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Has it really already been a year since the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame opened its doors in Knoxville?

It may be hard to believe, but June 5 marks WBHOF's first birthday and the induction of the inaugural class of inductees into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

Here's a look at our scrapbook from last year's grand opening and induction festivities. A picture, after all, is worth a thousand words.

 

Festivities for the Grand Opening of the
Hall of Fame began with a WNBA preseason
game matching the Houston Comets against
the Washington Mystics. Houston head coach
Van Chancellor was a popular figure as he worked
his way through the airport upon arriving in Knoxville.
 

Hall of Fame board member Fran Garmon
presented Pat Summitt with a commemorative
pin at the Proffitt's Luncheon.

 
 

Autograph hounds, like Dr. Rose Battaglia (Anne Donovan's high school coach and her guest for the induction), had a field day collecting the signatures of the Hall of Fame's inductees. With pen in hand, Dr. Rose made the rounds in getting inductees Joan Crawford, Denise Curry, Anne Meyers-Drysdale and Pat Summitt to sign her commemorative ball.

 
 

Denise Curry poses next to her induction
plaque in the Hall of Honor.
 
Rick Russo of Knoxville TV station WVLT
interviewed Pat Summitt and Billie Moore
in the Hall of Honor.
 
There was a strong UCLA connection at the 1999 induction ceremony. In 1978, with Billie Moore (center) as coach and Ann Meyers-Drysdale (left) and Denise Curry (right) playing, the Bruins captured an AIAW National Championship.
 
Uljana Semjonova poses next to her
induction plaque in the Hall of Honor.
 
It seems most appropriate that Pat Summitt
and Billie Moore were both in the inaugural class of
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame inductees.
Summitt calls Moore, who coached her on the
1976 U.S. Olympic Team, her mentor.
 
Pat Summitt and Gloria Ray share a laugh
during the inductees' private tour of the Hall of Fame.
 

The All American Red Heads certainly added to the merriment of the Hall's Grand Opening.
 
 
The unveiling of the sculpture in the South Rotunda
highlighted Friday evening's activities.
 
Knoxville radio personality Hallerin Hilton Hill introduces
Tiffany Palmer to sing "The Dream" during the unveiling
of the sculpture, which is the focal point of the Hall of
Fame's South Rotunda. Hill and Dr. Cedric Dent of the
Grammy Award-winning group Take 6 penned "The Dream"
especially for the Hall of Fame.
 
Is it live or is it Memorex? There was no doubt that
Tiffany Palmer's performance of "The Dream" was live
at the unveiling of the sculpture in the Hall of Fame's
South Rotunda. It was out of this world!
 
Knoxville Mayor Victor Ashe and Gloria Ray, president
and CEO of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and
Greater Knoxville Sports Corporation, unveil a new street
sign, changing Mulvaney Street to Hall of Fame Drive.
 
The excitement of the Grand Opening wasn't confined
to the interior of the Hall of Fame building.
A street party in the Hall's parking lot was
definitely the place to be on Friday night.
 
Congressman John Duncan helped christen the
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
 
U.S. Senator Bill Frist was on hand for
the Grand Opening of the Hall of Fame.
 
Does tossing coins in a fountain bring good luck?
Even without the coins, Gloria Ray thinks the
fountain in front of the Hall of Fame, which is
sponsored by the Tennessee Valley Authority
and Knoxville Utilities Board, is a sign of good
things for the Hall.
 
Former UCLA head coach and
1976 U.S. Olympic coach Billie Moore
acknowledges the crowd during the
Grand Opening of the Hall of Fame.
 
Former Wayland Baptist coach Harley Redin
waves to the crowd during the Grand Opening
of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
 


University of Texas coach Jody Conradt flashes the familiar "Hook 'em, Horns" sign after
being introduced during the Grand Opening of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

 
Instead of a ribbon-cutting, a more fitting way
to open the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
seemed to be cutting down the net. Gloria Ray
snipped the final cord to officially open the Hall.
 
The mere presence of Uljana Semjonova made
the induction ceremony a memorable event.
 
Ann Meyers-Drysdale and her daughter, Drew,
made their way down the red carpet leading into
the induction ceremony.
 
The inductees, including Pat Summitt, got
the royal red carpet treatment as they exited
their limousines to go into the Knoxville
Civic Auditorium for the induction ceremony.
 
One of the game's most prolific scorers, Carol
Blazejowski, now the General Manager of the
WNBA's New York Liberty, wasn't at all hesitant
in saying that she could still hold her own on the
basketball court — and we believe her!
 
University of Texas coach Jody Conradt
has been to Knoxville a number of times,
but she said she never realized that the people here
could be so hospitable. Maybe that's because most
of her other visits here have been for games
against the Tennessee Lady Vols.
 
In presenting Denise Curry at the induction ceremony,
emcee Robin Roberts commented on the fact that
Curry had scored in double figures in all 130 games
during her UCLA career. Curry lamented that remark
could also mean that she played no defense.
 
Anne Donovan shared an interesting story
about her first encounter on the basketball court
with fellow Hall of Famer Uljana Semjonova
during her freshman year at Old Dominion.
 
Robin Roberts said that when she was growing up,
instead of wanting to "be like Mike," she wanted to
be like Lusia Harris Stewart. Both Roberts and
Harris Stewart hail from Mississippi.
 
Robin Roberts introduced Nancy Lieberman Cline
as "Lady Magic," the moniker she acquired
during her playing days at Old Dominion.
 
Ann Meyers-Drysdale and her late husband,
Don Drysdale, are the only husband and wife
to have been inducted into the halls of fame
of their respective sports.
 
Billie Moore said that being part of the inaugural
class of inductees into the Women's Basketball
Hall of Fame reminded her a lot of coaching the first
U.S. Olympic Women's Basketball Team in 1976.
"I told that team, 'There will be a lot of other
Olympic Teams, but there will
never be another first.'"
 
Shin-Ja Park provided one of the most touching
moments of the induction ceremony, recounting her
beginnings in the sport during the Korean War era.
 
ESPN's Robin Roberts added a special flair to the
induction ceremony as the emcee for the evening.
 
Pat Summitt is accustomed to being the one
asked for an autograph, but in this instance, she's
the one doing the asking as she gets Uljana
Semjonova's signature. Summitt and Semjonova
faced each other in the 1976 Olympics with
Semjonova's Soviet team capturing the gold
medal and Summitt's USA squad taking the silver.
 
Soviet Olympic star Uljana Semjonova was
definitely one of the favorites throughout
the induction week activities.
 

Former USA Basketball executive Bill Wall relays a story about what a dominating player
Uljana Semjonova was during her playing days in the Soviet Union. "Our goal was just to keep the
game close enough that she had to stay in the game in the second half."
 
 
Uljana Semjonova starts her own wave
in response to the ovation she received
from the crowd at the induction gala.
 
As the final inductee to be announced, Pat Summitt
made some stirring remarks at the close of the 1999
induction ceremony.
 
Pat Summitt and Robin Roberts shared a few
moments on the stage at the 1999 induction ceremony.
They also shared the "stage" on ESPN's
broadcasts of WNBA games last summer.
 
Billie Moore and Denise Curry have more in common
than just their induction into the Women's Basketball
Hall of Fame. Curry was a three-time Kodak
All-American at UCLA, playing for Moore.
 
Billie Moore obliged a group of fans by signing
autographs following the induction ceremony.
 
Do you think Pat Summitt has done this before?
Signing autographs is obviously nothing new for
the Lady Vol head coach.
 
"We're Number One!" At the conclusion of the
induction ceremony, Pat Summitt called the
inductees into a huddle up on the stage
and led them in the familiar sports cry.
 
 

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