Women and Sports in the United States: A Documentary Reader

Timeline: 125 Years of U.S. Women in Sports

TIMELINE: 125 YEARS OF U.S. WOMEN IN SPORTS Compiled by Susan K. Cahn and Jean O’Reilly The following chronology points to many women who achieved “firsts” in sports, whether they were the first to win a championship, break into a previously all-male event, set a world record, or establish women’s leagues or organizations to create new opportunities for female athletes. In a sense, the timetable is one long list of pioneers that reflects the enormity of women’s accomplishments over the past 125 years, victories that won more than championships but also opportunities and grudging acceptance in the male-dominated world of sports. 1882 At the YWCA in Boston, the first athletic games for women are held. 1888 The modern “safety” bicycle is invented with a light frame, two equal-sized wheels, and a chain drive. 1888 The Amateur Athletic Union is formed to establish standards and uniformity in amateur sport. During its early years, the AAU serves as a leader in international sport, representing the United States in international sports federations. 1892 Gymnastics instructor Senda Berenson Abbott adapts James Naismith’s basketball rules for women and introduces the game to her students at Smith College. Her rules confine each player to one third of the court. 1894 The first ladies’ golf tournament is held in Morristown, N.J. 1895 Volleyball is invented in Holyoke, Mass. One hundred years later it is the second largest participation sport in the United States. 1896 At the first modern Olympics in Athens, a woman, Melpomene, barred from the official race, runs the same course as the men, finishing in 4 hours 30 minutes. 1901 Field hockey is introduced to women in the United States by Constance M. K. Applebee, a British physical education teacher. 1904 Lydia Scott Howell wins three gold medals in archery, an unofficial Olympic sport at the St. Louis Games. 1912 Swimming and diving debut at the Stockholm Olympic Games, with fifty-seven women from eleven nations competing in those sports plus tennis. 1914 The American Olympic Committee formally opposes women’s athletic competition in the Olympics. 1914 Women’s basketball rules change to allow half-court play. 1914 The first national swimming championships are held, with women allowed to register by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). 1916 A group of forty women form the Women’s International Bowling Congress, which will become the oldest and largest women’s sports organization in the world. 1917 Lucy Diggs Slowe wins the singles title at the first American Tennis Association (ATA) national tournament, becoming the first female African-American national champion in any sport. 1917 The American Physical Education Association forms a Committee on Women’s Athletics to draft standardized, separate rules for women’s collegiate field hockey, swimming, track and field, and soccer. 1918 Eleanora Sears takes up squash, after excelling at polo (and shocking spectators by riding astride), baseball, golf, field hockey, auto racing, swimming, tennis, yachting, and speedboat racing. She demonstrates that women can play men’s games and is a prime symbol of women’s liberation in sports. 1920 Female swimmers become the first American women to achieve full Olympic status, competing in three free-style events. Ethelda Bleibtrey enters all three and wins three gold medals. 1922 The U.S. Field Hockey Association, the national governing body for field hockey in the United States, is established. 1922 The Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale, founded in 1921, holds the first of four Women’s Olympic Games. It includes eleven track and field events and draws over two thousand fans. Six countries participate, including the United States. 1922 The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) opens track and field events to women. 1923 Twenty-two percent of U.S. colleges have varsity sports teams for women. 1926 New York City native Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to swim the English Channel, beating the best male time by almost two hours. She is nineteen years old. 1926 The Amateur Skating Union holds the first national speed skating championships for women. 1926 The AAU sponsors the first national women’s basketball championship , using men’s rules. 1927 American Helen Wills wins the singles tennis title at the AllEngland Club. She goes on to win another seven singles titles and xxiv 125 Years of U.S. Women in Sports holds the no. 1 world ranking for eight years, not losing a...