Elizabeth Howe Constable (8 November 1924 – 9 September 2008) was an American pioneer in women's
squash and was the first women's squash coach at
Princeton University.
Life and career
The first of twins born in
Natick, Massachusetts
Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part of the Greater Boston area. ...
, she graduated from
Brimmer and May School in
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. After serving in the
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...
during
World War II.
Constable's mother
Margaret Allen Howe (Mrs.
William Francis Howe
William Francis Howe Jr. (1888 – November 10, 1952) was an American stockbroker and brigadier general who served in World War I and World War II.
Life and career
Howe graduated from Yale University where he stood out as an athlete. From 1917 ...
) and twin sister,
Peggy Howe White were also women's national singles and doubles squash champions.
[Staff (March 2, 1959)]
The Howes & Squash
'' Time''. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
In 1971, Constable, who was already coaching women in squash, field hockey and tennis at Princeton University, began the first women's varsity squash team at Princeton. Her career there spanned 20 years.
The famed
Howe Cup Championships (formerly known as the Tri-City Squash Championships) was renamed the Howe Cup in honor of the three Howe women-Margaret, Betty and Peggy. This tournament was originally played between top players from Philadelphia-New York-Boston. At that time these cities were the main centers of squash play in the U.S. The Howe Cup itself was donated by a contemporary and friend of the twins, Gig Griggs. Eventually, the sport grew large enough and was played in enough areas across the U.S. that the tournament came to be known also as the U.S. National Team Championships and had three flights-A, B and C.
In the early 1970s, Constable's mother, Margaret Howe, donated the collegiate Howe Cup, inaugurating the collegiate tier of Howe Cup play.
Constable was inducted into the United States Squash Hall of Fame in 2000. She died in
Skillman, New Jersey.
[Martin, Douglas (September 15, 2008)]
Betty Constable, Early Squash Star and Coaching Pioneer, Is Dead at 83.
'' The New York Times''. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
External links
United States Squash Hall of Fame*
The Howe Cup
References
American female squash players
1924 births
2008 deaths
Princeton Tigers field hockey coaches
Princeton Tigers women's squash coaches
Princeton Tigers women's tennis coaches
20th-century American women
20th-century American people
21st-century American women
{{US-squash-bio-stub