The New Jersey Gems was a franchise that played in the

Women's Professional Basketball League 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 ...

(WBL), one of only three teams in the league to survive through all three seasons, from 1978–79 to 1980–81. The team made the league playoffs once, losing in the first round. The team played its first two seasons at the Thomas Dunn Center in

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...

and at the South Mountain Arena in

West Orange, New Jersey West Orange is a suburban township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from the 46,207 counted in the 2010 Census.

in the league's third and final season. The league began with a player draft held in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

's Essex House in July 1978, with eight teams participating. New Jersey selected

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 ...

from

Montclair State College Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public university in New ...

, but announced while on tour in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

with the U.S. national women's team through her coach

Maureen Wendelken Maureen is a female given name. In Gaelic, it is Máirín, a pet form of ''Máire'' (the Irish cognate of Mary), which is derived from the Hebrew Miriam. The name has sometimes been regarded as corresponding to the male given name Maurice. Some n ...

that she had no intention of playing professionally and that her goal was to retain her amateur standing to be able to play for the U.S. at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

. The Gems finished the 1978–79 season with a record of 9 wins and 25 losses, placing fourth in the Eastern Division and giving it the league's worst record in its debut season.

Ann Meyers Ann Meyers Drysdale (born Ann Elizabeth Meyers; March 26, 1955) is an American former basketball player and sportscaster. She was a standout player in high school, college, the Olympic Games, international tournaments, and the professional level ...

, top pick by the Houston Angels in the WBL's initial draft in 1978 sat out the first season. In a November 1979 news conference held at

Giants Stadium Giants Stadium (sometimes referred to as Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands or The Swamp) was a stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The venue was open from 1976 to 2010, and it primarily hosted sp ...

, Meyer's agent announced that Meyers would sign a three-year contract with the Gems, with the $50,000 for the first year matching the amount she had been paid by the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

in a bid to become the first woman to play in the

NBA 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 St ...

. That year, Meyers shared Most Valuable Player honors with Molly Bolin of the Iowa Cornets. New Jersey had a 19–17 record in the 1979–80 season, placing third in the Eastern Division. While the team had a better record than the San Francisco Pioneers, which did make it into the playoffs as the second-best team in the Western Division, only two teams from each division were eligible. For the 1980–81 season, Meyers left the club over non-payment of wages. However, the team added Carol Blazejowski, who signed a $150,000 three-year deal, as well as by Tara Heiss of the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

and twins Faye and Kaye Young. In the 1980–81 season. New Jersey completed the season with a record of 23 wins and 13 losses, placing second in the Coastal Division. In the first round of the playoffs, the Gems played the division-leading

Dallas Diamonds The Dallas Diamonds was a women's professional American football team in the Women's Football Alliance (WFA). The Diamonds were made up of 46 players and a coaching staff of 10. The Diamonds won four national championships; the first three were ...

. The Gems won the first game of the series 91–86, but were swept by Dallas by scores of 92–85 and 107–88 in the final two games.Bradley, Robert
HISTORY OF THE WOMEN'S PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE
The Association for Professional Basketball Research. Accessed August 4, 2010.

References

{{Reflist Basketball teams in New Jersey Women's Professional Basketball League teams Basketball teams established in 1978 1978 establishments in New Jersey 1981 disestablishments in New Jersey Women's sports in New Jersey

See also

References