With 39 Grand Slam titles, including 20 Wimbledon titles, the tennis star has quite the resume. King has also received many recognitions outside of her sports accomplishments, including receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama in 2009. She also become the first female athlete to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
“This is like a dream come true,” said King as she took to the stage in front of the Tournament House in Pasadena on Oct. 7. “I remember saying to my mom and dad, ‘That would be fun to be the grand marshal!’ Little did I know.”
Of the 155 Rose Parade grand marshals, King is one of only 15 athletes who have been given the title, accounting for just around 10%.
The first athlete chosen as a grand marshal for the Rose Parade was Amos Alonzo Stagg in 1944. Stagg was a coach for the U.S. Olympic Track and Field team in the 1924 Paris Olympics. Well known for his career as a football coach, the Division III championship game otherwise known as the “Stagg Bowl” is named after him.
Laurie Hernandez is announced as one of three 2020 Tournament of Roses Grand Marshals Tuesday, October 15, 2019. Hernandez along with Rita Moreno and Gina Torres will be Grand Marshals for the 2020 Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade. The theme for this year’s parade is “The Power of Hope”. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
L to R; Grand Marshall Laurie Hernandez, Tournament of Roses President Laura Farber, Grand Marshall Rita Moreno and Grand Marshall Gina Torres at the tournament house in Pasadena, CA Tuesday, October 15, 2019. Hernandez, Moreno and Torres will be the Grand Marshals for the 2020 Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade. The theme for this year’s parade is “The Power of Hope”. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Grand Marshal, Laurie Hernandez, waves as she rides down Colorado Boulevard during the 131st Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA., on Wednesday, January 1, 2020. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)
Rose Parade Co-Grand Marshal Laurie Hernandez and her sister, Jelysa Deserio, get ready to ride in the 131st Rose Parade. (Photo by Ryan Carter)
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Laurie Hernandez is announced as one of three 2020 Tournament of Roses Grand Marshals Tuesday, October 15, 2019. Hernandez along with Rita Moreno and Gina Torres will be Grand Marshals for the 2020 Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade. The theme for this year’s parade is “The Power of Hope”. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Since 2020, the only other athlete to have been chosen as the grand marshal is Olympic Gymnast Laurie Hernández, who shared the title with actors Rita Moreno and Gina Torres. Hernández is also only one of seven Olympic athletes to have been appointed grand marshal of the Rose Parade. The other Olympians include Carl Lewis and Shannon Miller in 1997, Louis Zamperini in 2015 and Greg Louganis, Janet Evans and Allyson Felix in 2017.
Olympic gold medal winners Shannon Miller, left, and Carl Lewis, right, greet spectators along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, Calif., during the 108th Tournament of Rose Parade on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 1997. Miller and Lewis were parade co-grand marshals. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Greg Louganis, Janet Evans and Allyson Felix were announced as the 2017 Tournament of Roses Grand Marshals Thursday, November 3, 2016. The three Olympic legends and Southern California natives represent the Los Angeles 2024 Olympic and Paralympic bid committee working to bring the Games back to the City of Angels in 2024. (Photo by Walt Mancini/Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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Olympic gold medal winners Shannon Miller, left, and Carl Lewis, right, greet spectators along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, Calif., during the 108th Tournament of Rose Parade on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 1997. Miller and Lewis were parade co-grand marshals. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
While it has become the trend that the grand marshal of the Rose Parade is typically someone famous in their career field, that has not always been the case.
An undated photo of actress Mary Pickford in “Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall.” (AP Photo)
1933 Tournament of Roses Parade Grand MarshalMary Pickford (AP Photo)
The Motion Picture and Television Fund dedicated its hospital the Mary Pickford House in a ceremony Wednesday, November 6, 2019. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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An undated photo of actress Mary Pickford in “Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall.” (AP Photo)
For the first 40 years of the Rose Parade, the grand marshals were typically physicians and businessmen, many of whom had taken part in the creation of the parade. It wasn’t until 1933 when Mary Pickford, one of Hollywood’s first film stars, that celebrities started being named the grand marshal. Pickford was also particularly notable as a grand marshal because in addition to being the first actor, she was also the first woman to be given the title.
After Pickford, actors became the most common career category that was appointed grand marshal during in the 1930s. From 1940-1969 it was primarily politicians and then from 1970-1989 it was once again actors.
2022: Tournament of Roses Grand Marshal LeVar Burton waves to the crowd during the 133rd Rose Parade in Pasadena. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
2020 Tournament of Roses Parade Grand Marshal Grand Marshal Rita Moreno, waves to the crowd during the parade in Pasadena, CA., on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)
Grand Marshal Gina Torres waves as she rides down Colorado Boulevard during the 131st Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA., on Wednesday, January 1, 2020. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)
Grand Marshall, Audra McDonald waves to the crowd during the 135th Rose Parade in Pasadena on Monday, Jan. 1, 2024. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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2022: Tournament of Roses Grand Marshal LeVar Burton waves to the crowd during the 133rd Rose Parade in Pasadena. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
However, in the 1990s, we began to see more athletes as Rose Parade grand marshals, including Jackie Robinson, who was given the title posthumous.
In the early 2000s, television hosts became the most common career path for grand marshals, and then once again from 2010 to 2019 athletes took the lead.
So far for the 2020s, actors have been the most common Rose Parade grand marshal with Rita Moreno and Gina Torres in 2020, LeVar Burton in 2022 and Audra McDonald as the most recent grand marshal in 2024.
Shirley Temple Black, who will be the Grand Marshall for the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, is shown, Oct. 19, 1988. (AP Photo)
1939 Tournament of Roses Parade Grand Marshal Shirley Temple (AP Photo)
The first quadruple Grand Marshalls in Rose Parade History, from left to right, Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Jackie Robinson, posthumously through his lifelong friend Ray Bartlett, and Film producer and documentarianDavid Wolper, and Actress and diplomat Shirley Temple Black were introduced Thursday at the Tournament House in Pasadena. (Photo by Rick Sforza, SCNG)
1999 Tournament of Roses Grand Marshal Shirley Temple Black. (Photo by Andrea Roth, Daily Breeze)
1999: For the first time in Rose Parade history, four Grand Marshals were chosen to represent the 20th century: Actress and diplomat, Shirley Temple Black; astronaut Buzz Aldrin; sports legend Jackie Robinson and film producer/documentarian David L. Wolper.
Roy E. Disney, Vice-chairman of The Walt Disney Company and chairman of Disney Feature Animation, was named grand marshal for the 111th Tournament of Roses Parade, in testament to its theme Celebration 2000: Visions of the Future. Roy E. Watson on steps of Tournament House in Pasadena with Disney characters. (Photo by WALT MANCINI, SCNG)
Tournament House with Mickey Mouse, the beloved Disney icon as the Grand Marshal who will lead the family-themed New Year’s Day celebration in Pasadena. As Grand Marshal, Mickey Mouse will represent the theme Celebrate Family to worldwide television viewership as he rides in the 116th Rose Parade, and as he tosses the coin before the 91st Rose Bowl Game on January 1, 2005. (STAFF PHOTO BY WALT MANCINI/SXCITY)
Grand Marshal Kermit the Frog the leads the 107th Tournament of Roses Parade Monday, Jan. 1, 1996, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
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Shirley Temple Black, who will be the Grand Marshall for the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, is shown, Oct. 19, 1988. (AP Photo)
Shirely Temple Black still holds the record for the youngest person to be the grand marshal at just 10 years old. She went on to be the grand marshal two more times at age 60 and 70.
Two fictional characters have been the grand marshal, Kermit the Frog and Mickey Mouse.
Four filmmakers have been named the grand marshal; Walt Disney, Roy E. Disney, George Lucas and Ken Burns.
The last time a businessperson was chosen as the grand marshal was Lee A. Iacocca, the former president of Ford, in 1985. However it is still the most popular career category for grand marshals followed by actors and politicians.
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