45th Anniversary of the WBL… More Than a Day… A Historical Reference, A Guide, A Touchstone

On December 9, 1978, newly crowned Title IX and AIAW college graduates from all over the country came together to launch the first women’s professional basketball league in the United States, the WBL (Women’s Basketball League, also known as the Women’s Professional Basketball League). Eight teams formed two divisions and the Iowa Cornets, Minnesota Fillies, Milwaukee Does, Chicago Hustle, New Jersey Gems, New York Stars, Dayton Rockettes, and Houston Angels stepped into history. Over the next three years, though all did not survive, the league would feature a total of seventeen teams. (Washington Metros, Philadelphia Fox, Dallas Diamonds, St. Louis Streak, San Francisco Pioneers, California Dream, New Orleans Pride, Nebraska Wranglers, New England Gulls). After the WBL, several more leagues attempted to make women’s professional basketball “stick” until finally giving birth to the WNBA, the longest running women’s professional league.

On today’s landscape, female athletes are continuing to grow the game, broaden their fan base, and gain the support of men, all which has helped popularize the phrase, “Bet on Women”. The WBL had many men who bet on women’s professional basketball, fans, sponsors, and the young eager multiple trailblazers who represented the best of their era. After becoming pioneers this special TRIAD formed from Title IX, the AIAW, and now the WBL became a generation of “FIRSTS”. At their universities most were the first to receive athletic scholarships, the first basketball All-Americans, first African Americans, first Wade Trophy winner, first basketball Olympians, among other groundbreaking feats.

The stage was set for them to accomplish one more first. So, on a cold December day, the Chicago Hustle defeated the Milwaukee Does in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 92-87. The crowd of just under eight thousand enthusiastic, curious fans witnessed history. On display was the first women’s professional basketball league and a “gimmicky ball”, the newly produced 28.5”, size 6 ball that debuted in the game … both delivered. The brainstorm of former Redhead and WBL player Karen Logan, she felt the smaller ball would improve ball handling, passing, and make the game faster. An added benefit would be increased shooting range for the women.  WBL founder Bill Byrne believed in it, Wilson produced it, the players and coaches embraced it, and the league was off and running with a ball that would go on to revolutionize the game. This “first” would later become the standard size for the collegiate ranks in 1984, now produced by Baden and other brands. Today’s youth, high school, collegiate and professional levels mirror everything Karen Logan envisioned.

In this 45^th anniversary year, Legends of the Ball, Inc. (former WBL players) asks that the universities of the women of the WBL “Find Your Trailblazer”.  They are still in the record books, in your halls of fame, and their jerseys hang from the rafters. They are in a league of their own, because only one league can be the first. They took advantage of everything  Title IX offered and more. They sit in the stands of many collegiate and professional games oblivious to those around them. They see themselves in today’s players, who do not know or speak their names. The players feel uplifted but do not know the source. They continue to soar, but do not know who gave them wings.  We ask that the broadcasters and sports writers discover them, the history they made and include them in the conversation when speaking of growth, contributions, and impact. How can we gage how far we have come if we do not know where we started. The unknown names, faces, and seminal moments represent individual and collective journeys. We ask that the coaches know their trailblazer stories and share it with the players, because they do not know what they don’t know. When they learn, it will become a reference, a guide, and a touchstone leading to knowledge, and inspiration. They will know that someone opened doors and kept them open so that they could walk through. Someone left a legacy to help them figure out their own, and in many cases, their “why”.

In the end, the trailblazers of every era should find themselves on the timeline and path that led us to where we are today.  The anniversary of the WBL is an opportunity to shine a light on a group of hidden figures who hold the key to an important part of women’s basketball history.

LEGENDS OF THE BALL, INC.