RARE 1966 season poster ALL AMERICAN RED HEADS 1st women's basketball pre-WNBA

Description: You are bidding on an original, vintage promotional poster for the All American Red Heads. The Red Heads were America’s first women’s professional basketball team. An exhibition team like the Harlem Globetrotters, they'd wow audiences with their skill and at the same time were enormously fun and entertaining. On top of that, they played - and usually beat - men's teams, adding a kind of Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs feminist pizazz. Decades ago, we stumbled upon a Redheads poster and were fascinated. We tracked down Orwell Moore, the longtime owner of the team, and acquired this poster from him. (Mr. Moore died in 2009.) The poster was produced to promote the Red Heads' exhibition games for the coming season. The area at the bottom is blank to fill in the date of the game, the location, the opposing team, etc., for each town in which they played.The fact that this is a blank with no writing makes it even rarer.Note: Round objects on the border of the poster are magnets holding the poster for photography. Shipping: USPS; poster ships rolled in a sturdy cardboard poster tube Size: 17-1/2" x 23" Year: 1966 seasonCondition: Near-mint; never folded, no tears or tapeComments: Will frame up beautifully Via All-American Red Heads by Lisa Cooper: Formed in 1936, the Red Heads were Americas first professional women's basketball team, eventually becoming Americas longest running professional women's basketball team. Successfully barnstorming the nation for 50 years, solely playing mens teams, by mens rules. From boys to men, it didn’t matter if the opposition was high school, collegiate, military or any other male squad formation willing to take them on, the Red Heads were down to play and to win, using every trick in their playbook. And it worked. The All American Redheads won 70% of the games they played, charming and confusing the mens teams with solid ball playing skills and feminine circus like hi-jinx. The proverbial barn was being stormed, by a skilled team of charming flame haired ladies in red, white and blue satin uniforms. Double takes and triple takes left the defending teams heads collectively spinning and their feet scrambling to catch up. Playing it straight during the early in the game, the Red Heads would expertly turn up the heat as the game moved on, showing fancy dribbling, trick shooting, and rapid-fire passing. Opponents and spectators alike impressed with their skill, their talent, and their humor. Via Photo in an Attic Leads to a Forgotten Team’s Place in the Hall of Fame by Howard Beck, The New York Times, September 7, 2012: The (All American) Red Heads were one of the nation’s first professional women’s teams, barnstorming small towns across the United States starting in 1936 — 36 years before Title IX, 60 years before the W.N.B.A. and 16 years after women won the right to vote. They played exclusively against men, using the men’s rules, and routinely beat them. They sometimes played 200 games in a year. (The) Red Heads were among the game’s earliest matriarchs. They were pioneers, role models and progenitors of the women’s game... During the 1940s, the Red Heads played primarily in rural America, sometimes drawing a crowd of 2,000 in a town of 3,000 people...Their opponents were local men’s teams, who played not only to win but to avoid embarrassment in front of their neighbors. ...The Red Heads were founded in Cassville, Mo., by C. M. Olson, known as Ole, who coined the nickname as a nod to his wife’s salon business. Some players were natural redheads; the rest had their hair dyed, a practice that carried through several generations of Red Heads. In 1948, Olson sold the team to (Orwell) Moore, a high school teacher in Caraway, Ark. Moore’s wife, Lorene, played nine seasons for the Red Heads, scoring more than 35,000 points. Their daughter, Tammy Harrison, gave the acceptance speech Friday, surrounded by 65 Red Heads. The club disbanded in 1986... See our excellent Ebay rating with over1500 transactions and buy with confidence!

Price: 99 USD

Location: Duluth, Georgia

End Time: 2025-01-22T21:58:36.000Z

Shipping Cost: 10 USD