Mountain Messenger
  • News
    • Local News
    • Courthouse
      • Civil Suits
      • Deeds
      • Marriages
      • Public Meetings
      • Reunions
    • Club News
    • Education
    • Business News
    • Entertainment
    • Sports News
  • Spiritual
    • Parabola
    • Southern Baptist
    • Transcendental Meditation
    • Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston
    • Church Bulletin
  • Obituaries
  • Columns
    • A Look Back
    • Back Down Country Roads
    • Dear Recycle Lady
    • Between The Lines
    • Letters to the Editor
  • eMessenger
  • Special Publications
    • Properties and Lifestyles
    • State Fair Guide
  • Contact Us
  • State News
  • National News
  • Classifieds
  • Legals
  • Login
Subscribe For $2.50/Month
No Result
View All Result
Mountain Messenger
  • News
    • Local News
    • Courthouse
      • Civil Suits
      • Deeds
      • Marriages
      • Public Meetings
      • Reunions
    • Club News
    • Education
    • Business News
    • Entertainment
    • Sports News
  • Spiritual
    • Parabola
    • Southern Baptist
    • Transcendental Meditation
    • Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston
    • Church Bulletin
  • Obituaries
  • Columns
    • A Look Back
    • Back Down Country Roads
    • Dear Recycle Lady
    • Between The Lines
    • Letters to the Editor
  • eMessenger
  • Special Publications
    • Properties and Lifestyles
    • State Fair Guide
No Result
View All Result
Mountain Messenger
No Result
View All Result
  • National News
  • WV State News
  • VA State News
  • Contact Us
Home A Look Back

A Look Back

April 4, 2022
in A Look Back
Reading Time: 2 mins read
A A
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

By William “Skip” Deegans

In 1947, many Greenbrier Valley residents may have seen the first women’s professional basketball team at the Ronceverte Armory. Olson’s Great American Red Heads played the local American Legion men’s team by men’s rules. Tickets cost $1.12. While there doesn’t seem to be a record of the score, it is quite likely the men were beaten.

Connie Mack (“Ole”) Olson started the Red Heads in 1936 in Cassville, Missouri. As a gimmick to promote his wife’s five hair salons, he recruited players who were naturally red headed or women willing to dye their hair bright red. They wore shinny satin uniforms and traveled all over the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Philippines for six decades. They played about 200 games a season and won 70% of them. At one point, there were three teams, one of which was an African-American team named the Harlem Chics (later changed to the Harlem Queens). The first half of their games were played seriously, but the second half was full of antics and fancy ball handling, making the Red Heads comparable to the Harlem Globe Trotters. 

A stand-out player was Lorene Moore who scored 35,426 points in over 2,000 games.

Beginning at a time when women’s competitive sports were barely recognized, the Red Heads showed the country that women were equally capable as men to play basketball. In tribute to their contribution to basketball, the Red Heads were inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012. The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) was founded in 1997, sixty-one years after the Red Heads played their first game.

Photo: Courtesy of the Barry County (Missouri) Museum.

Sources: Barry County Museum, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, The Greenbrier Independent

ShareTweetPin
Previous Post

Dear Recycle Lady

Next Post

Thomas Guthrie McMillan

Discussion about this post

Join Our Newsletter

  • News
  • Spiritual
  • Obituaries
  • Columns
  • eMessenger
  • Special Publications

© 2022 Mountain Media, LLC

  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Cart
No Result
View All Result
  • eMessenger
  • Local News
  • Courthouse
  • A Look Back
  • Business News
  • Church News
  • Club News
  • Sports News
  • Entertainment
  • Obituaries
  • Opinions
  • Special Publications
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Subscribe | Digital & Newspaper

© 2022 Mountain Media, LLC

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Thank you for supporting local journalism. Please enjoy two free articles per month.

Subscribe Or Login For Full Access

Forgot your password?

Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive mail with link to set new password.

Back to login