Feature Artifact

The Hall of Fame featured artifact is a 1915 Spalding Official Guide for Women’s Basket Ball. The guide was edited by Senda Berenson Abbott. She is considered the “Mother” of women’s basketball. She wrote the first rules for women’s basketball, having the first ones published in 1899. Senda was inducted posthumously into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.

Women’s Basketball Historical Timeline

1891
Basketball invented by Dr. James Naismith
1892
Senda Berenson adapts the rules for women and introduces the game at Smith College
1893
Clara Gregory Baer introduces basketball to girls at Sophie Newcomb College in New Orleans
1896
First intercollegiate game is played between Stanford University and University of California at Berkeley
1899
Formation of Women's Basketball Rules Committee. Senda Berenson's rules first published by Spalding
1901
First "Official" publication of Basket Ball for Women by Spalding Athletic Library with Senda Berenson as editor
1908
Placing one hand on a ball held by an opponent is a foul; double teaming a shooter is a foul
1910
Dribbling is outlawed
1913
Officiating first appears in guides; single dribble returns, but ball must bounce knee high
1916
No coaching is allowed from the sidelines during game (except halftime) No timeouts, no substitutions
1918
Basket with open bottom instead of closed basket with pull chain becomes official
1922
There must be at least six players on a side, maximum of nine
1923
Formation of the Women's Division of the National Amateur Athletic Federation (NAAF)
1925
Goals scored by one-hand overhand throw, two-hand underhand throw, shot-put throw, and throw with back to basket count as one point
1926
Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) sponsors first-ever national women's basketball championship, using men's rules
1927
Players must wear numbers on the back of their jerseys
1928
Formation of first national women's officiating board: Women's National Officials Rating Committee
1929
First AAU All-American team selected
1932
All field goals count as two points
1935
Tulsa Business College Stenos win the second of three consecutive AAU national titles
1936
Formation of the All American Red Heads
1938
Three-court game changed to two-court game with six players per team (three guards and three forwards)
1951
Hanes Hosiery wins the first of three consecutive AAU national titles
1953
Overtime period established - following one overtime, games are decided by sudden death
1953
USA wins gold in first World Championships
1956
Ball can be tied with two hands held by opponent: three seconds in the lane is a violation
1958
The Wayland Baptist Flying Queens achieved a 131-game winning streak and captured 4 AAU national titles
1962
Nashville Business College wins first of eight consecutive AAU National Titles
1965
Joint Committee AAU/DGWA Rules established
1966
Continuous unlimited dribble becomes official rule
1969
First National Invitational Intercollegiate Basketball Tournament is held at West Chester State College in Pennsylvania
1971
Five player, full-court game and 30 second shot clock become official
1971
The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) is formed, giving women an opportunity to compete in national championships
1972
Immaculata College wins first of three consecutive AIAW women's national collegiate basketball championships
1975
First Kodak All-American Team
1976
The first women's Olympic basketball tournament was held
1977
Lusia Harris of Delta State University is awarded the first Broderick Cup as the most outstanding athlete in the AIAW
1978
Formation of Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL)
1978
Carol Blazejowski is named the inaugural recipient of the Wade Trophy
1981
Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) is formed
1982
Rutgers defeats the University of Texas in the final AIAW championship. Louisiana Tech defeats Cheyney State in the first NCAA national championships
1984
USA captures its first Olympic gold medal in Los Angeles
1984
West Virginia's Georgeann Wells registers the first dunk in women's collegiate basketball
1986
Three-point field goals introduced to collegiate basketball
1988
USA wins gold medal at the Seoul Olympics
1992
Unified Team from Russia claims the gold medal at Barcelona Olympics
1996
USA captures the gold medal at the Centennial Olympics in Atlanta
1996
American Basketball League (ABL) was formed and lasted two full seasons before folding during the third season
1997
Inaugural WNBA season
1999
The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame opens in Knoxville, TN
2000
Houston Comets win fourth consecutive WNBA titles
2001
Jackie Stiles becomes the leading scorer in NCAA Division I women's basketball history with 3,133 points
2002
Lisa Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks becomes the first woman to dunk during a professional game
2004
The University of Connecticut defeats Tennessee 70-61 in New Orleans to win its third straight national championship
2006
Epiphanny Prince sets a national girls' scoring record with 113 points in a single game
2008
USA wins fourth straight gold medal in the Beijing Olympics
2009
Pat Summitt becomes the first Division I coach, men's or women's to reach 1,000 wins
2010
The University of Connecticut sets the longest win streak (men's or women's) in college basketball at 90 consecutive victories
2012
Baylor University records an undefeated season, winning the most games ever in a season 40
2016
Geno Auriemma passes John Wooden with 11 National Championship most by any college coach men's or women's
2017
Kelsey Plum makes NCAA women's basketball history by dropping 57 points to become the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Women's Basketball history
2018
Rebekkah Brunson becomes WNBA rebounding leader
2018
Rutgers's C. Vivian Stringer (Class of 2001) joins the 1,000 win-club. She becomes the sixth Division I coach to reach the milestone
2020
NCAA DI, DII, DIII post-season tournaments cancelled due to COVID-19
2020
Tara VanDerveer (Class of 2002) surpasses Pat Summitt (Class of 1999) for most victories in Division I women's basketball with 1,099