Selena Roberts claimed in her book documenting the match, A Necessary Spectacle, that Riggs later undertook a public lie detector test to prove he did not throw the match.
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In the 1946 tour against Budge, Riggs won 24 matches and lost 22, plus 1 match tied at Birmingham, Alabama establishing himself as the best player in the world (source : American Lawn Tennis July 15, 1946, page 34).
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She phoned him one last time, the night before his death and, according to Billie Jean herself in an HBO documentary about her, the last thing she told Riggs was "I love you." (Interview with Billie Jean King, USA US Open telecast, August 28, 2006)
Bobby Vinton | Bobby Jindal | Bobby McFerrin | Bobby Darin | Bobby Fischer | Bobby Womack | Bobby Bare | Bobby Flay | Bobby Charlton | Bobby Thomson | Bobby Shew | Bobby Rydell | Bobby Moore | Bobby | Bobby Riggs | Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby | Bobby Watson | Bobby Troup | Bobby Shantz | Bobby Labonte | Bobby Broom | Bobby Andrews | Bobby V | Bobby Deol | Bobby Tambling | Bobby Jordan | Bobby Jarzombek | Bobby Hackett | Bobby Bowden | Bobby Bonds |
Its list of winners reads like a "Who's Who'" of tennis - Nat Emerson, Beals Wright, Bill Tilden, George Lott, Bobby Riggs, Frank Parker, Bill Talbert, Tony Trabert, Barry MacKay, May Sutton, Alice Marble, Pauline Betz, and Dorothy Bundy, to name but a few.
In December 1941 - April 1942 the Pro tour consisted of round-robin matches between Don Budge, Bobby Riggs, Fred Perry, and Kovacs (with Gene Mako, Lester Stoefen and even Bill Tilden, for one match, as replacements).
Perenchio was also a sports promoter, and in 1973 organized The Battle of the Sexes tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs which was held in Houston at the Astrodome.
He also played matches with celebrities such as the tennis player Bobby Riggs (1948) and the concert pianist Julius Katchen (1955).
During these formative years Ron feels very lucky to have also worked closely with some of the all time greats: Pancho Segura, Pancho Gonzalez, Bobby Riggs, Jack Kramer and Emmett Pare’, all top playing professionals who took Ron under their wing and remained good friends throughout his career to the present.
San Diego Country Estates, on May 13, 1973, hosted former 55 year old tennis player Bobby Riggs and then 30 year old women's world number one player, Margaret Court.
He told Sports Illustrated in a 1976 interview that he once hitch hiked to Detroit to watch Don Budge play Bobby Riggs because he wanted to learn how Budge hit his backhand.