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...and the coach who made it happen.
What a interesting story for admirers of women's basketball and its history.
The Oklahoma Presbyterian College Cardinals
Excerpts:
What Doll Harris — 5-foot-2, maybe 100 pounds — would eventually offer Sam Babb was tenacious defense and dependable shooting. What Coach Babb could offer in return was the opportunity to get off a dusty farm.
"Financial aid. A college degree. Her father did not have the money to send her to college, and she never would have gone if it hadn’t been the offer from Sam," Reeder says.
Babb had worked out a way to give athletic scholarships to women 40-odd years before Title IX.
"The rest of Oklahoma, who had read about the Cardinals, were definitely rooting for them, but I don’t know that they thought they could win," Reeder says. "And, of course, Sam always thought they could win, so. And he got quite a crowd to drive into Shreveport from Oklahoma to root for the Cardinals."
That crowd wasn’t disappointed. The defense Sam Babb had taught the Cardinals to play limited Babe Didrikson’s effectiveness. Doll Harris, who had excelled throughout the tournament, drew enough attention to free up some of her teammates, one of whom, Lucille Thurman, sealed the Cardinals' victory with a late basket.
To say the Cardinals returned in triumph might be an understatement, especially as regards their star, Doll Harris. Perhaps to the surprise of some, she was named captain of the all-tournament team.
"I don’t know that she was that surprised," Reeder says. "But, she deserved it, and the Associated Press named her the top female basketball player that year. She was better than Babe Didrikson that year. So she won fans all over the country. I saw from her scrapbook postcards from Connecticut and other places, telling her how much they admired her."
Complete Story [HERE]
What a interesting story for admirers of women's basketball and its history.
The Oklahoma Presbyterian College Cardinals
Excerpts:
What Doll Harris — 5-foot-2, maybe 100 pounds — would eventually offer Sam Babb was tenacious defense and dependable shooting. What Coach Babb could offer in return was the opportunity to get off a dusty farm.
"Financial aid. A college degree. Her father did not have the money to send her to college, and she never would have gone if it hadn’t been the offer from Sam," Reeder says.
Babb had worked out a way to give athletic scholarships to women 40-odd years before Title IX.
"The rest of Oklahoma, who had read about the Cardinals, were definitely rooting for them, but I don’t know that they thought they could win," Reeder says. "And, of course, Sam always thought they could win, so. And he got quite a crowd to drive into Shreveport from Oklahoma to root for the Cardinals."
That crowd wasn’t disappointed. The defense Sam Babb had taught the Cardinals to play limited Babe Didrikson’s effectiveness. Doll Harris, who had excelled throughout the tournament, drew enough attention to free up some of her teammates, one of whom, Lucille Thurman, sealed the Cardinals' victory with a late basket.
To say the Cardinals returned in triumph might be an understatement, especially as regards their star, Doll Harris. Perhaps to the surprise of some, she was named captain of the all-tournament team.
"I don’t know that she was that surprised," Reeder says. "But, she deserved it, and the Associated Press named her the top female basketball player that year. She was better than Babe Didrikson that year. So she won fans all over the country. I saw from her scrapbook postcards from Connecticut and other places, telling her how much they admired her."
Complete Story [HERE]
