The Shoes That Carried a Movement: Why I Bought the Billie Jean King Adidas Sneakers
- Linda Herron
- 39 minutes ago
- 8 min read
A Note from Women Sports USA®
We are pausing our regular article schedule to share this special story. Some moments deserve space outside the normal routine—and the time to be written with care. The return of Billie Jean King’s iconic blue suede adidas sneakers is one of those moments. These shoes carry an important piece of women’s sports history, and their story deserves to be recognized, preserved, and shared.
Written by Linda Herron
Women Sports USA®
Some pieces of women’s sports history belong in museums. Others remain tucked inside scrapbooks, stored in boxes, or displayed on a shelf. When I learned that the iconic Billie Jean King adidas sneakers were returning, I realized that some pieces of history can still be worn, carried, and passed forward.
This week, I am waiting for a pair of bright royal-blue suede sneakers to arrive at my door.
I did not buy them simply because I needed another pair of shoes. I bought them because of what they represent: a woman who understood that competing could become a form of leadership and that one athlete’s courage could help move an entire generation forward.
Billie Jean King’s shoes carry a story much bigger than tennis. They represent progress, equality, visibility, and the power of women athletes to create change.
The Billie Jean King adidas Sneakers Carry Women’s Sports History
Adidas announced the return of Billie Jean King’s iconic Blue Suede Shoe, reimagined as a lifestyle sneaker more than five decades after its historic appearance.
On September 20, 1973, Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in straight sets—6–4, 6–3, 6–3—during the historic Battle of the Sexes.
Although it was presented as a tennis match, everyone understood that something far more significant was taking place. King was not playing only for herself. She stepped onto the court carrying the expectations, doubts, and hopes of millions of women and girls.
She was competing during a time when women athletes were routinely underestimated, underpaid, and denied the recognition they had earned. Her victory became one of the most recognizable moments in sports history, but her influence extended far beyond that evening.
King advocated for equal prize money, helped establish professional opportunities for women tennis players, and used her platform to demand lasting change. She founded the Women’s Tennis Association and the Women’s Sports Foundation, extending her influence beyond the tennis court and helping expand opportunities for generations of girls and women.
Her leadership is part of a much larger story of women breaking barriers and leading movements in sports.
Meet “The Kinger”
Soccer legend Julie Foudy affectionately calls Billie Jean King “The Kinger.” It is a nickname filled with warmth, familiarity, and tremendous respect.
It also feels fitting.
Billie Jean King is not merely a historical figure; she is actively involved in contemporary conversations shaping women's sports. She consistently inspires others to broaden their perspectives, speak up, and take responsibility for advancing the movement.
That energy can be heard on the women’s sports podcast Welcome to the Party. The show brings together two legendary members of the United States Women’s National Soccer Team, Abby Wambach and Julie Foudy, with regular appearances from Billie Jean King.
Together, they celebrate women’s sports, discuss important issues, welcome athletes and changemakers, and make room for plenty of laughter. Julie’s nickname for King has even become part of the show, where listeners hear references to “The Kinger” and segments such as “Ask the Kinger.”
The friendship and chemistry among the three women make history feel alive. They are accomplished athletes from different sports and generations, but they share a belief in the power of women’s voices, experiences, and leadership.
When the new adidas shoes were released, Julie Foudy and Abby Wambach received pairs too. There is something wonderfully fitting about that. The shoes once worn by a tennis trailblazer are now being held and worn by two soccer trailblazers whose own careers helped move women’s sports forward.
The Return of the Blue Suede Shoes
The newly released lifestyle sneaker preserves the vivid blue suede look while adding details that honor King and the 1973 match. Her portrait and signature appear on the tongue. The year “1973” appears on the left heel, while the scores from the match are featured on the right.
Each detail helps tell the story of the athlete and the historic moment behind the shoes.
These are not simply retro sneakers or another fashion release. They are a wearable piece of women’s sports history. They give a new generation an opportunity to ask who Billie Jean King is, what happened in 1973, and why those blue shoes still carry so much meaning.
Why I Bought a Pair
When I ordered the Billie Jean King sneakers, I immediately thought about my old field hockey stick hanging in the garage.
That stick traveled with me through one of the most meaningful chapters of my life. It reminds me of the young athlete I was, the teammates who stood beside me, the coaches who believed in me, and the lessons I carried from the field into the rest of my life.
As I shared in What Sports Gave Me That Never Went Away, the uniform eventually comes off, but the experiences, lessons, and identity of being an athlete remain with us. To anyone else, my stick might look like an old piece of sporting equipment. To me, it holds an entire journey.
It represents early mornings, long practices, victories, mistakes, friendships, expectations, and opportunities. It carries memories of playing Division I field hockey at the University of Rhode Island, serving as a team captain, traveling to England, and attending Olympic development camps.
It also represents everything sports continued to teach me long after my competitive field hockey years ended.
Billie Jean King’s blue sneakers carry meaning on a far greater and more historic scale.
My field hockey stick holds my personal history. Her shoes hold a part of the country's history.
I want to be careful not to suggest that these two journeys are equal. They are not. My field hockey stick represents a personal chapter that shaped my life, while Billie Jean King’s blue suede shoes represent a historic moment that helped change women’s sports.
I express this connection with humility and profound respect—not because my experience matches hers, but because both items remind me that athletes' possessions can continue to narrate stories long after the competition ends. Buying these sneakers is my way of honoring Billie Jean King’s extraordinary legacy and keeping that history close.
Her shoes take us back to a moment when an athlete used her talent, courage, and visibility to challenge what women were told they could achieve. They remind us that progress often begins with someone willing to walk onto a court, field, track, or stage knowing the outcome will mean more than a final score.
Sports Objects Become Storytellers
The objects athletes keep are rarely valuable because of what they cost. Their value comes from what they witnessed.
A worn glove can bring back the feeling of standing on a softball field. A jersey can remind someone of the teammates who became family. A medal can represent months or years of work that nobody else saw. A whistle can carry the memory of every athlete a coach helped guide.
Shoes may be among the most powerful sports objects because they remind us of movement. They carry athletes into competition, through pressure, and toward moments that can change their lives.
Billie Jean King’s shoes carried her onto a court where she knew she was playing for more than herself. She understood the consequences of that moment, accepted the responsibility, and performed under extraordinary pressure.
That is part of what makes these sneakers so meaningful to me. They are connected to movement in every sense of the word. They represent an athlete moving across a tennis court, women moving toward equality, and society being pushed toward a different understanding of what women could accomplish.
Preserving the Stories Behind the Objects
At Women Sports USA®, we frequently discuss the importance of preserving the history of women’s sports. This history is documented in championship records, newspaper articles, photographs, and statistics, but it also resides in personal items and the stories linked to them.
Together, these objects help us understand the key moments that defined women’s role in sports.
A field hockey stick hanging in a garage may look ordinary until someone explains where it has been. A pair of blue suede shoes may look like a classic adidas design until someone tells a young athlete what happened in 1973—and why Billie Jean King stepped onto that court determined to win.
Preserving history means protecting those connections. We cannot assume the next generation will automatically know the stories behind the names, uniforms, equipment, and defining moments of women’s sports. We have to tell them.
This is why the comeback of these shoes is significant. It offers families, coaches, athletes, and fans a chance to discuss Billie Jean King—not just as a tennis champion, but also as a pioneer who recognized how sports could serve as a catalyst for change.
It also allows the story to travel in unexpected ways. It moves from Billie Jean King to Julie Foudy and Abby Wambach, from one sport to another, and from legendary athletes to everyday women who recognize what those shoes represent.
More Than Something I Will Wear
I do not yet know what it will feel like to open the box.
I imagine I will notice the vivid blue suede first. Then I will look at Billie Jean King’s portrait and signature, the year on the heel, and the scores from that historic match. I will think about where women’s sports stood in 1973 and how far we have traveled since then.
I will also think about the work that remains.
Women athletes have greater visibility, stronger professional opportunities, and more powerful platforms than generations before them. That progress also gives more girls the opportunity to discover how sports build confidence, resilience, and leadership.
Yet equality has not been fully achieved. Many athletes are still competing for fair investment, stronger resources, greater media coverage, and the respect their performances deserve.
Billie Jean King has spent a lifetime reminding us that progress requires participation. It takes people who compete, people who speak, people who listen, and people who refuse to allow important stories to disappear.
That is what I enjoy about hearing “The Kinger” alongside Julie Foudy and Abby Wambach on Welcome to the Party. Their conversations show that progress is not handed from one generation to the next and then considered complete. It must be discussed, protected, strengthened, and carried forward together.
When my sneakers arrive, I might wear them to the tennis matches at Indian Wells in November 2026 and March 2027. I may display them. Most likely, I will do both.
Wherever they eventually sit, I know what they will mean to me. They will be a reminder that women’s sports history is not distant or finished. It is alive. It continues to influence the choices we make, the stories we preserve, and the opportunities we create for the athletes coming next.
My field hockey stick tells the story of the athlete I became.
Billie Jean King’s blue suede sneakers tell the story of a woman who helped move an entire generation forward.
Every Object Has a Story
When we preserve an athlete’s shoes, stick, uniform, glove, or medal, we are not merely saving an object. We are protecting the memories, sacrifices, relationships, and breakthroughs connected to it.
Each athlete, coach, official, and supporter can contribute to preserving this history by dedicating time to share her journey in sports.
Billie Jean King’s sneakers remind us that something worn during competition can become a lasting symbol of courage and change. More than five decades after that historic match, the shoes still carry her message forward.
That is why I bought the Billie Jean King adidas sneakers—not simply to own another pair of shoes, but to honor an extraordinary legacy, hold a piece of women’s sports history, and help keep its story alive.
At Women Sports USA®, we believe every athlete’s journey deserves to be remembered. Through storytelling, history, and community, we honor the women who moved sports forward and inspire the generations who will carry that progress into the future.
Every story matters.
Linda Herron is the Founder of Women Sports USA®, a former Division I field hockey athlete, coach, author, and longtime advocate for preserving women’s sports history. Through storytelling, she celebrates the athletes, coaches, officials, and trailblazers who helped change the game.
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