Basketball

In her 1979 Women as Leaders Survey sent out by Dickinson College, a graduate of 1923 remembers her days at Dickinson. When asked about the issues of the day, the alum remembers, "our topic of debate was the Equal Rights Amendment."

She goes on to recall the anger at there being two senates: a women's and a school senate run by men. To protest the issue, a group of women attended the men's senate.

This photograph depicts the Women's Basketball team in 1927.

The photo depicts the women's basketball team during a game, c1940.

This program is from a women's basketball game in 1984-1985. 

This program is from a women's basketball game in 1984-1985.

The Junior Basketball Group of 1932-33, the Class of 1934. Top row: E. Wentzel, J. Bastress, M. Jacots, M. Davis, E. Billow,

Bottom row: W. LaBau, H. Baker, R. Sharp (capt), H. Allen, E. Hibbs

A female graduate of the class of 1964 discusses how athletics were treated at Dickinson in her "Women as Leaders" survey response. While at college, the student participated in Intramural Basketball and Volleyball, as well as Field Hockey. She remarked that "very limited emphasis" was placed on women's sports but that Dickinson in general always emphasized academics rather than athletics.

Mabel Tomkinson was the captain of the first women's basketball team at Dickinson. The Microcosm lists her as being the "renowned captain of the Girl's Varsity Basketball Team of 1903."

In 1904, the Microcosm printed the first picture of the first women's basketball team at Dickinson.  The Microcosm notes that the women's basketball team performed at the college's Twelfth Annual Mid-Winter Sports. At this event Kathleen Gooding and Mary Hoover's teams competed. The teams were called 'Red' and 'Blue' and the final score shows the Reds winning at 6 points to the Blues 3 points. It lists Misses Gooding, Armstrong, Hertzler and Schaeffer as Guards, Misses Tomkinson and Hoover as Centers, Misses Waite, Morrison, Schwoyer, and D. Hoover as Forwards and Miss Reese as a sub.

As the year of 1925-1926 came to an end, most of the women on the Co-Ed Varsity squad graduated. There were only two women left: Jessie Poticher and Leona Barkalow. Their positions in the team were forwards. The rest of the team for that year would consist mostly of underclasswomen.

Coach Jeanette R. Packard, Director of Physical Education for women at the College, remained positive about the season, for as many as 35 girls expressed interest and attended tryouts.