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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.
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.
Cynthia Jane "Cindy" Brogdon is an American former basketball player who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics. Brogdon was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.
"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 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).
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.
Cardie Hicks, also known as Cardte Hicks, is an American former basketball player. 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.
Larry Jordan is an American businessman, basketball executive and former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for University of North Carolina Wilmington before playing professionally in the World Basketball League. He is an older brother of former basketball player Michael Jordan.
Rosie Walker is an American former basketball player. She played college basketball for Stephen F. Austin State University. After college, she was drafted by the Nebraska Wranglers in the 1980 Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) draft and led the team to the 1981 championship and was named the league's MVP after averaging 26.0 points and 14.4 rebounds per game.
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.
Rita Gail Easterling is an American former basketball player. Called '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.
Marie Kocurek is an American former basketball player. After playing college basketball for Wayland Baptist University, she played three seasons in the Women's Professional Basketball League. After playing her first two and a half season with the Minnesota Fillies, she was traded to the Nebraska Wranglers in 1981 after publicly complain about the Fillies owing her 9,000 dollars in back pay. With the Wranglers, she won the WBL championship in 1981.
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 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.
The Dayton Rockettes was a women's professional basketball team located in Dayton, Ohio, United States. The team competed in the Women's Professional Basketball League, the first women's pro league in the United States, during the 1978-79 WBL season.
References
- ↑ Ritter Collett (31 January 1979). "Life in WBL isn't NBA". The Journal Herald . Retrieved 15 October 2023– via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Jody Homer (19 September 1984). "New women's league has little but Spirit". Chicago Tribune . p. 9 (Section 4). Retrieved 15 October 2023.
- ↑ Roger Cushman (25 October 1998). "Where have you gone... Vonnie Tomich". The Pantagraph . p. F9. Retrieved 15 October 2023– via Newspapers.com.
