Long Beach icon and global sports legend Billie Jean King was honored in her native city this weekend — at the library that bears her name.
King, a Poly High graduate who won 39 total Grand Slam tennis titles — counting singles and doubles — and has long been an advovate for women’s and LGBTQ right, received the Library Leadership Award during the 20th annual Grapes Expectations gala on Sunday evening, Oct. 1.
That award, according to the Long Beach Public Library Foundation, which puts on the dinner each year, goes to “those who have demonstrated longstanding financial support” to the foundation, according to the nonprofit’s website.
(Skip Keesal, a longtime Long Beach philanthropist and library supporter, was also honored Sunday. He received the Durnin Family Award, which goes to those who “have demonstrated exceptional leadership and dedication to the Long Beach Public Library Foundation, our public libraries and the community,” according to the organization’s website.)
The gala included a gourmet dinner, fine wine and an auction.
And, of course, the chance to see a hometown hero and a living legend in person.
Grapes Expectations — and yeah, that’s a fairly easy-to-understand pun for book lovers — is a fundraiser for the Long Beach Public Library Foundation, which supports the city’s 12 public library branches.
The gem of the city’s public library system is the Billie Jean King Main Library, which opened on Sept. 21, 2019.
This was the first time the gala has taken place at the main library.
So it’s no surprise why the gala wanted to honor King. And a quick glance at her resume makes is clear why Long Beach named the main branch after her to begin with.
Besides being a native daughter of Long Beach and one of the greatest women tennis players of all time, King, 79, has also spent her life as a pioneer in the women’s rights movement, an LGBTQ champion and a leading figure in the fight for pay equity for women. And, in a further boost to her already legendary status in Southern California, she’s also a minority owner of the postseaon-bound Los Angeles Dodgers.
But among her proudest moments, King said last week, was having Long Beach name a library after her.
“That was a moment I’ll never forget,” said in a recent interview. “Having my name on it in the place where I grew up is one of the greatest honors of my lifetime.”