Anne Walsh | Issue 2

Anne Walsh

Issue 2

San Francisco, USA: The Thing Quarterly, 2008

4” x 6”

Edition size unknown

The second (of thirty-four) issue of The Thing Quarterly is a doorstop, or wedge, by Anne Walsh. Set into the surface of the orange rubber wedge is a fan letter that a very young Walsh wrote to Billie Jean King in 1973, after she had beaten Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes tennis match.

It reads: 

Sept 20, 1973

Dear Billie Jean King,

I hope you get this letter. I think you are really great.

My family and I watched you play on tv tonight. We saw you beat Bobby Riggs in 3 sets. WOW. You won! I am really, really excited.

I am not an aspiring tennis player, But you are my inspiration because you are so strong. You are so passionate about equality for girls and women. You won that match for me and for everyone who cares about women's lib.'Thank.ou. You are so great.

Keep on fighting!