Dempsey Hovland (December 11, 1918 – 1979) was a
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
and
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
barnstorming
Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks individually or in groups that were called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes," it became popular in t ...
entrepreneur and promoter and multiple sports team owner. He founded the 20th Century Booking Agency, a sports booking management for arranging and marketing of sporting exhibition events and booking of venues. He and his wife Florence Holder Hovland owned the Miss American Teenager
beauty pageant
A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...
in the 1960s and 1970s.
Hovland, born in
Beloit, Wisconsin
Beloit is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 36,657 people.
History
Twelve men in Colebrook, New Hampshire, created the "New England Emigrating Company" in October 1836 and sent ...
, started his sports promotion career as a member and manager of the barnstorming House of David basketball team in the 1930s and 1940s. He was respected as a barnstorm icon being the only sports team owner to operate both professional male and female basketball teams at the same time throughout the United States. He also founded the baseball barnstorm teams Caribbean Kings and Havana Cuban Giants.
Hovland's world-famous barnstorm basketball team Texas CowGirls (1949–1977) (full name Dempsey Hovland's World Famous Texas Cowgirls Basketball Team) originating from
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
touring worldwide in similar fashion to the
Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of i ...
, were the first female team to share double billing on the men's
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
game schedules. Texas Cowgirls also broke ground and opened for the Harlem Globetrotters in the 1950s, on their tours. Hovland dismissed the racial barriers for female barnstormers, integrating his teams. Hovland was an advocate for women and minorities equal access tin sports participation before the Civil Rights Bill during rampant segregation .
The Texas Cowgirls were invited to play American service bases overseas by President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
. The team received an honorary ambassador award from
Robert McNamara
Robert Strange McNamara (; June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American business executive and the eighth United States Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He remains the Lis ...
,
United States Secretary of Defense
The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The s ...
1961-1968. CBS's Roger Mudd featured the team in 1974.
The colorful sports commentator Heywood
Hale Broun
Hale may refer to:
Places Australia
*Hale, Northern Territory, a locality
*Hale River, in southeastern Northern Territory
Canada
*Hale, Ontario, in Algoma District United Kingdom
* Hale, Cumbria, a hamlet near Beetham, Cumbria
*Hale, Greater Man ...
travelled with the team, documenting the life of young women living on the road in a profession dominated by males. National Football League were opponents of the Texas CowGirls for three decades in the off season (
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
and
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
). The team called quits in 1977, two years before the death of its founder Dempsey Hovland.
The New York Harlem Queens, an African-American female basketball team and yet another Hovland team barnstormed against off-season
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
teams and men's basketball teams like the barnstorming Texas Cowgirls.
Barnstorming basketball was the opportunity for women to play men's rules against men. At halftime the females would entertain the crowds with their ball handling expertise. As an international barnstorm promoter, Hovland also carried barnstorm entertainers on the road tours to entertain at halftime.
Satchel Paige
Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB). His career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction in ...
, a Negro leagues and Major League Hall of Fame baseball pitcher travelled with the Texas Cowgirls providing exhibition pitching during halftime.
Eddie Gottlieb
Edward Gottlieb (born Isadore Gottlieb; September 15, 1898 – December 7, 1979) was a Jewish-Ukrainian professional basketball coach and executive. Nicknamed "Mr. Basketball" and "The Mogul", he was the first coach and manager of the Philadelph ...
was instrumental in securing games for Hovland's female Texas Cowgirls on the National Basketball Association schedules.
Personal life
Hovland married Florence Holder in 1954. She was an All American High school basketball player who joined the Texas CowGirls at seventeen. Her career with the team included sharing courts with
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...
rs such as
Bob Cousy
Robert Joseph Cousy (, born August 9, 1928) is an American former professional basketball player. Cousy played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963, and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals during the 1969–70 season. A 13-time N ...
,
Ed Macauley
Charles Edward Macauley (March 22, 1928 – November 8, 2011) was a professional basketball player and coach. His playing nickname was "Easy Ed".
Early life
Macauley spent his prep school days at St. Louis University High School, then went on t ...
,
Dolph Schayes
Adolph Schayes (May 19, 1928 – December 10, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A top scorer and rebounder, he was a 12-time NBA All-Star and a 12-time All-NBA selection ...
, and
George Mikan
George Lawrence Mikan Jr. (; June 18, 1924 – June 1, 2005), nicknamed "Mr. Basketball", was an American professional basketball player for the Chicago American Gears of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Minneapolis Lakers of t ...
.
References
Spokane Daily Chronicle - Google News Archive SearchBillboardSatchel in Salina , Scott SimkusHuntingdon Daily News Archives, Jul 14, 1959, p. 4BillboardBillboardThe Washington Reporter - Google News Archive Search
External links
DempseyHovland.blogspotThe Hovland Factor blogspot
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hovland, Dempsey
1918 births
1979 deaths