Larry King (tennis)
| Larry King | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Lawrence King January 30, 1945 Dayton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Residence | Grass Valley, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Known for | Founder of World Team Tennis |
| Spouse(s) |
Billie Jean King (m. 1965–1987, divorced) Nancy King |
| Children | Sky King Katie King |
Lawrence "Larry" King (born January 30, 1945) is an attorney, a real estate broker, one of the founders of World Team Tennis, and the former husband of tennis star Billie Jean King.
King was born in Dayton, Ohio, and raised in Eagle Rock, California.
He met Billie Jean Moffitt at California State University, Los Angeles, where he played on one of their best men's tennis teams, coached by Scotty Deeds. He married Billie Jean Moffitt on September 17, 1965 in Long Beach, California. In 1971; Larry King conceived the idea of a professional tennis tour for women and helped organize a group of eight top women players: Billie Jean King, Rosie Casals, Judy Dalton, Julie Heldman, Kerry Melville, Kristy Pigeon, Nancy Richey, and Valerie Ziegenfuss. Then with the backing of Gladys Heldman of World Tennis and Joe Cullman of Philip Morris, the Virginia Slims pro circuit was started. In 1973 King, along with Dennis Murphy, Jordan Kaiser and Fred Barman, developed the concept of World Team Tennis, and started the league the following year. Also in 1971, Billie had an abortion that was made public in a Ms. magazine article. Larry had revealed Billie Jean's abortion without consulting her. In 1976, King invented a smokeless ashtray, called The Clean Air King. Billie Jean became the major owner of World Team Tennis in 1984. Larry and Billie Jean King divorced in 1987.
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