Author Archives: thomasroberts

History of women in baseball The best place to start talking about women’s baseball is too talk about Lizzie Murphy. In the 1920s, Lizzie played Providence (Rhode Island) Independents as a first baseman and was widely regarded for her fielding ability. She was paid $300 a week (which would be about $3,5858 in 2019), moreContinue reading “Women in baseball”

History of women’s soccer In the early 20th century, “serious” women’s soccer was common in Great Britain, France, and even Canada. It is believed that competitive soccer wasn’t uncommon in Central Europe (eg. Italy). One of the most well reported games of all time occurred on December 26, 1920, where the Dick, Kerr Ladies tookContinue reading “Women and Soccer”

History of women in basketball Women’s basketball first began at Smith College (Northampton, Mass.) in 1892, when Senda Berenson taught it to improve her students physical health. The very first women’s intercollegiate game took place between Stanford and UC Berkeley in 1896. In 1976, women’s basketball became an official sport of the Olympics, while men’sContinue reading “Women and Basketball”

History of women in ice hockey Ice hockey began in 19th century Canada, but Women’s teams didn’t start forming until the 20th century. That doesn’t mean that women didn’t play the sport. This is a picture from the 1890s. The woman in white is actually Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy, Daughter of Lord Stanley of Preston, whoContinue reading “Women in Ice Hockey”

The history of women in the Olympics and sex testing in international competition