Interested in the Trailblazers of the Game recipients?
Valerie Still
- Still won the bronze medal in the Jones Cup in 1980 and the silver medal in 1982.
- Still was named MVP of the ABL Finals in 1997 and 1998 after leading the Columbus Quest to back-to-back ABL Championships.
- Still was an eight-time Italian League All-Star.
- She was the first female to have a jersey retired at Kentucky in any sport and was inducted in the charter class of UK’s Hall of Fame.
- Still was UK’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder (men or women) and was the SEC Champion in 1982.
- In 1982, she was named the WBCA All-American and in 1983, Kodak All-American.
Valerie Still
Still won the bronze medal in the Jones Cup in...
Val Ackerman
- The WNBA’s first president, guiding the league to a much-heralded launch in 1997 and overseeing the day-to-day operations for its first eight years
- In 2005, she became the first woman to serve as President of USA Basketball, which oversees the US Men’s and Women’s Olympic basketball programs
- A USA Basketball board member since 1989, she was the driving force behind the Women’s Senior National Team that produced a 60-0 record and won the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta
- First woman elected to represent the USA on the board of the International Basketball Federation
- A four-year starter and two-time Academic All-American at the University of Virginia, she also played in France for one year.
- In high school, she set a varsity record for most points scored (male or female) with 1,755 in her career
- Recipient of the 2008 Naismith Hall of Fame John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award
Val Ackerman
The WNBA’s first president, guiding the league to a much-heralded...
Van Chancellor
- Head coach and general manager of the Houston Comets has guided team to four consecutive WNBA Championships (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000), making a clean sweep of the league’s titles in the first four years of the WNBA’s existence
- Selected as the WNBA’s Coach of the Year three times (1997, 1998, 1999)
- Served as coach in the WNBA’s first two All-Star Games, leading the West to back-to-back victories in 1999 and 2000
- Joined the Comets after 19 highly successful seasons at the University of Mississippi where he compiled an overall record of 439-154
- Led Ole Miss to an SEC regular season championship in 1992
- Tabbed SEC Coach of the Year three times (1987, 1990, 1992)
- Won a pair of Mississippi high school championships (1977, 1978) at Harrison Central High School in Gulfport
- Also won a national title as an AAU coach, leading his team to a 15-under championship in 1974
Van Chancellor
Head coach and general manager of the Houston Comets has...
Vanya Voynova
- Nominated as the best athlete in Bulgaria in 1959
- Collected one gold, three silver and two bronze medals at the European Championships as a member of Bulgarian national teams in the 1950s
- Also helped Bulgaria claim a bronze medal at the 1964 World Championships
- Paced the “Slavia” team to a dozen Bulgarian national champion titles (1953-1965)
- Became one of the most prominent sport journalists and basketball officials in her country upon completing her playing career
Vanya Voynova
Nominated as the best athlete in Bulgaria in 1959 Collected...
Vicky Bullett
- A 1989 Kodak All-American for the University of Maryland, where over the course of her career she averaged 16.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game
- One of the most decorated players in Maryland history
- She was the first player in Maryland history to register two seasons of 500 points or more, and one of only five players in school history to score 600 point or more in one seasons (686)
- A member of three ACC Championship teams en route to being named the 1989 ACC Player of the Year, and ACC Tournament MVP.
- A member of the ACC 50th Anniversary Team
- In 2007, she was named an ACC Women’s Basketball Legend
- A two-time Olympian, she was part of the USA Women’s Basketball Team that won gold in 1988 and captured bronze in 1992
- In honor of being a member of the 1988 Gold Medal Team, the city of Martinsburg renamed the street in which she grew up to “Vicky Bullett Street”
- She played six seasons in the WNBA, scoring 2,018 points during her career
Vicky Bullett
A 1989 Kodak All-American for the University of Maryland, where...
Trailblazers of the Game
2010 Recipient
The Edmonton Grads
The Edmonton Commercial Graduates Basketball Club was founded in 1915 by John Percy Page. The origins of the Club can be traced to the McDougall Commercial Girls High School Basketball team in Edmonton, Canada. When team members graduated high school, they convinced coach John Percy Page to continue the team as a Club sport. Membership with the Club was exclusive, only 38 women ever wore the Grad jersey. Winnie Martin (Tait) was the First Captain of the Edmonton Grads, playing from 1915-1924. The Grads played 522 games officially in Canada, the United States and Europe. The Club tallied a 502-20 record in 25 years of play The Edmonton Commercial Graduates are widely considered the greatest women’s team ever assembled. Financially restrained, members often chipped in to raise funds for national play. Their strong dedication to the game and will to persevere in a time when women’s basketball was largely ignored makes the Edmonton Grads praiseworthy John Percy Page coached the club to 18 Canadian Championships The Club attended four sets of Olympic Games: Paris in 1924, Amsterdam in 1928, Los Angeles in 1932, and Berlin in 1936 where they received 4 unofficial Olympic titles The Club played its last game on June 5, 1940, defeating a Chicago team 62-52 Dr. James A. Naismith was quoted to say, “There is no team that I mention more frequently in talking about the game. My admiration is not only for your remarkable record of games won (which itself would make you stand out in the history of basketball) but also for your record of clean play, versatility in meeting teams at their own style, and more especially for your unbroken record of good sportsmanship.”
2010 Recipient
The Former Helms/Citizens/Savings/Founders Bank
Based in Los Angeles, the Helms Foundation was created in 1936 by Bill Schroeder and Paul Helms The Helms Foundation was established to select national championship teams and All-American teams in a number of college sports, including women’s basketball The Panel met annually to vote on a National Champion and retroactively ranked basketball back to 1901 When Paul Helms died in 1957, United Savings and Loan became the Helms Foundation’s benefactor and eventually became known as the Citizens Savings Athletic Foundation The Foundation officially dissolved in 1982 13 Helms Foundation members are also Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Inductees: Alline Banks (Sprouse), Joan Crawford, Lyrlyne Greer, Rita Horkey, Doris Rogers, Margaret Sexton, Hazel Walker, Katherine Washington, Nera White, John Head, Claude Hutcherson, Harley Redin, and Lometa Odom
2011 Recipient
All American Red Heads
The All American Red Heads played for 50 years from 1936-1986, which is still the longest running women’s professional team. The Red Heads were founded by Mr. & Mrs. C.M. Olson in Cassville, Missouri. C.M. Olson was the former coach/owner of a male exhibition basketball team called Olson’s Terrible Swedes. Known for their on-court antics, this inspired C.M. Olson’s wife, Doyle, and the women who worked in her beauty salons to form a women’s professional exhibition team. In 1954, Coach Orwell Moore and his wife Lorene “Butch” Moore bought the Red heads and moved the team to Caraway, Arkansas. Lorene Moore played on the team for eleven years, scoring 35,426 points during her career. The Red Heads were so popular that during the years 1964-1971 there may have been as many as three Red Head teams traveling the country. In 1972, the Red Heads won 500 out of 642 games played against men’s team. Throughout the years the All American Red Heads played in all 50 states as well as Mexico, Canada, and the Philippines. The team has been featured in national magazines such as Life, Look, Sports Illustrated and Women’s Sports, and they were widely considered as the greatest women’s basketball team in the world. Coach Moore retired and disbanded the Red Heads in 1986 after 50 years of play The All American Red Heads still have annual reunions today.
2013 Recipient
Wayland Baptist Flying Queens(1953-1958)
Hutcherson, a Wayland graduate and owner of Hutcherson Air Service, provided air transportation for the Queens to games in Mexico in 1948. That encounter blossomed into a full sponsorship of the team in 1950, a change that brought with it a new mascot – the Hutcherson Flying Queens. Five decades later, Wayland is still atop the world of women’s basketball for they still remain the only women’s team in history to win 1,300 games. Long before Connecticut became a dominant power in women’s basketball, the Flying Queens of Wayland Baptist thrived on innovation, talent and glamour, playing on athletic scholarships, traveling by private planes, warming up with ostentatious drills learned from the Harlem Globetrotters and winning every game for nearly five seasons. The Wayland Baptist University women’s team achieved a 131-game winning streak from November of 1953 to March of 1958 before losing 46-42 to Nashville Business School. During that time the Flying Queens captured four consecutive AAU national championships.
2014 Recipient
1976 USA Olympic Basketball Team
The 1976 USA Women’s Basketball team captured the United States’ first medal in Olympic women’s basketball history winning the silver medal. The USA’s silver medal finish served a notice to the rest of the world that the United States would be a force in Olympic women’s basketball. Since the 1976 Olympics, the USA Women’s Basketball Teams have compiled a record of 55 and 1 and captured 7 gold medals and 1 bronze in Olympic play. The 1976 USA Olympic Women’s Basketball Team paved the way for United States dominance. The 1976 team has produced 11 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Inductees. Ann Meyers Drysdale (Class of 1999), Nancy Lieberman (Class of 1999), Billie Moore (Class of 1999), Pat Summitt (Class of 1999), Mary Anne O’Conner, Lusia Harris Stewart (Class of 1999), Gail Marquis, Nancy Dunkle (Class of 2000), Sue Gunter (Class of 2000), Patricia Roberts (Class of 2000), Sue Rojcewicz (Class of 2000), Charlotte Lewis, Juliene Simpson (Class of 2000), Cindy Brogdon (Class of 2002), Jeanne Rowlands, Gail Weldon
2015 Recipient
Immaculata Mighty Macs(1972-1974)
The 1972-74 Mighty Macs team captured the first three Assoication for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) championships. Immaculata is considered the birthplace of modern college women’s basketball. In addition, to winning the first three college national championships, the Mighty Macs were the first women’s team along with the University of Maryland to appear on National television. They were also the first women’s team, along with Queen’s College, to play at Madison Square Garden. Their inspirational story was made into a feature-length theatrical movie called The Mighty Macs and released by Sony Pictures in 2011. The 1972-74 teams have produced 3 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Inductees. Listed are the individuals associated with the three teams; Janet Ruch Boltz, Denise Conway Crawford, Janet Young Eline, Theresa Shank Grentz (Class of 2001), Barbara Deuble Kelly, Tina Krah, Patricia Mulhern Loughran, Judy Marra Martelli, Sue Forsyth O’Grady, Rene Muth Portland, Betty Ann Hoffman Quinn, Cathy Rush (Class of 2000), Mary Scharff, Marianne Crawford Stanley (Class of 2002), Maureen Stuhlman, and Marie Liguori Williams.
2016 Recipient
1996 USA Olympic Basketball Team
The 1996 USA Olympic Basketball Team dominated its competition to reclaim the Olympic gold medal in Atlanta. Rolling to an 8-0 Olympic mark, the USA, which began training on October 2, 1995, compiled a 52-0 record during its pre-Olympic competition to finish with an overall 60-0 record. More popular than any previous women’s basketball team, the USA drew a record 202,556 fans during the Olympics for an average of 25,320 a game. The 1996 Olympic Team includes 12 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Inductees. Jennifer Azzi (Class of 2009), Ruthie Bolton (Class of 2011), Teresa Edwards (Class of 2010), Venus Lacey, Lisa Leslie (Class of 2015), Rebecca Lobo (Class of 2010), Katrina McClain (Class of 2006), Nikki McCray (Class of 2012), Carla McGhee, Dawn Staley (Class of 2012), Katy Steding, Sheryl Swoopes (Class of 2017), Tara VanDerveer (Class of 2002), Ceal Barry (Class of 2018), Nancy Darsch, Marian Washington (Class of 2004), Bruce Moseley, Gina Konin Larence
2017 Recipient
Delta State Women's Basketball Teams(1975-1977)
The 1975, 1976, 1977 Delta State teams captured three consecutive AIAW championships. After finishing 16-2 in the 1973-74 revival season following a 40-year layoff of the women’s basketball program, Delta State proceeded to end Immaculata College’s three-year AIAW national championship reign in season No. 2 by going undefeated at 28-0. Delta State followed its first AIAW national crown by also winning the next two as the Lady Statesmen defeated Immaculata (69-64) at Penn State and then LSU (68-55) at Minnesota. During their three championship years, Delta State compiled a 93-4 record (28-0, 33-1, 32-3), including a then-record 51 straight wins. The 1975-77 teams have produced 2 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductees, Margaret Wade and Lusia Harris Stewart. The WBCA Wade Trophy, considered the Heisman of women’s basketball, is named in honor of Lily Margaret Wade. Listed are the individuals associated with the three teams: Angel Fortenberry, Ann Logue, Beth Trussell, Cornelia Ward, Debbie Brock, Jackie Caston, Janie Evans, Jill Rhodes, Judy Davis, Kathy Lewis, Key Crump, Laurie Ann Harper, Lusia Harris Stewart (Class of 1999), Lynn Adubato, Mandy Fortenberyy, Margaret Wade (Class of 1999), Mary Logue, Melissa Thames, Melissa Ward, Mimi Williams, Pam Piazza, Romona Von Boeckman, Sheri Haynes, Tish Fahey, Virginia Shackelford, and Wanda Hairston.
2018 Recipient
Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL)
The Women’s Professional Basketball League (WBL) was the first professional women’s basketball league in the United States. The WBL lasted three seasons from 1978 to 1981. The league was created by sports promoter Bill Byrne and feature eight teams during its inaugural season. The original eight teams were the Chicago Hustle, Milwaukee Does, Iowa Cornets, Minnesota Fillies, Dayton Rockettes, Houston Angels, New Jersey Gems and New York Stars. The league played its first game on December 9, 1978, between the Chicago Hustle and the Milwaukee Does at the Milwaukee Arena in front of 7,824 fans. The Houston Angels were the league champions during the inaugural season in 1979, while the New York Stars and the Nebraska Wranglers won the next two league championships in 1980 and 1981 respectively. Rita Easterling won MVP honors during the first season (1978-79), Molly Bolin and Ann Meyers were co-MVPs the second year (1979-80), and Rosie Walker claimed the MVP honors during the final season (1980-81). Many notable Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductees were associated with the WBL including Carol Blazejowski, Cindy Brogdon, Nancy Dunkle, Peggie Gillom-Granderson, Lusia Harris Stewart, Tara Heiss, Nancy Lieberman, Muffet McGraw, Ann Meyers Drysdale, Pearl Moore, Inge Nissen, Patricia Roberts, Uljana Semjonova, Rosie Walker, and Holly Warlick.
2019 Recipient
Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women - AIAW
The AIAW was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women’s athletics in the United States and was one of the key contributors to the significant advancements of women’s athletics at the collegiate level. The AIAW membership started with 280 schools and at its peak had grown to almost 1,000 schools. Many notable Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductees were associated with the AIAW.
2021 Recipient
1980 USA Olympic Basketball Team
The 1980 U.S. Women’s Basketball team knew they would not be able to compete for the Olympic gold in Moscow because of the U.S. protest about the Olympic Games in Moscow. However, they still decided to compete in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. In the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the team went 6-1 and won the tournament. The team bettered their opponents by an average victory margin of 17.7 points per game. The 1980 Team has 10 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Inductees, including all the coaches being members of the Hall of Fame.
Carol Blazejowski (Class of 1999), Denise Curry (Class of 1999), Anne Donovan (Class of 1999), Tara Heiss (Class of 2003), Kris Kirchner, Debra Miller, Cindy Noble (Class of 2000), LaTaunya Pollard (Class of 2001), Jill Rankin (Class of 2008), Rosie Walker (Class of 2001), Holly Warlick (Class of 2001), Lynette Woodard (Class of 2005), Sue Gunter (Class of 2000), Pat Head Summitt (Class of 1999), Lea Plarski.