Just
for Fun
The Story of AAU Women’s
Basketball
Robert
W. Ikard
The
previously untold story of women’s basketball’s
beginnings
Photo
album
Prior
to the 1972 passage of Title IX, women’s basketball
was a minor sport in the United States. It was played by
companies such as Cook’s Goldblume Beer and Sunoco
and for obscure colleges such as Iowa Wesleyan and Wayland
Baptist as part of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). But
during the two generations of the mid-twentieth century,
women’s basketball improved and became more popular
throughout the country. AAU All-Star teams dominated women’s
international basketball until the emergence of subsidized
national teams in the 1960s.
The
women who played on these AAU teams helped to lay the foundation
for women’s athletics today. Most of the teams came
from central and southern states, and most of the players
had rural origins. “Country girls” from Arkansas,
Iowa, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas competed at an elite
level unknown to their city sisters. The AAU formed several
successful international teams of gifted players that gained
fame abroad but that were anonymous at home. Until nearly
the last quarter of the century, skilled women basketball
players had only one option after high school: the AAU.
This
is the history of these gifted women, their coaches, and
their teams—their records, motivations, and personal
stories. Extensively illustrated, Just for Fun
is the first book to thoroughly explore the complex history
of the Amateur Athletic Union’s women’s basketball
program and to bring to light the four decades of women’s
basketball all but forgotten in the current success of women’s
athletics.
“Just
for Fun is a wonderful tribute to a forgotten era of
women's basketball. Dr. Ikard has painstakingly researched
how a very important part of women's basketball came to
exist, and has made it an exciting and fun read.”
—Sue
Gunter, former Head Coach LSU Lady Tigers
“If
there’s anything you’ve ever wanted to know
about women’s amateur hoops, it’s in Just
for Fun. Ikard has done the homework, now you hoopheads
can sit back and enjoy the ride.”
—Rick
Telander, author of Heaven is a Playground and
Sports Columnist, Chicago Sun-Times
“Ikard's
Just for Fun is an enjoyable, folksy telling of the times,
teams and players of women's AAU basketball. Ikard, a true
fan of the sport, weaves an enjoyable tale—enhanced
by terrific visuals—for the casual reader.”
—Susan
E. Cayleff, professor of women's studies at San Diego State
University and
author of Babe: The Life and Legend of Babe Didrikson
Zaharias
“Bob
Ikard has done women's basketball a great service with this
detailed exploration of one of its most significant eras.
Anyone with an interest in the sport should read this book.”
—Pamela
Grundy, author of Shattering the Glass: A History of
U.S. Women's Basketball
Robert
W. Ikard is a thoracic surgeon, basketball
enthusiast, and amateur historian who lives in Nashville.
He is the author of two previous books: Near You: Francis
Craig, Dean of Southern Maestros and No More Social
Lynching. His father taught science and coached the
girls’ basketball team in Hampshire, Tennessee.
new
in paper - 2008
March
2005
272 pages, 51 photographs, index
6" x 9"
$24.95 cloth
ISBN 1-55728-783-X
