Boston Lobsters (1974–1978) The centerpiece of the team was tennis legend Billie Jean King who served as its player-coach. King became the first woman to coach a professional sports team that included male players. Once King was signed on with the Freedoms, her good friend Elton John decided to write and record the song "Philadelphia Freedom" to wish her luck on her new venture with WTT and for the team to use as an anthem. John was such a big fan of the Freedoms that he attended home matches wearing the team's uniform and sat on the bench with the players. Although recorded
Larry King (tennis) 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. When Larry and Billie Jean lived in San Mateo, California, they became good friends with Charles Schulz, creator of the comic strip "Peanuts", and with his wife, Jean. They played tennis in Schulz's Indoor Hockey Arena in Santa Rosa, California with many other professional tennis players. King and Denis Murphy also founded Roller