Cardie Hicks

Last updated
Cardie Hicks
Personal information
Bornc.1955/1956
Listed height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Career information
High school San Pedro
College
Playing career1977–1994
Position Guard/Forward/Center
Career history
197?–?Oud-Beijerland
1979–1981 San Francisco Pioneers
Career highlights and awards
  • WBL All-Star (1981)

Cardie Hicks, also known as Cardte Hicks, is an American former basketball player. [1] Reportedly having a 40-inch vertical leap, she is one of the first women known to have dunked in a professional game, doing so while playing professionally in the Netherlands in 1978. [2]

Nicknamed "Magic", [3] [4] [5] she played basketball at San Pedro High School where she won the Los Angeles City girls' basketball championship in 1972. [6] She attended Long Beach State on a basketball scholarship for three years before transferring to California State University, Northridge for her senior year. [7] During her senior season, she averaged 16.0 points in 15 games. [8]

Following her college career, she played professionally in the Netherland for two seasons [9] where she gained notability in 1978 after having a two-handed alley-oop dunk. [4] She later played two seasons in the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) for the San Francisco Pioneers, [7] averaging 15.7 points in 43 games. She missed the majority of her first season, due to a stress fracture in both legs. [10] In February 1981, she was selected to play in the WBL All-Star game. [11] Following the folding of WBL in 1981, Hicks returned to Europe, playing until 1994, including in Italy and Sweden. In 1997, she tried out for the WNBA Sacramento Monarchs at age 41 but knee problems knocked her out. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slam dunk</span> Basketball technique

A slam dunk, also simply known as dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with one or both hands. It is a type of field goal that is worth two points. Such a shot was known as a "dunk shot" until the term "slam dunk" was coined by former Los Angeles Lakers announcer Chick Hearn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's Professional Basketball League</span> Womens professional basketball league in the United States

The Women's Professional Basketball League was a professional women's basketball league in the United States. The league played three seasons from the fall of 1978 to the spring of 1981. The league was the first professional women's basketball league in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nancy Lieberman</span> American former basketball player

Nancy Elizabeth Lieberman, nicknamed "Lady Magic", is an American former professional basketball player and coach in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) who is currently a broadcaster for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA) as well as the head coach of Power, a team in the BIG3 which she led to its 2018 Championship. Lieberman is regarded as one of the greatest figures in American women's basketball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann Meyers</span> American basketball player

Ann Meyers Drysdale is an American former basketball player and sportscaster. She was a standout player in high school, college, the Olympic Games, international tournaments, and the professional levels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donna Orender</span>

Donna Geils Orender is a sports executive and a former collegiate and professional basketball player. She was formerly president of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and senior vice president of the PGA. Currently, Orender is the founder and CEO of Orender Unlimited, a Jacksonville, FL based advisory and consultancy firm. She travels the world as a motivational speaker and advocating for the empowerment of women and young girls through her non-profit organization Generation W.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rochester Zeniths (basketball)</span> Basketball team in Rochester, New York

The Rochester Zeniths were a professional basketball team in the Continental Basketball Association. They played in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester at the Dome Arena and in downtown Rochester, New York at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. They existed for six basketball seasons, winning two league titles and generally had great success on the basketball court before they disbanded after the 1982/83 season.

Julie Croteau is an American former college and professional baseball player. She is recognized as the first woman to regularly play men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) baseball, as well as the first woman to coach men's NCAA Division I baseball and one of the first women to play in a Major League Baseball-sanctioned league.

Cardell Anthony Butler, also known as "Ballaholic," is an American streetball player. He is known for his appearances on the AND1 Mixtape Tour shows, which aired on ESPN. In conventional basketball, Butler has also played for the San Diego Wildcats of the American Basketball Association. He is 6-foot 4-inches tall, wears size 19 shoes, and plays the guard position. Butler is known for his aggressive scoring ability. When he was 15, Butler received his nickname, "Ballaholic", because he earned a reputation on the basketball court of always shooting the ball whenever he gained possession of it. Butler now plays for the San Francisco Rumble of the American Basketball Association.

<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. In 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 officially drafted by the National Basketball Association (NBA), a men's professional basketball league. For her achievements, Harris was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

Tiffany Jackson-Jones was an American basketball player and coach. She played college basketball for the Texas Longhorns, earning All-American honors. Jackson played professionally in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for the New York Liberty, Tulsa Shock, and Los Angeles Sparks. She also played in the Israeli Premier League for Maccabi Ashdod. She later returned to Texas as an assistant coach for the Longhorns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brittney Griner</span> American basketball player (born 1990)

Brittney Yevette Griner is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. women's national basketball team and a six-time WNBA All-Star.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houston Angels</span> Basketball team

The Houston Angels was a team that played for two seasons in the Women's Professional Basketball League. The team won the league championship in the inaugural season defeating the Iowa Cornets three games to two in the best-of-five tournament. The team played their games at the Astro Arena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Jersey Gems</span> Basketball team in West Orange, New Jersey

The New Jersey Gems was a franchise that played in the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL), one of only three teams in the league to survive through all three seasons, from 1978–79 to 1980–81. The team made the league playoffs once, losing in the first round. The team played its first two seasons at the Thomas Dunn Center in Elizabeth, New Jersey and at the South Mountain Arena in West Orange, New Jersey in the league's third and final season.

"Machine Gun" Molly Bolin is a retired American basketball player who mainly played for the Women's Professional Basketball League. Although her accomplishments for the most part went unrecognized, Bolin, who was the first player signed to play in the WBL, became a pioneering figure in women's basketball, both as a formidable scoring threat and as a sex symbol of the league. Among her accolades, Bolin holds the record for the most points scored in a single game by any professional women's basketball player (55) and the highest single-season scoring average (32.8).

Pearl Moore is a retired American professional basketball player who played for the Women's Professional Basketball League. 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. In 1979, she began her WBL career, playing with the New York Stars, then, the following season, Moore joined the St. Louis Streak. Moore was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.

The 1976 San Francisco State Gators football team represented San Francisco State University as a member of the Far Western Conference (FWC) during the 1976 NCAA Division II football season. Led by 16th-year head coach Vic Rowen, San Francisco State compiled an overall record of 4–7 with a mark of 2–3 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for third place in the FWC. For the season the team was outscored by its opponents 179 to 130. The Gators played home games at Cox Stadium in San Francisco.

Kathy Arendsen is an American softball head coach and former professional player. Arendsen pitched for Holland Christian High School, where she won the state championship, before embarking on a successful collegiate and professional career. During her college years, Arendsen pitched for Texas Woman's University and California State University, Chico, where she led both teams to national championships. In recognition of her efforts, she received the 1978 Broderick Award as the nation's outstanding female athlete in softball. She was also selected to pitch for Team USA at the 1979 and 1983 Pan American Games, winning a gold and silver medal respectively.

Bill Byrne was a sports entrepreneur who founded the first women's professional basketball league in the United States. Byrne was born in Stoutsville, Ohio and founded the National Scouting Association (NSA) which represented student-athletes from the collegiate and amateur ranks to seek professional football opportunities. He then founded the Columbus Bucks, a semi-professional football team, playing in the Midwest Football League (MFL) and served as commissioner. Byrne was hired by the Chicago Fire of the start-up World Football League in 1974 as the Player Personnel Director. When that team folded toward the end of the season, Byrne then went to the Shreveport Steamer for the 1975 WFL season in a similar role. The World Football League folded toward the end of the season.

Connie Renea Kunzmann was a professional basketball player who was a member of the Iowa Cornets and the Nebraska Wranglers in the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) from 1978 to 1981. Kunzmann made the transition from halfcourt six-on-six basketball in high school to the traditional five-on-five full court game in college and the pros. She attended Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska, where she played on the school's basketball and softball teams. In 1978, she signed with the Iowa Cornets of the newly-formed WBL, which was the first women's professional basketball league in the United States.

Milica Vukadinović is a Serbian former basketball player. She grew up in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, where she played for ŽKK Crvena zvezda and the Yugoslavian national team. She played college basketball for University of California, Berkeley where she was a two time First-team All-PAC-10 selection. Following her college stay, she played professionally in Germany for four seasons. She became the first Serbian player to play in the WNBA when she appeared in Charlotte Sting's opener of the 1997 WNBA season on 22 June where she scored 3 points in 14 minutes. That ended being her only WNBA game as a back injury that she suffered in the game ended her season. In 1999, she was set to join the Los Angeles Sparks but the deal fell through due to visa problems.

References

  1. Sam Gordon (26 March 2018). "Pioneers Cardte Hicks, Musiette McKinney embrace Las Vegas Aces". Las Vegas Review-Journal . Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  2. Nick Lozito (21 March 2021). "Those who rose". San Francisco Chronicle . p. B1. Retrieved 26 May 2022 via Pressreader.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  3. Al Morch (25 December 1979). "Let the women show you how to win". The San Francisco Examiner . p. 21. Retrieved 26 May 2022 via Newspapers.com. Closed Access logo transparent.svg
  4. 1 2 3 Scott Ostler (18 March 2021). "'Inspiring' dunks of Stanford's Belibi echo a little-known, high-flying S.F. pioneer". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  5. Stephanie Salter (11 December 1980). "Pioneers itchy for season opener". The San Francisco Examiner . p. F2. Retrieved 26 May 2022 via Newspapers.com. Closed Access logo transparent.svg
  6. Jerry Reigel (6 March 1986). "Long wait is over for Pirates girls". San Pedro News-Pilot . p. D1. Retrieved 26 May 2022 via Newspapers.com. Closed Access logo transparent.svg
  7. 1 2 Jim Hart (4 May 1979). "Cardie Hicks had all the moves but her best one was to Holland". San Pedro News-Pilot . p. A3. Retrieved 26 May 2022 via Newspapers.com. Closed Access logo transparent.svg
  8. "Women's basketball record book" (PDF). gomatadors.com. Cal State Northridge Matadors women's basketball . Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  9. Jim Hart (24 July 1979). "Hartlines". San Pedro News-Pilot . p. 18. Retrieved 26 May 2022 via Newspapers.com. Closed Access logo transparent.svg
  10. Porter, Karra (2006). Mad seasons : the story of the first Women's Professional Basketball League, 1978-1981. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. p. 109. ISBN   0803287895 . Retrieved 26 May 2022 via Google Books.
  11. "3 All-Star Pioneers". The San Francisco Examiner . 9 February 1981. p. F3. Retrieved 26 May 2022 via Newspapers.com. Closed Access logo transparent.svg