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Black History in Women’s Professional Basketball, a story

On this date, we explore Black women and professional basketball. The basketball game was created in 1891, and Black men entered the ranks of professional players (the NBA) in the 1950s.

During the first half of the 20th century, gender discrimination prevented most women from participating in areas traditionally dominated by men, and basketball was no exception.  Founded in 1931, two of the earliest all-Black, all-female basketball clubs were the Philadelphia Tribune Girls, led by Ora Mae Washington, and the Chicago Romas. The Romas, who played against both male and female teams, never lost a game for six years after World War II (1939-1945). Roma's best players were Corinne Robinson, Mignon Burns, Lillian Ross, Virginia Willis, Lola Porter, and Isadore Channels.

Although Black women continued to play basketball throughout the 1930s and 1940s, they could not enjoy many opportunities that the game afforded Black men, including national recognition and real money. The Women's Professional Basketball League (abbreviated WBL) was the first 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

It is only within the last 40 years that women's basketball has gained national backing. In 1985, Lynette Woodard became the first woman to play for the Harlem Globetrotters. In the mid-1990s, after years of success by women's collegiate and Olympic basketball teams, public interest in women's basketball convinced a group of entrepreneurs to form the American Basketball League (ABL). The eight teams of the ABL began to play in 1996, and in March 1997, the Columbus Quest defeated the Richmond Rage in a five-game series to win the inaugural league's first championship. The ABL declared bankruptcy and folded in December 1998.

The New York Girls, 1910

The NBA also formed an eight-team women's league, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), which began play in June 1997. Both leagues recruited the top women's basketball stars in college, including former U.S. Olympic stars Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes. The 6 foot 5 inches tall Lisa Leslie is a Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA) member. She is considered one of the league's top shot blockers and rebounders. Swoopes, a 1996 Olympic champion and member of the Houston Comets in the WNBA, is the first woman to have her shoe named after her, the Air Swoopes. Like their male counterparts, African American women have brought innovation and style to basketball.

They have opened new doors for young women and have made remarkable contributions to the struggle to empower women worldwide. Basketball has always been about more than guiding a ball through a hoop. The history of American basketball tells a compelling story about athletic competition in a nation struggling to live up to its ideals of gender equity.  Basketball is a sport transformed by the presence of African Americans and other non-white players.  It offers cultural, sexual, and social changes in the United States.

Black women such as Tina Charles, Seimone Augustus, Candice Parker, Angel Goodrich, Maya Moore, A'ja Riyadh Wilson, Alysha Angelica Clark, and others have put the presence of female power in full view. This is crucial to the sport’s future and the distribution of revenue.

To become a professional athlete