Game, Set, Match

by Susan Ware

  ABOUT THE SAME TIME that Billie Jean King hatched the idea that became womenSports, she also took the beginning steps to establish the women's Sports Foundation (WSF), a nonprofit national organization that in its more than three decades of existence has become the preeminent advocacy group for Title IX and women's sports in the United States. As with many of her ventures, this one had personal roots: “When I was growing up there was no organized group that said sports were just as good for girls as boys. Girls and women were on their own.” Her vision was straightforward and far reaching: “The Foundation is dedicated to encouraging women of all ages and all skill levels to participate in sports activities for health, enjoyment, and development.” Actually, she often joked, the real goal of the women's Sports Foundation was not to have one at all: “Because if we were really having equality, we wouldn't need one.”50

  As with the founding of any organization that starts small and later goes on to greater things, it isn't always easy to pinpoint the exact genesis of the group. Larry King had spurred his wife to start womenSports, but her two coconspirators for the women's Sports Foundation were Donna de Varona, the Olympic swimmer who became a pioneering sportscaster for ABC, and skier Suzy Chaffee. Donna de Varona recalls contacting Chaffee after the Riggs match and asking her to set up a meeting for the three of them to discuss a possible foundation, which was followed by de Varona flying out to California at Larry King’s urging to discuss the idea further.51 Another version of the foundation’s genesis has the three women realizing the need for an advocacy group for women's sports while lobbying in Washington in late 1973 and early 1974, most likely for the women's Educational Equity Act then making its way through Congress.52

  While Donna de Varona always considered herself one of the founders of the organization because of her early role (she also served as its first president), the official incorporation papers filed with the state of California on May 2, 1974, listed only three names: Billie Jean King, Larry King, and their business manager James Jorgensen. The original rationale anticipated the major goals that have animated the foundation ever since, although the balance has shifted back and forth over time in relation to the changing social and political climate:

  To educate women and the general public with respect to women in sports and women's athletic capabilities and achievements;

  To promote equal rights and opportunities for women in sports and to educate women in sports and the general public as to discrimination against women in sports;

  To educate and support women in increasing their athletic good sportsmanship and fair play;

  To encourage and support the participation of women in sports for their health, enjoyment and career opportunities.

  Billie Jean donated $5,000 she had won in a tennis tournament to cover the legal costs. By the time the bills were paid, there was about $500 left in the bank.53

  After the initial incorporation, the foundation basically remained dormant until early 1976, which is often given as its founding year. This lag was not due to a shortage of enthusiasm or interest, just a lack of cash, time, and leadership. At that point Eva Auchincloss, then the associate editor at womenSports, was approached by Jim Jorgensen about becoming the first executive director of the foundation. The editorial staff of womenSports was in the process of relocating to New York, but Auchincloss wanted to stay in California, so the idea clicked. From a small office in San Mateo, whose rent was paid by the tennis star, Auchincloss attempted to figure out how a volunteer organization with only one paid staff member—herself—could have an impact. Although she was interested in sports, Auchincloss initially did not identify herself as a feminist; but as the foundation grew under her leadership, her awareness of the links between expanding opportunities for women and girls in sports and the broader feminist struggle for equality in the political and personal realms was cemented.54

  Billie Jean King summed up the mood and the challenges for the women's Sports Foundation after the first advisory meeting was held in New York in June 1976: “Everyone present at the meeting agreed that our first priority was to change society’s attitudes—there are still negative ideas and prejudices floating around—about women in sports.” How could a start-up with limited funds achieve such an ambitious goal? The key, they decided, was mass education: “teaching both children and parents that sports are important for everyone and that girls have been missing out all the time.” In King’s vision, the interrelationship of mind and body was always integral to a total human being who was both female and feminist: “Being a side-liner does not prepare a woman for an active, equal role in our society,” she argued. “Being a participant does prepare women for the challenges of the many careers that are opening to them.”55

  Starting out with barely 1,000 supporters, the board set an ambitious goal of membership of 50,000 by the end of 1977, with a clear intent to influence public policy and popular ideas through strength in numbers. Despite a few initial attempts to set up local women's sports associations, the predominant thrust of the women's Sports Foundation has been to function as a broad-based national advocacy organization representing the collective voice of women and men interested in women's sports rather than a grassroots effort. Even though the board realized that New York or Washington, D.C., would have been better bases of operation than San Mateo, there was no money for offices or to relocate staff. Not until 1986 did the women's Sports Foundation leave California for New York.56

  Part of the foundation’s strategy, which still animates the organization today, was to enlist the support of prominent female athletes who were willing to lend their names and prestige to the fledgling organization. The media was interested in these women and therefore would provide free publicity and coverage for events they attended. Donna de Varona and Suzy Chaffee, for example, were especially generous with their time in the early stages: as de Varona put it, “Although we didn't have power or money, we did have visibility.” Other athletes who signed on at the start included sprinter Wyomia Tyus, speedskater Diane Holum, diver Micki King, softball star Joan Joyce, golfer Jane Blalock, bowler Paula Sperber, and volleyball player Mary Jo Peppler, with Chris Evert joining Billie Jean King (the chair) to represent the world of tennis.57

  Many of these athletes had gathered for the first women's Superstars Competition in Houston in December 1974, an unusual chance for twenty-three elite competitors from a broad range of sports to get to know other female athletes they had often only read about in the newspaper—and to win some serious cash. (The winner, Mary Jo Peppler, took home almost $50,000.) During the hours the athletes spent waiting around while the events unfolded for the sole convenience of the television crews, many expressed an interest in trying to maintain their sense of camaraderie by organizing some sort of loose confederation that spoke for all women in sports. At the time, though, they were too busy with the competition to take any more concrete steps.58

  The women's Sports Foundation also drew on the support, financial and otherwise, of prominent celebrities and business leaders. The sports-loving television star Dinah Shore, an influential promoter of the professional women's golf tour, was a prominent early supporter.59 Joining a bit later but making up for lost time was Peanuts creator Charles Schulz, who became a trustee in 1979 and a major contributor soon after. Schulz was especially generous in allowing the foundation and other feminist organizations to use sports-related comic strips (think Peppermint Patty as a pitcher or Lucy telling Charlie Brown he wasn't good enough to play on her team) to illustrate their newsletters and bulletins.60 The WSF also drew support from leaders in sports-related fields such as television, especially Frank Gifford at ABC Sports, as well as corporate support from Colgate-Palmolive, Bristol Myers, and General Mills. Unlike every other organization from this period founded or dominated by Billie Jean King, no cigarette money seems to have been involved from the very start.61

  The initial agenda of the women's Sports Foundation was ambitious for such a small outfit; many of its goals only cam
e to fruition decades later. The foundation envisioned a women's Sports Hall of Fame to bring recognition to outstanding female athletes and build popular awareness of their contributions.62 It anticipated offering scholarships, especially for summer camps and for training expenses of aspiring women athletes, as well as sponsoring competitions and clinics to stimulate interest. It planned to compile lists of Title IX athletic scholarships available through colleges and universities and maintain a reference library on a broad range of topics relating to women and sports. It even hoped to sponsor sports medicine research. At the beginning, however, long-term goals and priorities took a back seat to dealing with the basic necessity of creating a viable organization.63

  The women's Sports Foundation took a significant step forward in terms of public visibility in 1978. Executive director Auchincloss later gave credit to newly hired fundraiser Holly Turner, who was based in New York: “Thanks to Holly’s creative talents, we became the first non-profit organization to marry personalities to corporate interests by designing programs that were attractive advertising and public relations vehicles for the corporation.”64

  Symptomatic of how the organization used publicity and public events to build support from corporate sponsors and individual donors was a three-day benefit weekend in Las Vegas in February 1978 called “All Star Salute to Women in Sports,” which culminated in a ninety-minute, late-night special on ABC. (As in the Battle of the Sexes match, the increasingly symbiotic relationship between television and sports was very evident by the 1970s.) The first of many galas held over the years, it drew corporate support from such large companies as Bristol-Myers, Burger King, Coca-Cola USA, Domaine Chandon, Tiffany and Company, and United Air Lines. Two months later the women's Sports Foundation established the Wade Trophy, named for pioneering basketball player Margaret Wade. The 1978 Wade Trophy was presented to Carol Blazejowski of Montclair State University as the best female collegiate basketball player at an awards dinner in New York City, sponsored by Stayfree (manufacturers of feminine hygiene products such as maxi pads).65

  The women's Sports Foundation added lobbying to its agenda when it joined the public fight to preserve Title IX in 1979. Since the organization only became operational in 1976, it missed out on the early battles that roiled Washington in 1974 and 1975 over the failure of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) to issue regulations and the various attempts to exempt revenue-producing sports from the law’s coverage. In the foundation’s early promotional material Title IX was rarely mentioned by name, but that silence changed in 1979 when the women's Sports Foundation threw itself into the battle to get HEW to enforce the law. Realizing that numbers talked, the group quickly assembled a coalition including twenty-six national sports organizations and eighteen prominent individuals to back a declaration asking for speedy review of the pending athletic regulations.66

  In September a women's Sports Foundation delegation including race car driver Janet Guthrie, golfer Carol Mann, Olympic hurdler Lacey O’Neal, and swimmer Donna de Varona went to Washington to meet with President Jimmy Carter and HEW secretary Patricia Roberts Harris. “We’re here as a living statement that we want women to be able to grow up as part of the American tradition of participation in sports,” de Varona told a news conference. “We want to show the president, Secretary Harris and members of Congress that there is visible grassroots support for Title 9, that it’s not just an issue for lawyers, educators or people outside the system.” Reflecting his administration’s somewhat problematic relationship with the feminist movement, Jimmy Carter made no definitive statements about Title IX but told Donna de Varona that he did support women's sports. From that point on Title IX remained at the top of the women's Sports Foundation’s priorities.67

  The year 1979 also saw the reincarnation of women's Sports as part of the women's Sports Foundation’s outreach. Subscribers to the magazine probably noticed little change at first besides the addition of an apostrophe to the title (to the eternal consternation of librarians and researchers trying to track it down in library databases), and the fact that Billie Jean King no longer contributed a publisher’s letter each month. In what seems to have been a mutually beneficial relationship, the magazine donated editorial and advertising space to the foundation, including a page for a monthly column called “Strides.” In return the magazine received editorial and journalistic input as well as an ongoing link with Billie Jean King. The women's Sports Foundation remained affiliated with the magazine until the publication folded in 1998.68

  With its grand visions for political and personal athletic change, it was incumbent on the women's Sports Foundation to find ways to raise money as well as build popular goodwill toward women athletes. In 1980, it debuted its first annual “Salute to Women in Sports” gala in New York City, which raised $70,000 for the foundation, about half the funds needed to carry out their current budget. Showing a strong sense that the history of women's sports did not just begin in 1972 with Title IX, the foundation inducted nine women into the International women's Sports Hall of Fame. In the pioneer category honorees were Patty Berg, Amelia Earhart, Gertrude Ederle, Althea Gibson, Eleanor Holm, and Babe Didrikson Zaharias. The contemporary category honored Janet Guthrie, Billie Jean King, and Wilma Rudolph. The gala also honored two Sportswomen of the Year: Tracy Austin (professional) and Mary Decker (amateur).69

  Such gala events, which gave athletes a chance to get together in long dresses and high heels rather than sweat suits and sneakers, served to build the kind of camaraderie among networks of athletes that the women's Sports Foundation wanted to tap. After all, having a prominent Olympic medalist or Wimbledon champion endorse a foundation initiative increased its cachet and brought welcome publicity. Corporate sponsors proved eager to align themselves with these popular athletes, especially if it would help sell products. Not everyone was enthusiastic about these galas. Sports activist Pat Griffin caustically pointed out that athletes were given free hairstyle and makeup advice before the annual dinner, but “the men attending the dinner are not offered similar help with their appearance.” Griffin drew this message: “Female athletes in their natural state are not acceptable or attractive and therefore must be fixed and femmed up’ to compensate for their athleticism.” Like the proverbial half-full versus half-empty glass, these fashion makeovers can be read either as a harmless game of dress-up or a crass cop-out to dominant ideas of femininity and hetero-sexuality. Obviously it’s a little of both.70

  One of the original purposes of the women's Sports Foundation was to serve as a clearinghouse of information on women's sports, a place where young athletes or their parents could turn for facts, referrals, encouragement, and strategy. Actually the organization was not the first to have this idea: the credit belongs to the women's Equity Action League (WEAL). What eventually became SPRINT, a national clearinghouse on women in sports, started out in 1975 as WEAL’S Sports Kit, a collection of news articles, studies of sex discrimination in schools and physical education programs, information about Title IX enforcement (or lack thereof), and specific examples of sex discrimination. By the summer of 1978, the Sports Kit contained close to twenty articles and memoranda, accompanied by selected bibliographies on women and sports, as well as audio-visual materials and a chart of federal laws and regulations.71

  Keeping the Sports Kit up to date was initially a volunteer activity, and as the demand increased, a serious responsibility. In the fall of 1977 WEAL sought and won funding from the U.S. Office of Education under the women's Educational Equity Act of 1974 to set up SPRINT, its national clearinghouse, with a full-time staff and a toll-free hotline for complaints of sex discrimination in sports and requests for information. (A few of the callers were looking for a new communications company called Sprint that shared the name.) The WEEA funding allowed the clearinghouse to expand beyond its initial incarnation as “a shoebox full of newspaper clippings” to “a roomful of files and a national network of contacts.” In 1978 WEAL began publication of a quart
erly newsletter called “In the Running,” which provided updates on advocacy on women in sports until it expired in 1982 when WEEA funding ran out.72

  Luckily the women's Sports Foundation was able to pick up the slack. In 1981 the organization had instituted a toll-free 800 number of its own called Sportsline, made possible by a $5,000 grant from Jess Bell, the head of Bonne Bell cosmetics, who was a strong supporter of women's sports, especially running. The hotline started out in California and then went national in April. The “Strides” column called it a “long-standing dream” for the foundation and enthused, “If you have a sports question, you can call the toll-free number and receive an answer immediately.” In its first year, it logged 2,141 calls. This feature is still a prominent service of the organization today.73

  Although Billie Jean King remained the most prominent female athlete associated with the women's Sports Foundation, always willing to share her celebrity for the cause of women's sports, she did not play a large role in its day-to-day operation in its early years. By 1982, for example, she was listed only as founder and an honorary member of the board of trustees. A case can be made that Donna de Varona, who served as the foundation’s first official president from 1978 to 1984, was actually more critical to the start-up stage of the group than Billie Jean King. As Donna Lopiano later told de Varona, “In fact everyone knows, Billie Jean King included, that if it wasn't for you, the women's Sports Foundation wouldn't be here today. If it was not for your leadership and Eva [Auchincloss] and Holly [Turner]’s role in staffing the everyday activities of the organization, the foundation would never have developed into the force it is because Billie Jean King was not involved during the crucial beginning years.”74