All-American Red Heads

Last updated
All American Red Heads uniform.jpg
All American Red Heads uniform
Gail Marks All American Red Head.jpg
Gail Marks
Becky Harp Pritchett All American Red Head.jpg
Becky Harp Pritchett

The All American Red Heads were the first professional women's basketball team. In 1936, almost 50 years after women's basketball began, C. M. "Ole" Olson (who also founded Olson's Terrible Swedes) started a barnstorming team which would play around the country until 1986. [1] The name of the team came from Olson's wife, who owned a number of beauty salons in the south. [2] They played by men's rules and were a smash success with the audience. They were so successful as an exhibition team that they fostered two other teams, the Ozark Hillbillies and the Famous Red Heads.

Contents

Two of the early players for the team were Geneva (Jean) and Jo Langerman. Jean and Jo were the twin daughters of "Mama" Langerman, an unmarried beautician who moved from town to town. The twins led three teams to the Iowa state tournament, finishing third in 1931 at Whittemore, Iowa, and winning the state championships while at Parkersburg, and Hampton, Iowa in 1932, and 1933. Following their high school career, they played for an AAU team, winning the national championship [3] in 1934, then joined the All American Red Heads. [4] As a result of their accomplishments, they were inducted into the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union Basketball Hall of Fame. [5]

Orwell Moore, a high school coach, coached two of the teams from 1948 and then purchased them. The teams boasted AAU All-American players and stars like Peggy Lawson, Kay Kirkpatrick, and Hazel Walker. [6] Other stars included Willa “Red” Mason, Johnny Farley, Barb Hostert, Jolene Ammons and Cheryl Clark. Orwell Moore's wife, Lorene “Butch” Moore, was also a spectacular Red Heads player. Through the 1960s and 1970s, three teams toured. During the off-season, players taught basketball to girls. Orwell also began Camp Courage, a basketball camp for girls. Charlotte Adams, Glenda Hall, Kay O'Bryan and Jolene Ammons became player coaches.

The All American Red Heads had up to three teams on the road at the same time. Seasons ran from October to late April or early May. The season consisted of approximately 200 games and the teams would travel over 60,000 miles (97,000 km) miles by car. [7]

Sources

Awards and honors

In February 2010, the team was honored at part of National Girls and Women in Sports Day in Minnesota. [8]

In July 2010, the All American Red Heads were honored at the Senior Pan-American games in Eugene, Oregon. They also had a reunion there. It was at this tournament that players laced up their sneakers one more time and played alumni from the NBA Portland Trail Blazers.

The team was honored by the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame for their contributions to the game. The team was recognized in a display entitled "Trailblazers of the Game" at the 2011 Induction Ceremony on June 11, 2011. [9] [10]

On April 2, 2012, the team was announced as a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame induction class of 2012. The Red Heads were formally enshrined on September 7. [11]

In 2017, the team was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

In 2020, the team will be inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ DOYLE, PAUL (March 2, 2012). "Brush With History: All-American Red Heads Featured In Exhibit At XL Center". The Hartford Courant. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  2. ↑ Lannin, Joanna (2000). A History of Basketball for Girls and Women. Lerner Publishing Group. pp.  50–51. ISBN   0-8225-3331-6.
  3. ↑ Lannin, Joanna (2000). A History of Basketball for Girls and Women. Lerner Publishing Group. p.  56. ISBN   0-8225-3331-6.
  4. ↑ McElwain, Max (2004). The Only Dance in Iowa. University of Nebraska Press. pp. 121–123. ISBN   0-8032-8299-0.
  5. ↑ "IGHSAU". Archived from the original on 2008-10-06. Retrieved 12 December 2008.
  6. ↑ Lannin, Joanna (2000). A History of Basketball for Girls and Women. Lerner Publishing Group. pp.  70–71. ISBN   0-8225-3331-6.
  7. ↑ Johnson, William; Nancy Williamson (May 6, 1974). "All Red, So Help Them Henna". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  8. ↑ "2010 Award Winners". National Girls and Women in Sport Coalition. 22 January 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  9. ↑ "Women's Basketball Hall of Fame All-American Red Heads Recognized at 2011 Induction" (PDF). WBHOF. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  10. ↑ "2011 Special Group Recognition". Women Basketball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2011-08-09. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
  11. ↑ "Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2012" (Press release). Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. April 2, 2012. Archived from the original on April 5, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2012.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame</span> Professional sports hall of fame in Springfield, Massachusetts

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and preserving the history of basketball. Dedicated to Canadian-American physician James Naismith, who invented the sport in Springfield, the Hall of Fame inducted its first class in 1959, before opening its first facility on February 17, 1968.

The Naismith College Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the top men's and women's collegiate basketball players. It is named in honor of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's Basketball Hall of Fame</span> Sport hall of fame in Knoxville, Tennessee

The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's basketball. Knoxville is known for having a large women's basketball following as well as being the home of the University of Tennessee's Lady Vols basketball team previously coached by women's coach Pat Summitt, who was part of the first class inducted. With the 2017 Induction, the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame celebrated its 19th anniversary and added six new members to its hall, honoring 157 inductees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geno Auriemma</span> Italian-born American womens basketball coach

Luigi "Geno" Auriemma is an American basketball coach who is the head coach of the UConn Huskies women's basketball team. Since becoming head coach in 1985, he has led UConn to 17 undefeated conference seasons, of which six were undefeated overall seasons, with 11 NCAA Division I national championships, the most in women's college basketball history, and has won eight national Naismith College Coach of the Year awards. Auriemma was the head coach of the United States women's national basketball team from 2009 through 2016, during which time his teams won the 2010 and 2014 World Championships, and gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics, going undefeated in all four tournaments. Auriemma was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teresa Weatherspoon</span> American basketball player and coach

Teresa Gaye Weatherspoon is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played for the New York Liberty and Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA and served as the head basketball coach of the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters. Weatherspoon was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010, and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history. In 2016, Weatherspoon was chosen to the WNBA Top 20@20, a list of the league's best 20 players ever in celebration of the WNBA's twentieth anniversary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lute Olson</span> American basketball player and coach (1934–2020)

Robert Luther "Lute" Olson was an American basketball coach, who was inducted into both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He was the head coach of the Arizona Wildcats men's team for 25 years. He was also head coach for the Iowa Hawkeyes for nine years and Long Beach State 49ers for one season. Known for player development and great recruiting, many of his former players have gone on to have impressive careers in the NBA. On October 23, 2008, Olson announced his retirement from coaching. Olson died on August 27, 2020, in Tucson, Arizona. He was 85 years old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tara VanDerveer</span> American basketball coach (born 1953)

Tara Ann VanDerveer is a retired American basketball coach who was the head women's basketball coach at Stanford University from 1985 until her retirement in 2024. Designated the Setsuko Ishiyama Director of Women's Basketball, VanDerveer led the Stanford Cardinal to three NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championships: in 1990, 1992 and 2021. She stepped away from the Stanford program for a year to serve as the U.S. national team head coach at the 1996 Olympic Games. VanDerveer is the 1990 Naismith National Coach of the Year and a ten-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year. She is also one of only nine NCAA Women's Basketball coaches to win over 900 games, and one of ten NCAA Division I coaches – women's or men’s – to win 1,000 games. VanDerveer was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. On December 15, 2020, she passed Pat Summitt for most wins in women's college basketball history. On January 21, 2024, she won her 1,203rd game as a head coach, becoming the head coach with the most wins in college basketball history, women’s or men’s.

The following are the basketball events of the year 2001 throughout the world.

The following are the basketball events of the year 1999 throughout the world.

Harold E. "Bud" Foster, was an American basketball player and coach. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Foster prepped at Mason City, Iowa and went on to play at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1926 to 1930. While a player at Wisconsin, he was voted twice All Big Ten Conference and helped lead Wisconsin to a 43–8 three year record. He was born in Newton, Kansas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lusia Harris</span> American basketball player (1955–2022)

Lusia Mae Harris was an American professional basketball player. Harris is considered to be one of the pioneers of women's basketball. She played for Delta State University and won three consecutive Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) National Championships, the predecessors to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships, from 1975 to 1977. On the international level, she represented the United States' national team, and won the silver medal in the 1976 Olympic Games, the first women's basketball tournament in the Olympic Games. She played professional basketball with the Houston Angels of the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) and was the first and only woman ever to be officially drafted by the National Basketball Association (NBA). For her achievements, Harris was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Raveling</span> American basketball coach and announcer (born 1937)

George Henry Raveling is an American former college basketball player and coach. He played at Villanova University, and was the head coach at Washington State University (1972–1983), the University of Iowa (1983–1986), and the University of Southern California (1986–1994).

The Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team is part of the University of Iowa athletics department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billie Moore</span> American basketball coach (1943–2022)

Billie Jean Moore was an American college basketball coach. She was the first head coach in women's college basketball history to lead two different schools to national championships. Moore coached the California State-Fullerton Titans from 1969 to 1977, winning the Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (CIAW) national title in her first year in 1970. She led the UCLA Bruins from 1977 to 1993 and won the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national title in 1978. Her overall college coaching record was 436–196. Moore was the head coach of the first United States women's national basketball team to compete in the Olympics. In 1999 she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nera White</span> Basketball player

Nera D. White was an American basketball player. White played in the AAU national tournaments for the Nashville Business College team while completing her education at George Peabody College for Teachers, which did not field a team. Later, she led the United States national women's basketball team to their victory in the 1957 FIBA World Championship. Throughout her career, she was awarded numerous accolades, including her induction to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. Playing at a time when there were no major professional women's basketball leagues in the U.S., White distinguished herself, receiving many accolades as one of the greatest female players in history. Talented in multiple sports, she also was distinguished as an All-World player by the Amateur Softball Association.

Pearl Moore is an American former basketball player. During her collegiate career at Francis Marion University, Moore established herself as one of the most prolific scorers in college history, male or female, and is the all-time career-scoring leader in women's college basketball. She later played professionally in the Women's Professional Basketball League with the New York Stars and the St. Louis Streak.

Leta Mae Rains Andrews is a retired American high school basketball coach who holds the record for the most wins by a high school basketball coach.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.