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.
Nancy Ilizabeth 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.
David William Cowens is an American former professional basketball player and NBA head coach. At 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), he played the center position and occasionally played power forward. Cowens spent most of his playing career with the Boston Celtics. He was the 1971 NBA Rookie of the Year and the 1973 NBA Most Valuable Player. Cowens won NBA championships as a member of the Celtics in 1974 and 1976. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991. Cowens has also held coaching positions in the NBA, CBA, and WNBA.
James Alan Les is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the UC Davis Aggies men's team. A former point guard, Les played seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) after his college career at Bradley University.
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, Florida–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.
The Milwaukee Does were an American professional basketball team that played in the Women's Professional Basketball League. Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, their name was a play on that of the NBA Milwaukee Bucks. The Does played in the first two of the WPBL's three seasons, 1978–1979 and 1979–1980, before disbanding. The team played its home games at the Milwaukee Arena and were coached for part of the 1979–1980 season by Larry Costello, who had coached the Bucks from their inception, including an NBA championship in 1971.
The Minnesota Fillies were an American women's professional basketball team based in Minnesota that competed in the Women's Professional Basketball League from 1978 to 1981. The Fillies were one of three teams to play in all three of the league's seasons. The Met Center served as the team's home court during their first two seasons. In the team's last season, they played home games at the Minneapolis Auditorium.
Richard Douglas Bruno is the head coach of the DePaul Blue Demons women's basketball team. In 2016, he completed his 30th season as head coach. Under his tenure, the Blue Demons have qualified for post-season competition play in 24 of his 33 completed seasons, including the last 17 seasons.
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.
The New York Stars were an American professional basketball team that played for the first two of three seasons in the Women's Professional Basketball League. The team won the 1979-80 league championship in its second season, defeating the Iowa Cornets.
The Iowa Cornets was a team that played for two seasons in the Women's Professional Basketball League. George Nissen purchased the first franchise in the fledgling league on March 21, 1978 for $50,000. Nissen, who had been a star gymnast at the University of Iowa in the 1930s, pioneered the manufacture and sale of the modern trampoline at his Griswold-Nissen Trampoline & Tumbling Co. in Cedar Rapids. The team made it to the league's championship series both seasons, falling to the Houston Angels in 1978-79 and to the New York Stars in 1979–80. The team played their games at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa and at the Five Seasons Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
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.
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.
The 1978–79 WBL season was the 1st season of the Women's Professional Basketball League. The season ended with the Houston Angels winning the WBL Championship, beating the Iowa Cornets 3 games to 2 in the WBL Finals.
The 1979–80 WBL season was the 2nd season of the Women's Professional Basketball League. The season ended with the New York Stars winning the WBL Championship, beating the Iowa Cornets 3 games to 1 in the WBL Finals.
The 1980–81 WBL season was the 3rd and final season of the Women's Professional Basketball League. The season ended with the Nebraska Wranglers winning the WBL Championship, beating the Dallas Diamonds 3 games to 2 in the WBL Finals.
Rita Gail Easterling is an American former basketball player. Called the Queen of the Floor Burns, she played college basketball for Mississippi College where she was named Kodak All-American in 1977. She later played professionally for the Chicago Hustle in the Women's Professional Basketball League from 1978 to 1981 and was named the leagues MVP and All-Star MVP in 1979.
The 1979 WBL All-Star Game was a basketball All-star game which was played on March 14, 1979, at the Felt Forum in New York, during the 1978–79 WBL season.
The New Orleans Pride was a women's professional basketball team located in New Orleans, United States, that competed in the Women's Professional Basketball League, the first women's pro league in the United States, from 1979 to the leagues folding following the 1980-81 WBL season. For both seasons, the team was coached by former NBA player and coach Butch Van Breda Kolff.
Janice Fincher is an American former basketball player. After playing college basketball for the UNLV Lady Rebels, she played professionally in the Women's Professional Basketball League, the first women's pro league in the United States.
