The Women's Professional Basketball League (abbreviated WBL) was a professional

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...

league in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The league played three seasons from the fall of 1978 to the spring of 1981. The league was the first professional women's basketball league in the United States.

Formation and 1978–79 season

The WPBL was founded by sports entrepreneur Bill Byrne. 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. While few of the teams had firm commitments on playing locations (or team names, for that matter), the league planned to play a 34-game season with teams in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Houston drafted

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 ...

from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, while New Jersey's top choice

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 ...

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 ...

said that she wanted to retain her amateur standing to be eligible to play in 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 ...

Lusia Harris Lusia Mae Harris (February 10, 1955 – January 18, 2022) was an American professional basketball player. Harris is considered to be one of the pioneers of women's basketball. She played for Delta State University and won three consecutive Ass ...

, a collegiate star at

Delta State University Delta State University (DSU) is a public university in Cleveland, Mississippi Cleveland is a city in Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 11,199 as of the 2020 United States Census. Cleveland has a large commercia ...

, was selected by the Houston team, but was reluctant to commit to playing after hearing the $3,000 to $5,000 salaries estimated by the Minnesota franchise. With its last pick in the draft, the Cornets selected

Uljana Semjonova Uļjana Larionovna Semjonova (russian: Ульяна Ларионовна Семёнова, Ul'yana Larionovna Semyonova; born 9 March 1952) is a retired Latvian basketball player who competed for the Soviet Union. Standing at least Semjonova w ...

, a 6-foot-11-inch player for the

Soviet Union women's national basketball team The Soviet Union women's national basketball team was the women's basketball side that represented the Soviet Union in international competitions. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the successor countries all set up their own n ...

who would be inducted as an inaugural member of the

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's bask ...

in the class of 1999, but would never play a game in the WBL. The

New Jersey Gems The New Jersey Gems was a franchise that played in the Women's Professional Basketball League (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, lo ...

selected

from

, but she 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

. Molly Bolin, who grew up in

Moravia, Iowa Moravia is a city in Appanoose County, Iowa, United States. The population was 637 at the time of the 2020 census. History Moravia is named for the religious faith. Moravian families left Salem, North Carolina in 1849 to start a colony in the ...

, became the first player signed by any team in the WBL when she was signed by the Iowa Cornets. The league played its first game on December 9, 1978, between the

Chicago Hustle The Chicago Hustle was a team in the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) from 1978 to 1981. The team's colors were red and blue. History The Hustle played in all three WBL seasons and led the league in attendance each year. The WBL's ina ...

and the Milwaukee Does at the

Milwaukee Arena Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, with the league's inaugural game attracting four minutes of coverage in the previous night's ''

CBS Evening News The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The ''CBS Evening News'' is a daily evening broadcast featuring news reports, feature s ...

'' with

Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' for 19 years (1962–1981). During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the mo ...

. Milwaukee mayor

Henry Maier Henry Walter Maier (February 7, 1918 – July 17, 1994) was an American politician and the longest-serving mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, holding office from 1960 to 1988. A Democrat, Maier was a powerful and controversial figure, presiding over ...

issued a proclamation likening this first game to the first professional football game, played in

Latrobe, Pennsylvania Latrobe is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in the United States and part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The city population was 8,338 as of the 2010 census (9,265 in 1990). It is located near Pennsylvania's scenic Chestnut Rid ...

, and the first pro baseball game, played in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

.Harvin, Al
"Female Pros Make History; Playing Game Alone"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', December 10, 1978. Accessed July 26, 2010. The Does had a crowd of 7,824 at the game, which saw the hometown team lose to Chicago 92–87, with Debra Waddy Rossow scoring 30 points to lead the Hustle. The league was divided into two divisions, with Chicago, Milwaukee, Iowa and Minnesota Fillies playing in the Western Division, while the Dayton Rockettes, Houston Angels,

and

New York Stars New York Stars could refer to: *New York Stars (WBL), a team that played two seasons in the Women's Professional Basketball League before disbanding in 1980 *New York Stars (WFL), a team in the World Football League that relocated in 1974 and becam ...

were in the East. The eight initial teams paid $50,000 for their franchise, while the four teams to be added for the 1979–80 season were expected to pay $100,000, and $250,000 per team for each of four more teams in the following season. The league was able to arrange an all-star game in 1979, which was played at the

Felt Forum The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden is a theater located in New York City's Madison Square Garden. It seats between 2,000 and 5,600, and is used for concerts, shows, sports, meetings, and other events. It is located beneath the main Madiso ...

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

in front of 2,731 fans. The game was hastily arranged and inserted into the league's schedule, using a court borrowed from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

at West Point, and forcing some players to have to make hectic travel arrangements to get to their next regular season game. The East beat the Midwest by a score of 112–99. Althea Gwyn of the

led the East with 19 points and 16 rebounds, while Chicago Hustle players Debra Waddy Rossow with 26 points and Rita Easterling with 19 points led the Midwest. Easterling, who also grabbed 18 rebounds, was named the game's most valuable player. Behind 36 points by

Paula Mayo Paula or PAULA may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Paula, in video game ''EarthBound'' * Paula, in ''The Larry Sanders Show'' * Paula Campbell (''EastEnders''), in 2003 Film and television * ''Paula'' (1915 film), a si ...

, the Houston Angels defeated the Iowa Cornets on May 2, 1979, to take the league's first championship, 111–104 in the final game of a best three-out-of-five competition.

1979–80 season

The league made it through its first season with all eight teams in operation, though the Dayton Rockettes had been taken over by the league in February 1979 and was to be relocated to either

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. New franchises had been awarded to

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, while applications were received for potential franchises from

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Los Angeles,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and

The Eastern Division included the New Jersey Gems, New Orleans Pride, New York Stars, Philadelphia Fox, St. Louis Streak and Washington Metros. The Midwest Division included the Chicago Hustle, Iowa Cornets, Milwaukee Does and Minnesota Fillies. The Western Division included the California Dreams, Dallas Diamonds, Houston Angels and San Francisco Pioneers. On April 9, 1980, despite Iowa's league-leading scorer Molly Bolin's 36 points, the New York Stars held on to win game four of the finals 125–114, behind 27 points by

Pearl Moore Pearl Moore (born March 16, 1957) is a retired American professional basketball player who played for the Women's Professional Basketball League. During her collegiate career at Francis Marion University, Moore established herself as one of the mos ...

and 22 by

Janice Thomas Janice may refer to: * Janice (given name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) * ''Janice & Abbey'', a reality TV series * Processor codename of the Samsung Galaxy S Advance Android smartphone * Janice, Łódź Voivodes ...

. Stars coach

Dean Meminger Dean Peter "The Dream" Meminger (May 13, 1948 – August 23, 2013) was an American basketball player and coach. Early life Meminger was born in Walterboro, South Carolina, and came to Harlem, New York, with his family as a seventh-grader. He starr ...

called the game the "culmination of a year of hard work". In what proved to be a harbinger of things to come, however, the Stars asked to go on a two-year hiatus not long after winning the title.

1980–81 season and demise

In a game scheduled in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

on March 21, 1981, players of the Minnesota Fillies, one of only three teams to play in all three seasons that the league was in existence, walked off the court before the starting lineups were announced in a game against the

in a protest over unpaid salaries. Referees and team coach Terry Kunze tried to cajole the players back onto the court to play their game, but were unsuccessful. The team, which had been averaging 1,000 to 1,500 in attendance per game, were suspended from the WPBL by commissioner Sherwin Fischer, who called the walkout as "very detrimental to the league". On February 7, 1981, Nebraska Wranglers player

Connie Kunzmann Connie Renea Kunzmann (July 3, 1956 – February 7, 1981) was a professional basketball player who was a member of the Iowa Cornets and the Nebraska Wranglers in the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) from 1978 to 1981. Kunzmann made ...

was reported missing and was later pronounced dead. Police arrested Lance Tibke, who later pleaded guilty to her

second degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

. The Nebraska Wranglers won the league's 1980–81 title, defeating the

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 ...

three games to two. In the fifth and final game,

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 ...

led the victors with 39 points, while the Wranglers' defense held

Nancy Lieberman Nancy Elizabeth Lieberman (born July 1, 1958), nicknamed "Lady Magic", is an American former professional basketball player and coach in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) who is currently a broadcaster for the Oklahoma City Thun ...

of Dallas to 12 points, less than half of her season average. Bill Byrne had founded the league hoping that the

would showcase the game's stars and bring media and public attention to

, but the United States-led boycott of the

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

games only added to the league's misfortunes. By the fall of 1981, the league was showing what ''

'' described as "feeble flickers of life." That November, commissioner Dave Almstead announced the league had disbanded, having generated $14 million in losses in its three years on the court. Almstead, who had succeeded Fischer as league commissioner in May 1981, announced the league's shutdown after trying unsuccessfully to contact the surviving eight teams' investors and team owners. Fischer, owner of the Chicago Hustle, insisted that he would field a team that would go barnstorming if the league went out of existence, and thought that teams would be fielded for a fourth season by Chicago, Nebraska and New Orleans. Some of the players were able to play professionally again in the 1984

Women's American Basketball Association The Women's American Basketball Association (WABA) is a league that began in 2017 with seven teams. It now has over 20 teams across the country. Season 4 was cancelled in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. There have been previous women's ...

.Rogers, Thomas
"SPORTS WORLD SPECIALS; Dead or Alive?"
''

'', November 23, 1981. Accessed July 26, 2010.

Teams

California Dreams ''California Dreams'' is an American teen sitcom that aired on NBC. It was part of the network's Saturday morning block, TNBC, premiering on September 12, 1992. Created by writers Brett Dewey and Ronald B. Solomon, and executive produced by Pet ...

(1979–80) / Nebraska Wranglers (1980–81) *

(1978–81) *

(1979–81) * Dayton Rockettes (1978–79) / Washington Metros (1979–80) * Houston Angels (1978–80) * Iowa Cornets (1978–80) * Milwaukee Does (1978–80) * Minnesota Fillies (1978–81) * New England Gulls (1980–81) *

(1978–81) * New Orleans Pride (1979–81) *

(1978–80) *

Philadelphia Fox The Philadelphia Fox was a basketball team that played in the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL), the first women's pro league in the United States. Owned by Eric Kraus, it was added as an expansion team prior to the WBL's second season, ...

(1979–80) * St. Louis Streak (1979–81) * San Francisco Pioneers (1979–81) * Tampa Bay Sun (1980–81 planned expansion team, never played)

League champions

*1978–79 Houston Angels *1979–80 New York Stars *1980–81 Nebraska Wranglers

Selected notable players

, now the General Manager for the

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as part of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was f ...

*"Machine Gun" Molly Bolin, Co-MVP for the 1979–80 season *

Brenda Chapman Brenda Chapman (born November 1, 1962) is an American animator, screenwriter, storyboard artist, and director. In 1998, she became the first woman to direct an animated feature from a major studio, DreamWorks Animation's ''The Prince of Egypt' ...

, the WBL scoring leader in the 1978–79 season * Denise "Neicy" Craig, former Dayton Rockettes player, Hall of Fame inductee of

Shaw University Shaw University is a private Baptist historically black university in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. Founded on December 1, 1865, Shaw University is the oldest HBCU to begin offering courses in ...

, Hall of Fame inductee of CIAA, Hall of Fame inductee of Princeton High School Athletics, Princeton, New Jersey * Rita Easterling, MVP for the 1978–79 season *Donna Geils, now

Donna Orender Donna Geils Orender (born February 14, 1957) is a sports executive and a former collegiate and professional basketball player. She was formerly president of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and senior vice president of the PGA ...

, former President of the WNBA * Althea Gwyn * Cardie Hicks, one of the first women known to have dunked in a professional game, doing so while playing professionally in the Netherlands in 1978. * Marie Kocurek *

, former

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league ...

player, first-ever coach of the

Detroit Shock The Detroit Shock were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006, and 2008 WNBA champions. Debuting in 1998, the Shock were one of the league's first expansion franchises. ...

, now a basketball analyst on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

Muffet McGraw Ann "Muffet" McGraw (born December 5, 1955) is an American former college basketball coach, who served as the head women's basketball coach at Notre Dame from 1987 to 2020, compiling a 848–252 (.771) record over 33 seasons. She led her team to ...

, former Head Coach at

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

, top pick in the WBL draft in 1978 for the Houston Angels, WBL Co-MVP for the 1979–1980 season playing for the New Jersey Gems, now the General Manager for the

Anita Ortega Anita Ortega is an Afro-Puerto Rican former collegiate basketball player at UCLA. She was an All-American. The team went on to defeat the University of Maryland, College Park in 1978 to take the Division I collegiate title (National Champions). In ...

, played with the San Francisco Pioneers and a brief stint with the Minnesota Fillies. She was one of the women that decided not to play in a Fillies game due to contractual violations by the owners. She was a 1980 WBL All-Star and described as the "Dr.J" of her time because of her crafty athletic moves. She later became the highest ranking Afro-Puerto Rican in the

Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

. *

Mary Jo Peppler Mary Joan "Mary Jo" Peppler (born October 17, 1944) is a retired American volleyball player and coach. Peppler was inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame in 1990. She also played professional basketball with the New Jersey Gems of the Women' ...

, renowned volleyball player and coach and ABC '' Superstars'' champion who played for the New Jersey Gems in 1978-79 *

Rhonda Rompola Rhonda Lee Rompola (born March 9, 1960) is an American college basketball coach who was most recently the head women's basketball coach at Southern Methodist University (SMU) from 1991 to 2016. Early life and education Rompola was born and raise ...

, Head Coach at

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

from 1991 to 2016 * Susan Summons, 3rd round draft pick by the

and later traded to the New England Gulls, now Head Coach at

Miami Dade College Miami Dade College (Miami Dade, MDC or Dade) is a public college in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1959, it has a total of eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County. It is the largest college in the Florida College ...

, MVP for the 1980–81 season * Kaye Young, later known as Kaye Young Cowher, the late wife of

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach

Bill Cowher William Laird Cowher (born May 8, 1957) is an American sports analyst, former football player and coach. Following a six-year playing career as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), he served as a head coach in the NFL for 15 seas ...

Standings

1978–79 season

Eastern Division Midwest Division
Semifinals *Houston 2–0 New York *Iowa 2–1 Chicago
Finals *Houston 3–1 Iowa

1979–80 season

Eastern Division Midwest Division Western Division *Philadelphia and Washington disbanded after 10 games.
Quarterfinals *San Francisco 2–1 Houston *Minnesota 2–1 New Orleans
Semifinals *Iowa 2–1 Minnesota *New York 2–0 San Francisco
Finals *New York 3–2 Iowa **New York 89–85 Iowa **New York 112–98 Iowa **Iowa 110–101 New York **Iowa 89–79 New York **New York 111–104 Iowa

1980–81 season

Coastal Division Central Division *New England disbanded after 12 games.
Division playoffs Dallas defeated New Jersey, 2 games to 1. Game 1 (April 3) in West Orange, NJ: New Jersey 91, Dallas 86. Schwartz, Drew
"Passing Her Game, Thomas Ignores Pain"
'' Daily Record'', April 5, 1981. Accessed January 21, 2021, via

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...

. "The New Jersey Gems guard was writhing in pain, and it looked as though she would be finished in Friday night's game. But this was the playoffs, a time when adrenaline becomes a painkiller. 'It was just a sprain,' said Thomas after the Gems defeated the Dallas Diamonds 91-86 in the first game of the playoffs." Game 2 (April 4) in Dallas: Dallas 92, New Jersey 85. Game 3 (April 6) in Dallas: Dallas 107, New Jersey 88. Nebraska defeated Chicago, 2 games to 0. Game 1 (April 4) at Chicago: Nebraska 97, Chicago 75. Game 2 (April 5) at Omaha: Nebraska 81, Chicago 61. Finals Nebraska defeated Dallas, 3 games to 2. Game 1 (April 14) in Omaha: Nebraska 89, Dallas 72. Game 2 (April 15) in Omaha: Dallas 106, Nebraska 93. Game 3 (April 17) in Dallas: Dallas 96, Nebraska 88. Game 4 (April 18) in Dallas: Nebraska 94, Dallas 93. Game 5 (April 20) in Dallas: Nebraska 99, Dallas 90.

References

External links

WBL history with standings

Women's Professional basketball research
{{Major women's sport leagues in North America 1978 establishments in New York City

Formation and 1978–79 season

1979–80 season

1980–81 season and demise

Teams

League champions

Selected notable players

Standings

1978–79 season

1979–80 season

1980–81 season

See also

References

External links