| 1979–80 WBL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Women's Professional Basketball League |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | November 15, 1979 – April 9, 1980 |
| Number of teams | 14 |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Pat Colasurdo |
| Picked by | San Francisco Pioneers |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | New York Stars |
| Season MVP | Ann Meyers (New Jersey) Molly Bolin (Iowa Cornets) |
| Top scorer | Molly Bolin (Iowa Cornets) |
| Playoffs | |
| Finals | |
| Champions | New York Stars |
| Runners-up | Iowa Cornets |
The 1979–80 WBL season was the 2nd season of the Women's Professional Basketball League. The season ended with the New York Stars winning the WBL Championship, beating the Iowa Cornets 3 games to 1 in the WBL Finals.[1]
The league was divided into three divisions, with the New Jersey Gems, New York Stars St. Louis Streak, Washington Metros and the Philadelphia Fox in the Eastern Division, the Iowa Cornets, Minnesota Fillies, Chicago Hustle and the Milwaukee Does in the Midwest and the Houston Angels, San Francisco Pioneers, California Dreams and the Dallas Diamonds in the West. Struggling financially, Philadelphia and Washington both disbanded after 10 games.[2]
Notable occurrences
- In June, former NBA player Dean Meminger was hired as the head coach of the New York Stars.[3][4]
- Pat Colasurdo was selected with the first pick in the 1979 WBL draft by the San Francisco Pioneers.[5]
- Former NBA coach Larry Costello was hired as the head coach of the Milwaukee Does.[6][7]
- After sitting out the 1978–79 season and participating in the Indiana Pacers training camp, Ann Meyers signed with the New Jersey Gems in November.[8]
- The season debut was on 15 November, 1979, where the New York Stars defeated the New Orleans Pride, 120-112, before a record crowd of 8,452 in the Louisiana Superdome.[9]
- On 26 November, Janie Fincher of the Chicago Hustle was traded to the Washington Metros for two third-round draft picks and an undisclosed amount of cash. As Chicago's most popular player, the trade turned out to be a very unpopular move with Chicago's fans, with many turning in their season tickets afterwards.[10] Due to the uproar, the Hustle tried to get the trade voided but could not do so before the Metros folded with Fincher going into a dispersal draft with the other Metros players. Despite having a chance to select her with the 4th pick, the team traded the pick to the Iowa Cornets for Denise Sharps, and Fincher was then selected with the fifth pick by the St. Louis Streak. The Hustle however, then traded Adrian Mitchell to the Streak for "Future considerations" which turned out to be Fincher,[11] and she returned to Chicago before the end of the month.[12]
- On January 13, 1980, Molly Bolin, of the Iowa Cornets, broke her own WBL single game scoring record of 53 points when she scored 54 in a 109-93 win against the Minnesota Fillies.[13] Two months later, on March 2, 1980, she broke the record again, scoring 55 points in another win against the Fillies despite dislocating her left shoulder early in the second quarter. That game, she also became the first WBL player to break the 1,000 point barrier in a single season.[14]
Standings
| # | Eastern Division | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-New York Stars | 28 | 7 | .800 | – |
| 2 | x-New Orleans Pride | 21 | 13 | .618 | 6.5 |
| 3 | New Jersey Gems | 19 | 17 | .528 | 9.5 |
| 4 | St. Louis Streak | 15 | 21 | .417 | 13.5 |
| 5 | Washington Metros | 3 | 7 | .300 | ... |
| 6 | Philadelphia Fox | 2 | 8 | .200 | ... |
| # | Midwest Division | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-Iowa Cornets | 24 | 12 | .667 | – |
| 2 | x-Minnesota Fillies | 22 | 12 | .647 | 1 |
| 3 | Chicago Hustle | 17 | 19 | .472 | 7 |
| 4 | Milwaukee Does | 10 | 24 | .294 | 13 |
| # | Western Division | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-Houston Angels | 19 | 14 | .576 | – |
| 2 | x-San Francisco Pioneers | 18 | 18 | .500 | 2.5 |
| 3 | California Dreams | 11 | 18 | .393 | 6 |
| 4 | Dallas Diamonds | 7 | 28 | .200 | 13 |
Notes
- z – division champions
- x – clinched playoff spot
Playoffs
| Quarter finals | |||
| Houston Angels | 1 | ||
| San Francisco Pioneers | 2 | ||
| Quarter finals | |||
| Minnesota Fillies | 2 | ||
| New Orleans Pride | 1 | ||
| Semifinals | Finals | ||||||
| New York Stars | 2 | ||||||
| San Francisco Pioneers | 0 | ||||||
| New York Stars | 3 | ||||||
| Iowa Cornets | 1 | ||||||
| Iowa Cornets | 2 | ||||||
| Minnesota Fillies | 1 | ||||||
Statistics leaders
| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points per game | Molly Bolin | Iowa Cornets | 32.8 |
| Rebounds per game | Doris Draving | Iowa Cornets | 14.9 |
| Assists per game | Janice Thomas | New York Stars | 8.6 |
| Steals per game | Ann Meyers | New Jersey Gems | 4.9 |
| Blocks per game | Bertha Hardy | New Orleans Pride | 2.7 |
WBL awards
- Co-Most Valuable Players: Ann Meyers, New Jersey Gems, and Molly Bolin, Iowa Cornets
- Coach of the Year: Dean Meminger, New York Stars
All-Pro team
- Molly Bolin (Iowa)
- Ann Meyers (New Jersey)
- Rita Easterling (Chicago)
- Charlene McWhorter (Chicago)
- Alfreda Abernathy (Dallas)
- Paula Mayo (Houston)
- Doris Draving (Iowa)
- Heidi Nestor (Milwaukee)
- Marie Kocurek (Minnesota)
- Bertha Hard (New Orleans)
- Sharon Farrah (New York)
- Janice homas (New York)
- Adrian Mitchell (St. Louis)
- Pat Mayo (San Francisco)
- Anita Ortega (San Francisco)
Source[15]
References
- ↑ "NY Stars take Cornets' crown". The Dispatch. United Press International. April 10, 1980. p. 40. Retrieved October 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "WBL's Metros, Fox suspend operations". Florida Today. December 22, 1979. p. 2C. Retrieved October 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Mike Wise (December 25, 2003). "PRO BASKETBALL; How Dean Meminger Turned His Life Around". The New York Times.
- ↑ Don Markus (July 1, 1979). "Meminger's new role is an old one". Newsday. p. 8 (sports). Retrieved October 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Cornets select 5 Iowans in WBL draft". The Gazette. June 13, 1979. p. 1C. Retrieved October 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Ex-NBA coach turns to women". Ventura County Star. October 4, 1979. p. C8. Retrieved October 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Helene Elliott (December 14, 1979). "Larry Costello suffers among 389". Newsday. p. 141. Retrieved October 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Ann Meyers signs with WBL Gems". The Day. Associated Press. November 15, 1979. p. 48. Retrieved October 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "It was a Jazzy family reunion for VBK". The Memphis Press-Scimitar. Associated Press. p. 16. Retrieved October 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Bill Jauss (December 19, 1979). "'Mistaken' Hustle puts in claim for Fincher". Chicago Tribune. p. 3 (Section 5). Retrieved October 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Bill Jauss (December 22, 1979). "Where's Janie now?". Chicago Tribune. p. 3 (Section 2). Retrieved October 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Mike Conklin (December 27, 1979). "Hustle regains Fincher, may lose general manager". Chicago Tribune. p. 3 (Section 4). Retrieved October 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Wayne Grett (January 14, 1980). "Magnificent Molly makes her mark". The Des Moines Register. pp. 1S, 5S. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Wayne Grett (March 3, 1980). "Bolin's 55 break mark; Cornets win". The Des Moines Register. p. 3S. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Bolin, Meyers head WBL All-Pro team". Arizona Daily Star. Associated Press. June 10, 1980. p. C2. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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