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Yesterday, this blog, mainly addressing "What do you do with all your time?", included little diddies from the Sport's pages... mostly quotes, takes, from coaches.  I somewhat apologized for talking sports... but... it's what I do.. have interest in.. it's my hobby, gardening, book, bunko, wine club, yada. (OK, maybe I do a beer club occasionally, you're correct.)

Margie, a good friend, onea the nicest folks ever, good naturedly protested "for Pete’s sake give me a book or a song, or a kitchen but puhlease not sports unless it’s Pickleball and I get to play."

I ain't real sure who Pete is... but, this one is for Barb, Edith, Mary and Nancy..... oh, and you too Margie.

Where to start.........

Unequal Opportunity...

In the late 1800's and early 1900's, women began to form informal athletic clubs... Tennis, croquet, bowling and archery were popular.  Some Men's clubs allowed women access to become associates and participate in separate activities, but, would not afford them full status into the clubs. (The Masters just drug their feet longer, hella longer.)

The first Women's teams to compete in intercollegiate athletics happened in basketball in 1896 (Both, Cal Berkley vs Stanford, and, University of Washington vs. Ellensburg Normal School.

According to stuff I read, men's sports were somewhat of a mess 'turn of the Century.  In fact, women physical education instructors were hesitant to push for organized sports simply due to this.  It didn't help that The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching worried that amatuerism was being eliminated, college athletics were becoming big business.. and that the need existed to "give athletics back to the boys."  Aye yai yai.

Whaddaya know, in 1920 it was finally deemed "hey, maybe women should be able to vote too eh?"  Geez Louise, we apologize this didn't happen long before.  Suffrage produced modest gains, but those gains were offset by The Depression. 

WWII happened, Rosie riveted, but too, since MLB ceased, the All American Girls Baseball League was started.  This actually enabled women's athletics to grow a bit..  The Civil Rights Act of 1964 in theory helped the status of women and minorities and a wave of feminist activism was born.

1957, the Division for Girls and Women in Sport notated intercollegiate programs for women may exist, and in 1963 they advanced that to desirable.  In 1967, the DGWS was changed to the Commission for Intercollegiate Sports for Women and in 1969 National Championships were held in gymnastics and track and field. Swimming, badminton and volleyball were added a year later, then basketball in 1972.

Finally, Title IX happened in 1972. Protection for students individuals from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance. I think, it means, basically, if you have men's football, say, there needs to be some sort of equal opportunity, funding, for a coordinating women's sport.

In the 1966-1967 athletic year, there were 151,918 men, and 15,182 women in college sports.  That number changed to 252,946 men and 191,131 women in 2010-2011. Still not there, but, a lot better.

OK Victor, we get your drift, on with it.

A miracle of sorts happened yesterday.  Kansas City, Missouri. CPKC Stadium. The Kansas City Current vs The Portland Thorns. The 1985 inaugural US women's soccer team was invited to celebrate the moment.  Michelle Akers was a player on that team.  On the pitch of what is believed to be the first stadium or arena “on the planet” purpose-built explicitly by and for a women’s professional soccer team, Akers said, “I never felt like we had a home for women’s soccer.”  A beautiful 11,500 seat stadium just to the North of the City's skyline, just to the South of the Missouri River.  A thing of beauty.

The Star (KC paper) interviewed the parents of little girls in attendance (7 year old Lainey, 9 year old Helen, 8 month old Rory.)  The kids, maybe not today, but one day, will understand the significance of the moment, the game, even the flyover (first ever by four female pilots from Whiteman Air Force Base, as they  commandeered two-ship T-38's).

History.  The ugly, the bad, the good.

Who, you might ask, are Barb, Edith, Mary and Nancy?

An integral part to the progress.  'Riveters', from colleges all across the land.  These were the ladies from where I went to school, William Jewell College.  Barb Macke headed up the Women's athletic department, coordinating (wonderfully I might add) the start-up of many sports during the advent of Title IX. Edith Dale, Mary Sterling and Nancy Skillman, were the office folks who helped arrange practice times, travel arrangements, all the nuts and bolt details during this first ever time process.  Men coached most of the teams, but it didn't take too many years ladies took the rightful helm.

With crowds admittedly sparce, in the 1973 women's basketball season at William Jewell... each player was requested to "bring ten people to the game" in effort to help afford the realization, "hey, these women can flat out play this game!"

Fast forward to today.  Folks in Iowa pay HUNDREDS of $$'s to have a seat in the gym to see Cailin Clark make history.  TV ratings (Yes, TV ratings) for her team's games have been better, greater, than TV ratings for similar men's televised games.  Hey, these women can flat out play this game!

Yes, the slope is still uphill, but it's no longer a mountain.

VICTOR?   Yes?  An entire blog without a damn song?  OK, you're right, howabout let's borrow some lyrics from Crosby, Still & Nash......... "It's been a long time coming."

For Pete's sake (kinda), and of course Lainey, Helen and Rory..and good ole PickleBall Margie...... Congrats to all ladies!

Love, Victurd