Most of you probably know that Rheo Blair prepared Bobby Riggs nutritionally for the first match against Margaret Court in 1973 and Bobby beat her handily. Riggs was a committed Blair disciple taking his 400 Blair pills every day and following a careful diet as prescribed by Rheo. This brought Rheo tremendous national attention. But in the second match, the one against King, it has always been a mystery why Riggs lost. We know he let himself go downhill physically, didn't prepare for the match, sloughed off his nutrition program like he didn't care. Why? Perhaps we now have the answer.
It's fascinating and it has Billie Jean King Fans up in arms. Want to watch Bobby Riggs discuss his 400 pills/day regimen with Mike Wallace on 60 minutes? Want to watch him swallow a handful? The portion with the pills begins at 3:50 if you want to fast forward. The little black pills are Blair's famous Soybro. Wish I had some of those today. Riggs had a tough time taking them but as you can see he made himself do it. But the toughest pill to swallow must have been throwing the second match if in fact that is what happened.
Mike Wallace' opening statement, in hindsight, may be both ironic and wrong:
"In the era of winner-take-all tennis
a past champion hit upon a unique way to cut himself in on the action. Challenge the women. Make it about
anything but the money. Make it about the superior gender"
It may have been ALL about the money, after all. Not something Billie Jean King will relish, if true.
Copyright © 2008 - 2013 Charles Welling
All rights reserved.
Information found on Rheo H. Blair: The Book is meant for educational and informational purposes only, and to motivate you to make your own health care and dietary decisions based upon your own research and in partnership with your health care provider. It should not be relied upon to determine dietary changes, a medical diagnosis or courses of treatment.
