Billie Jean King Named Grand Marshall for 136th Rose Parade

By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Monday, October 7, 2024Photo credit score: J. Emilio Flores/Cal State LA

Grand Slam champion Billie Jean King will carry within the New Yr as Grand Marshall for the Rose Parade. 

The 39-time Grand Slam champion from Lengthy Seashore is returning to her roots to function Grand Marshall for the 136th Rose Parade.

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Event of Roses President Ed Morales introduced at this time on the entrance steps of the long-lasting Event Home as King made a grand entrance to Elton John’s hit tune “Philadelphia Freedom”—a tune famously written in her honor that served because the theme for her WTT squad.

King’s choice as Grand Marshal ties seamlessly into this 12 months’s parade theme: “Finest Day Ever!”, celebrating life’s finest moments.

Billie Jean King’s affect extends far past sports activities and the tennis court docket. Named one of many “100 Most Necessary People of the twentieth Century” by LIFE journal, she is the primary girl athlete to obtain the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and she’s going to grow to be the primary particular person girl athlete to obtain the Congressional Gold Medal.

King can also be the founding father of the Ladies’s Sports activities Basis, the Ladies’s Tennis Affiliation, and the Billie Jean King Basis.

As Grand Marshal, King will experience down Colorado Boulevard, ushering within the new 12 months with the sweetness and custom the Parade is understood for and take part within the pre-game ceremony on the School Soccer Playoff Quarterfinal on the 111th Rose Bowl Recreation.

“Being from Lengthy Seashore and rising up in Southern California I’ve fond recollections of watching the parade with my household and I’m deeply honored to be named Grand Marshal of the 2025 Rose Parade,” mentioned King. “This parade is a superb celebration of pleasure and neighborhood, and it really represents the “Finest Day Ever” for all who attend or watch.”