Women's basketball…I think it's been around long enough that boys have stopped making fun of it…well, even the beer-bellied ones. In fact, I'm sure most guys enjoy watching these games.
Some people think women's basketball hasn't been around this long… In fact, women's basketball began in 1892 at Smith College for Women in Northampton, Massachusetts. This was due to the tenacity of physics director Senda Berenson. She taught girls how to play basketball as a way to become healthier. As a result, basketball became the first women's sport to have a team.
Chida received criticism for her efforts not because the sport was “too masculine” for women, but because the particular period in history was more old-world Victorian. In other words, this culture focused on keeping women in the home, kitchen, and bedroom. Chida sensed this and changed the rules of the game to protect the women.
1 team has 9 players
It is prohibited to steal the ball from opposing players
Knocking the ball out of an opponent's hand is prohibited
A center jump was required every time someone scored.
There were other rules, and soon other women's colleges, YMCAs, and high schools began using them and starting their own women's basketball teams.
In the very early basketball games, basketballs weren't even used…soccer balls were used and thrown into peach baskets. The girls' uniforms are also strictly Victorian, still trying to maintain the false label of femininity and the “weaker sex.” Eventually, the girls were allowed to wear pants, followed by bloomers and stockings. Because of the bloomer uniforms, men were not allowed to watch women's basketball games…soon, that rule was abolished.
Although colleges and high schools across the country already had women's basketball teams, the first women's professional basketball team was not created until 1936 with the creation of the All-American Redheads team.
Below is a gallery of some of Michigan's high school girls basketball teams.
Can you see bloomers here?
Women's Basketball in Various Michigan Towns: 1905-1920s
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