Women’s History Month: Unidentified Vintage Black Hoops Team Photos


Since it’s Women’s History Month, I wanted to share these wonderful photographs, even though Black Women’s Basketball History Month is in December.

Does anyone know anything about these teams?

Some teams are unidentified.  We have no further information for those with no team name.

Who are these women? We have not been able to identify any of them.

This is a shame, because they surely played an important pioneering role in basketball on some level, even in obscurity.

Just behold these vintage African American women’s basketball photographs and the stories they tell.

An unidentified African American women's basketball team
An unidentified African American
women’s basketball team, circa 1912.

This looks like a college or sorority basketball team posing in the yard of their campus.  So many things can be said about this photograph.  Yet, so many questions remain unanswered.

The Golden Arrows all-black women's basketball team
The Golden Arrows, circa 1940s.

This basketball team was quite possibly representing the Golden Arrows Athletic and Social Club, a women’s organization based in New York City.

An unidentified African American women's basketball team
An unidentified African American women’s basketball team holding a “Ballard” pennant.

This circa 1910s photograph could be of the girls basketball team from the Ballard Normal High School in Macon, Georgia. That school later sent a team to play in the annual Interscholastic Boys and Girls Basketball Tournament held at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama starting in the early 1930s.  Games were played at Tuskegee’s Logan Hall.  In this photo, I like the vintage basketball shoes and bloomers, standard 1910s hoops attire.

Unidentified woman helping African American youth basketball team
Unidentified woman in support of
an all-black youth basketball team.

This was likely a high school team, circa 1910s.  What I find very interesting is the vintage Spalding basketball shoes and wool knit basketball warmup sweater worn by the woman.  What was she doing?  What was her role?  A physical fitness instructor?  A basketball coach? A teacher?  A parent of one of the boys?

Unidentified all-black women's basketball team
Unidentified all-black women’s basketball team, circa 1910.

We may never know about this team.  Who were they?  I’m guessing this photo was taken at a location in the South.

What strikes you about these photographs?  Aside from the attire and equipment, what if anything seems different about women in basketball today? Is there anything we can learn?

Please share your comments!

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Judy
6 months ago

My Mom was on the Golden Arrows. Shirley Farnum ( bottom left)

[…] Golden Arrows basketball team Source […]

Nikki Graves Henderson
15 years ago

Hey Claude,
Could the second photo from the bottom with the women teaching the boys with Spaulding shoes. . . be Anita Turner. I think I saw a pix of her once, but am not sure. . . I wonders because if this is the early 1910, Anita was the assistant director of physical education in DC for years (40?) and would have been wearing the kind of clothing this lady has on. . .right, plus she also went to Harvard (before E. B.) at least she started before he did. . not sure when she finished . . . . would she have learned the game there too . . .if not, definitely by the time EB came back with it. . .Just guessing. . . Been looking at too many episodes of Cold Case!!

Nikki Graves Henderson
15 years ago

Hi Claude,
As usual I am a day late. . . the last photo stuck from above, in my mind, I knew I had seen it before. If fact, I had used in a powerpoint on early basketball and women. Sure enough, when I checked I did have it in my powerpoint. I got the photo in the library of congress on line collection. It is the Nannie Helen Burroughs basketball team. Ms. Burroughs founded a landmark National Trade and Professional School for Women and Girls, Inc. to provide vocational training for African American females in Washington, DC in 1909. Later became coeducational school.

Great. Bring friends! By the way, Cora Lee’s granddaughter is Anika Noni Rose, the actress in Dreamgirls!

Elizabeth

15 years ago

Hi Elizabeth! I’m looking forward to coming up soon! Thanks for sharing. As you suggest with your comment, there is much still as yet undiscovered.

Hi Claude,

I think, but am not sure, that the last black and white photo is a team from Washington, DC.

As you know, the Connecticut Historical Society developed and designed an exhibit about the history of women’s basketball in Connecticut. We couldn’t find many black women’s bball teams, but found two. First team is The Colored Girls League which was established in the 1920s. Composed of teams like the Eagle Colored Girls of Waterbury, CT, and the Colored Girls Reserve of Hartford, they competed in high school gyms across the state. Unfortunately, there is little information on the league. The second team were the Tigerettes founded and coached by Cora Lee (a great sports talent). Florence Kiser Price Wollaston played on the Tigerettes and brought this team to our attention and I hope to do an oral history with she and Cora Lee. I have a few pictures of these teams which I could share with you. She Shoots . . . She Scores! is open until Jan. 2nd, 2010. I invite everyone to come and visit us in Hartford. Cheers, Elizabeth

15 years ago

Claude, this is absolutely incredible! My God, what a blessing to see these old photos and you have done a masterful job of locating them. Keep up the good work. There is an award waiting for you.

15 years ago

Claud..you know, something tells me you are into black history. Having been raised in Gary, Indiana, I know all about your quest for educational exposure….I lived it.

Margie
15 years ago

Claude,

You can’t imagine how excited I am to hear from you and the good news. Yes, that is the team [Golden Arrows], and that is my mom in the upper right top of the photo. I know one or two more names, but not the majority. I will stay in touch, and keep digging for more information that I can send you for all “vintage” teams. Coincidentally, the National Black Herstory Task Force conference is later this month. Again, great to hear from you. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your diligence and having kept me in the loop.

denise
15 years ago

For the unpublished photo circa 1912…you might want to check Clark University (now Clark Atlanta University)…the background looks like the old campus….