Billie Jean King is the latest champion honored on Wheaties' famous cereal box

For more than 50 years, Billie Jean King has been a champion for causes such as pay equity, women's empowerment, and fairness for all. Now, she's a "Wheaties Champion," having been honored this week with depiction on the breakfast cereal's newest, iconic orange box.  

Sold in the U.S. for a century, Wheaties has been synonymous with sports for nearly that long due to its early associations with baseball, and is iconic in American culture for its portrayal of famous athletes on its distinct packaging. The first athlete to be featured on a Wheaties box was New York Yankee Lou Gehrig in 1934, and the first tennis player to appear on a box, 1931 and 1932 U.S. Nationals champion Ellsworth Vines, also appeared that year.

Other tennis players to feature on Wheaties boxes over the years include Andre Agassi, Arthur Ashe, Chris Evert, Althea Gibson, Pete Sampras and Serena Williams.

“I am honored to be on the next Wheaties box to join the legacy of incredible athletes and the work we put in for our sport and our communities,” King said in a statement. “I’ve dedicated my life to equality for all, uplifting those around me and inspiring girls and women, in particular, to dream big. This box feels like a full circle moment as we celebrate the next generation of champions.”

King joined ABC's Good Morning America on Thursday to unveil the box, and speak more broadly about equality in sports, as Thursday also marked the 50th anniversary of the Women's Sports Foundation, the non-profit that King founded in 1974 to help girls and women chase their dreams on and off the court.

King later headed to the Empire State Building to light it blue, red, pink and yellow in honor of the half-century milestone.

But the celebrations also came as the campaign for King to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor presented by Congress, that began last year as a piece of another half-century anniversary, the US Open's awarding of equal prize money through her advocacy, is continuing to gain support in Washington. Last week, Georgia senator Jon Ossoff hailed King as a "trailblazer" in throwing his support behind the Senate version of the bill, introduced last September by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.). The corresponding bill in the House of Representatives was introduced last March by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Mikie Sherril (D-N.J.).