Iowa Cornets

Last updated
Iowa Cornets
Iowa Cornets logo.png
League WBL
Founded1978
Dissolved1980
Arena Veterans Memorial Auditorium (1978–1980)
Five Seasons Center (1980–81)
Location Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Team colorsgreen, white
  

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. [1] [2]

History

The league began with a player draft held in Manhattan's Essex House in July 1978, with eight teams participating. By the time of the draft, Iowa was one of only three teams that had a nickname selected and the only team that had already engaged a coach. With its last pick in the draft, the Cornets selected Uljana Semjonova, a 7-foot-4-inch player for the Soviet Union's national women's basketball team who would be inducted as an inaugural member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in the class of 1999, but would never play a game in the WBL. [3] Molly Bolin, who grew up in Moravia, Iowa, became the first player signed by any team in the WBL when she was signed by the Cornets. [4] The team's first game on December 18, 1976 against the New York Stars at Veterans Memorial Auditorium was broadcast on television by Iowa Public Broadcasting Network. [5]

The team finished the 1978–79 season with a record of 21 wins and 13 losses, tied for the Midwest Division lead with the Chicago Hustle. In the first round of the playoffs, Chicago took the first game in overtime, but Iowa won the last two games to advance to the championship series against the Houston Angels. Houston won the first two games of the series by scores of 89–85 and 112–98. Iowa won the next two games by scores of 110–101 and 89–79 to tie the series at two games apiece and setting up a fifth and final game for the title. [6] Behind 36 points by Paula Mayo, the Houston Angels defeated the Cornets on May 2, 1979, to take the league's first championship, 111–104 in the fifth and final game of a best-three-out-of-five competition. [7]

In the 1979–80 season, Iowa finished atop the Midwestern Division with a record of 24 wins and 12 losses, and as one of the two teams with the league's best record earned a bye in the first round. In the semifinals, Iowa played defeated the Minnesota Fillies, losing the first game 108–87, but winning the next two games by scores of 128–111 and 95–92 to advance to the league championship for their second consecutive season. [6] On April 9, 1980, despite Iowa's league-leading scorer Molly Bolin's 36 point, the New York Stars held on to win game four of the finals 125–114, behind 27 points by Pearl Moore and 22 by Janice Thomas. [8] Molly Bolin of the Cornets and Ann Meyers of the New Jersey Gems were co-winners of the Most Valuable Player title for the 1979–80 season. [6]

The team was disbanded after the 1979–80 season. [6] [9]

Related Research Articles

<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 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.

<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). For her achievements, Harris was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

Six-on-six basketball or basquette is a largely archaic variant of basketball, usually played by women and girls. It is played with the same rules as regular basketball, with the following exceptions:

  1. Teams have six players each instead of five; three "forwards" and three "guards".
  2. Only forwards are allowed to shoot the ball. Forwards must stay in their teams' frontcourt and guards must stay in their team's backcourt. For example, Team A's forwards would be on the left side of the court with Team B's guards on defense. Team B's forwards are on the right side of the court with Team A's guards. Thus, forwards play only offense and guards play only defense.
  3. In some forms, unlimited dribbling is not allowed. Once in possession of the ball, players may dribble the ball up to two times; at that point, the player must shoot or pass to a teammate. Both forwards and guards may handle the ball.
  4. There is no three-point line; all field goals are worth two points.
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Hustle</span> Basketball team in Chicago, IL

The Chicago Hustle was a team in the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) from 1978 to 1981. The team's colors were red and blue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dallas Diamonds (basketball)</span> Basketball team in Dallas, Texas

The Dallas Diamonds were a team in the Women's Professional Basketball League from 1979 to 1981 and the Women's American Basketball Association in 1984.

<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.

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.

<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 an American former basketball player. Following a college career at Grand View University, she went on to star at the first women's professional basketball league in the United States, the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL). Bolin, who was the first player signed with a team 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 Women's Professional Basketball League record for the most points scored in a single game (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.

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 1978 WBL draft was the 1st annual draft of the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL). The draft was held on July 18, 1978, at the Essex House in New York City, New York, before the 1978–79 season.

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.

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 1980 WBL All-Star Game was a basketball All-star game which was played on January 30, 1980, at the Alumni Hall in Chicago, during the 1979–80 season of the Women's Professional Basketball League.

The 1981 WBL All-Star Game was a basketball All-star game which was played on February 9, 1981, at the Albuquerque Civic Auditorium in Albuquerque, during the 1980–81 season of the Women's Professional Basketball League. It was the third and final WBL All-Star game as the league folded following the season. Four players played in all three games, Marie Kocurek, Molly Bolin, Althea Gwyn and Paula Mayo.

The San Francisco Pioneers were an American professional basketball team that played two seasons in the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) from 1979 to 1981. The first women's professional basketball team in San Francisco, California, it was owned by a stockbroker named Marshall Geller and partners, including Alan Alda and Mike Conners, and played its home games at the San Francisco Civic Auditorium. Geller, who named the team, and his ownership group acquired the basketball team for a $100,000 expansion fee.

References

  1. ↑ "Iowa Cornets". Fun While it Lasted.
  2. ↑ Diane Langton (7 September 2014). "The Iowa Cornets". The Gazette . p. 5A. Retrieved 27 February 2024– via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  3. ↑ Herman, Robin (July 19, 1978). "For Female Basketball, A Bid Bounce Forward; At the Telephone Wages Up in the Air". The New York Times . Retrieved July 27, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Molly Bolin (1957-)". Iowa Women's Archives at the University of Iowa Libraries. Archived from the original on July 3, 2010. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Iowa Cornets on IPBN". Iowa City Press-Citizen. Iowa City, Iowa. 16 December 1978. p. 32. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "History of the Women's Professional Basketball League". Association for Professional Basketball Research. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Houston Angels Win Title In Women's Basketball". The New York Times. May 3, 1979. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Stars Defeat Cornets For W.B.L. Crown; Stars Box Score". The New York Times. April 10, 1980. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
  9. ↑ Bonapace, Ruth (February 8, 1981). "Big-time? Women's Pro Basketball League struggling just to stay in business". The Beaver County Times . Retrieved July 27, 2010.
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.