Billie Jean King

Born 1943

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The most successful woman in professional tennis, King was top-ranked five times and was in the top ten for 17 years. But her list of "firsts" and "mosts" — the first woman athlete to earn $100,000 a year, first woman to coach a professional team, holder of the most Wimbledon titles ever, most influential person in tennis — are less important than her impact as a personality and a symbol for girls and women everywhere who are interested in athletics. She has aggressively fought for equality for women athletes, for honest professionalism in tennis, and for a woman's freedom to do and be what she wants.

Women's History Month
Tracy Hanson fell in love with golfing when she was 10 years old. She won her first amateur national championship when she was 17, the Western Women's Golf Championship. In college, she decided to go pro. Today, she is an excellent golfer, ranking 69th in the top 100 for the most amount of money earned in 2006.

Women's History Month
The New York Sharks, a women's professional football team, is starting their eighth season in the IWFL's (Independent Women's Football League), Eastern Division of the National Conference.

Women's History Month
Stacy Allison is the first woman to climb Mount Everest, which is just one of her many accomplishments.

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