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 The Women's Professional Basketball League (abbreviated WBL) 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 w ...

winning the WBL Championship, beating the Dallas Diamonds 3 games to 2 in the WBL Finals. The league was divided into two divisions, with the Dallas Diamonds, New Jersey Gems,

New Orleans Pride 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 foldi ...

, San Francisco Pioneers and the

New England Gulls New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

in the Coastal Division and the

, Chicago Hustle, St. Louis Streak and the

Minnesota Fillies The Minnesota Fillies were an American women's professional basketball team based in Minnesota that competed in the Women's Professional Basketball League from 1978 to 1981. The Fillies were one of three teams to play in all three of the league's ...

in the Central. Prior to the season,

Tampa Bay Sun Tampa Bay Sun FC is a future professional women's soccer team based in Tampa, Florida, United States. It will be a member of the USL Super League, a new American soccer pyramid, Division I league operated by the United Soccer League, and is sched ...

was announced as a planned expansion team. However, before the start of the season the franchise was sold to business men from Boston and rebranded as the New England Gulls. Struggling financially, the Gulls where disqualified after 12 games in January 1981 after refusing to play a game on January 15 and subsequently folded.

Rosie Walker Rosie may refer to: Geography * Rosie, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Rosie River, Northern Territory, Australia People and characters * Rosie (given name) * Rosie the Rocketeer (aka "Rosie"), a Boeing spaceflight test dummy * Rosie ...

of the

was named the league's MVP while Greg Williams and Michael Stavers of the Dallas Diamonds where named the Coach of the Year and the Owner of the Year.

Notable occurrences

*On June 16, 1980, Nancy Lieberman was selected with the first pick in the 1980 WBL draft. *After sitting out the previous two seasons to keep her amateur status,

Carol Blazejowski Carol Ann Blazejowski (born September 29, 1956) is an American retired professional women's basketball player and the former president and General Manager of the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA ...

finally joined the league following the United States boycott of the 1980 Olympics, signing with the team that drafted her in 1978, the New Jersey Gems. She went on to lead the league in scoring, averaging 29.6 points per game. *On February 7, 1981, Connie Kunzmann of the

went missing. Three days later, Lance Tibke, at the urging of his father, confessed to her murder. Seven weeks later, her body was found in the Missouri river. *On March 21, 1981, players of the

walked off the court before the starting lineups were announced in an away game against the Chicago Hustle in a protest over unpaid salaries. Referees and team coach Terry Kunze tried to convince the players to return and play their game, but at no avail. As a result, the Fillies, which had been averaging 1,000 to 1,500 in attendance per game, were suspended from the WBL by commissioner Sherwin Fischer, who called the walkout as "very detrimental to the league".

Standings

Notes *z – division champions *x – clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

Statistics leaders

WBL awards

*Most Valuable Player:

*Coach of the Year: Greg Williams, Dallas Diamonds *Owner of the Year: Michael Stavers, Dallas Diamonds

All-Pro team

First team *

(Nebraska) * Nancy Lieberman (Dallas) *

(New Jersey) *

Althea Gwyn Althea R. Gwyn (May 19, 1956 – January 9, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who was one of the first players in the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL). Early life and education Gwyn started her basketball career at ...

(Chicago) * Inge Nissen (Chicago) * Janice Thomas (New Jersey) Second team * Cindy Haugejorde (San Francisco) *

Molly Bolin "Machine Gun" Molly Bolin (born Monna Lea Van Benthuysen; November 13, 1957) 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 ...

(San Francisco) * Carol Chason (Nebraska) * Rosalind Jennings (Dallas) *

Cindy Brogdon Cynthia Jane "Cindy" Brogdon (born February 25, 1957) 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. Biography Brogdon was born in Buford ...

(New Orleans) * Paula Mayo (Chicago) * Trish Roberts (St. Louis) Source:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1980-81 WBL season Women's Professional Basketball League seasons