thought is laughable! Imagine Riggs' mindset at the time:
"I'm gonna promote the hell out of this match, convince all these people to put up all this money, then I'm gonna bet on myself to lose, and convince millions of people that I'm trying to win. It will be the best acting job anyone's ever seen. I'll make a fortune! I'm a bad mother....." LOL
What I've been trying to tell people in here, is that Riggs was a great tennis player. No doubt. But he wasn't THAT guy!
They were ready for Satan vs Jesus but they never showed up! They're fictional.
BJK really think she won fair and square 😂
Of course he threw the match. It was set up for King to win.
Watch the match and you will clearly watch he just let her win.
Rigged. By Riggs.
This is all History peeps, stop debating, you can't change it, I thank God for BJK, Women's tennis which is now dominate over Mens is because she helped pave the way!!!
Billie Jean is delusional.
Of course he did.Poor Billy Jean King, she cannot accept the truth, she had no chance.
You see those shots he missed--*I* could have made those, and I don't play tennis. It's so obvious.
No Steve, you couldn't have. JFC.
Margaret Graham
He missed countless incredibly easy shots. This match was 100% fixed and it’s really obvious. You can also watch Serena Williams completely unable to return a single serve against an unranked male player. Women can’t compete with men in tennis...period. The difference in serve power alone is insurmountable.
No one believes women can beat men generally in tennis. Men are stronger and faster than women. This is a fact of life. My point was that Steve here, who has never played tennis, could not have returned shots from Billie Jean King.
Bobby Riggs was 55 years old while she was at the top of her game. It wasn't fixed at all, why would it be ? She won fair and square whether you like it or not. Trust me at 55 years old you're way past it.
Sorry, no you couldn't....the #132 ranked female could beat you....
Heres a scoop, Andre the Giant threw his match at Wrestlemania 3 to Hulk Hogan..... in other “news”
djrobriggs Lier
I swear to god, I was planning to write the same thing but you beat me to it by a year lol
Stephen Terranova Not true
@@rickrick5041 im not a 'lier' rick rick, oh and its true.. its damn true :)
djrobriggs Your name says ewe are a relative of Bobby Riggs and you’re trying to blame Andre for doing the same thing yer relative did. So lier shud apologize
loooool is that even a question? lmfao
Anyone here from the Schmo talking about Amanda Nunes vs Male? lmao
I think Riggs fell into the same trap that Mike Tyson did before facing Buster Douglas. The Court win got him overconfident and he did not train as hard for the BJK match because he thought it was a lock. Plus if he beat BJK, he was already planning on booking a match with Chris Evert for an even higher purse. Why would you be planning this if you planned to throw the BJK match?
accurate, lack of training, LOTS of partying, and over confidence and planning for more follow up. Losing on purpose?? This isnt wrestling. Thank you for the most reasonable comment I've seen about this.
What about to make the scam less obvious ?
You must be unaware of the part where there was a contractual rematch between the two of them, set up before the first match even took place. BJK broke the agreement and refused the rematch... obviously because she also knows he threw the first match and would beat her easily if he actually tried.
although i wouldn't put it past Riggs to bet against himself and throw the match, but the more likely scenario is that he just lost fair and square
The whole thing wasn't that meaningful. BJK knew that she couldn't win against a top male player due to male strength/speed advantages. But he was well past his prime and, like King, under pressure and nervous. That easily explains why he made what might seem like obvious errors.
I don't need any reports from alleged witnesses 40 years after the event. As a long time tennis enthusiast I can see with my own eyes that Bobby rigged the match (pun intended) and threw it for reasons only he himself knew. It's glaringly obvious for everybody who ever watched the match, and Billie Jean King - whom I admire greatly for rising to the occasion in the first place - and her supporters have been in constant denial for decades. However, whatever Bobby Riggs may have done, I think that he later did the honorable thing. He realized how much the match meant to BJK and the cause of Women's Lib - and Bobby Riggs stuck to the version that he had been beaten fair and square. He could've easily planted doubts later, without having to fear serious retributions, but he never did. He took the secret into his grave.
Those "alleged witnesses" including me, saw the match. Did you? You can't judge this match by a few well chosen snippets specifically chosen to gull people like you.
6:34 ORIGINAL OF AUUUGHH