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Inaugural Ballers: The True Story of the First US Women's Olympic Basketball Team Hardcover – September 13, 2022
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A League of Their Own meets Miracle in the inspirational true story of the first US Women’s Olympic Basketball team and their unlikely rise to the top.
Twenty years before women’s soccer became an Olympic sport and two decades before the formation of the WNBA, the ’76 US women’s basketball team laid the foundation for the incredible rise of women’s sports in America at the youth, collegiate, Olympic, and professional levels.
Though they were unknowns from small schools such as Delta State, the University of Tennessee at Martin and John F. Kennedy College of Wahoo, Nebraska, at the time of the ’76 Olympics, the American team included a roster of players who would go on to become some of the most legendary figures in the history of basketball. From Pat Head, Nancy Lieberman, Ann Meyers, Lusia Harris, coach Billie Moore, and beyond—these women took on the world and proved everyone wrong.
Packed with black-and-white photos and thoroughly researched details about the beginnings of US women’s basketball, Inaugural Ballers is the fascinating story of the women who paved the way for girls everywhere.
- Reading age12 - 15 years
- Print length352 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Grade level7 - 9
- Lexile measure1240L
- Dimensions5.81 x 1.12 x 8.56 inches
- PublisherViking Books for Young Readers
- Publication dateSeptember 13, 2022
- ISBN-10059335124X
- ISBN-13978-0593351246
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Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Review
*"The underdog story of America’s first women's Olympic basketball team plays out in this thoughtful exploration of social change...a book that will stick with readers long after they put it down...A winning story full of heart, camaraderie, and power."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
*"An inspiring, comprehensive look at the first U.S. women's Olympic basketball team...A triumphant account for any sports fan."--Booklist (starred review)
*"A winning look at the creation and legacy of a team that went from underdogs to unstoppable....Maraniss, a master of narrative-nonfiction, creates an immersive and emotional story...An inspirational look at remarkable athletes breaking boundaries. An exceptional read and an essential purchase."--School Library Journal (starred review)
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Montreal Forum, Quebec, Canada
Summer Olympics
The locker room shook with music, women singing along with the Natalie Cole tape blasting from the small speakers in the corner.
THIS will be . . . an everlasting love
THIS will be . . . the one I’ve waited for
Someone turned off the tape player, and the room grew quieter. The only thing breaking the silence was the muffled murmur of thousands of spectators from around the world who had traveled to Canada for the eighteenth Olympic Games.
American basketball coach Billie Moore stood before her players in the bowels of the famed Montreal Forum, just minutes before her team was to play Czechoslovakia in a game to determine the winner of the silver medal. The women in front of her would go on to become some of the most legendary names in the history of the sport, but at this moment they were still largely unknown.1 For people who paid attention to women’s basketball, it was a surprise this team had even made it to Montreal, let alone that it was in position to earn medals in the first women’s Olympic basketball tournament ever played. The United States had placed a dismal eighth at the World Championships in Colombia a year earlier, only qualifying for the Olympics in a last-minute tournament for also-rans just two weeks before the opening ceremony. Heading into the Olympics, one sportswriter declared that the only positive thing anyone could say about US women’s basketball in the past was that it wasn’t the most inept program in the world. “Maybe the second or third worst,” he wrote, “but not the worst.”
A basketball coach must choose her words carefully in a pregame speech—just enough motivation, not too much pressure. As she scanned the room, locking eyes with the veteran co-captain from rural Tennessee, the brash young redhead from Long Island, and the quietly determined Black center from the Mississippi Delta, Moore sensed her players could handle a message that had been on her mind ever since the team’s training camp in Warrensburg, Missouri, six weeks earlier.
The coach had confidence in this group, and though she didn’t think much about politics, she understood the moment in time in which this team existed. In the summer of 1976, women were demanding rights and opportunities all over the world. The United States had just celebrated its bicentennial on July 4, a time for Americans to ponder whether all citizens were truly free.
Moore knew this game was an important stepping-stone on the journey to equality. Pat,Lusia, Annie, Nancy L., Nancy D., Mary Anne, Sue, Juliene, Charlotte, Cindy, Trish, and Gail wouldn’t just be playing for themselves but also for the women before them who had been denied opportunities. They would be playing for the little girls who yearned to hoop, and generations of athletes yet to be born.
Rather than calm her players’ nerves by telling them to remember this was just another game, no different than any they’d played before, Billie Moore laid it all on the line.
“Win this game,” she told her team,“and it will change women’s sports in this country for the next twenty-five years.”
Product details
- Publisher : Viking Books for Young Readers (September 13, 2022)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 352 pages
- ISBN-10 : 059335124X
- ISBN-13 : 978-0593351246
- Reading age : 12 - 15 years
- Lexile measure : 1240L
- Grade level : 7 - 9
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.81 x 1.12 x 8.56 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #877,516 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
The New York Times bestseller Strong Inside is the first book by Andrew Maraniss. Andrew studied history at Vanderbilt University as a recipient of the Fred Russell - Grantland Rice sportswriting scholarship, graduating in 1992. He then worked for five years in Vanderbilt's athletic department as the associate director of media relations, dealing primarily with the men's basketball team. In 1998, he served as the media relations manager for the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays during the team's inaugural season, and then returned to Nashville to join MP&F Public Relations, where he became a partner. Andrew is a 2016 graduate of Leadership Nashville. The son of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and best-selling author David Maraniss and trailblazing environmentalist Linda Maraniss, Andrew was born in Madison, Wis., grew up in Washington, D.C. and Austin, Texas and now lives in Brentwood, Tenn., with his wife, Alison, and their two young children. Follow Andrew on Twitter @trublu24 and visit his website at www.andrewmaraniss.com.
Strong Inside was a recipient of the 2015 RFK Book Awards "Special Recognition" honor and the 2015 Lillian Smith Book Award. A Middle Grade version of the book (ages 10-14) will be published by Philomel in January 2017.
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Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2023A good history of women's basketball and the struggles women have had to endure to compete in basketball. It's an easy read and does not bog you down with statistics. Well written. I actually learned a lot about the sport and women. I would recommend this book.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2022A terrific book on the first US women's basketball team. Fascinating characters who overcame tremendous obstacles, history of women's basketball, in the context of women's rights/feminism. Highly recommend for teens and adults!
- Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2023The year is 1976. Women's Basketball is part of the Summer Olympics for the first time ever. The US women's basketball team won't bring home gold but if they play their cards right they could still see themselves on that podium.
What's even more amazing is the journey the team took to get there.
Nationwide tryouts attracted known athletes and aspiring amateurs, college stars, and women who never had a chance to play on an international stage. Hardscrabble matches made it unclear if the team could even qualify for the Olympics and, when they did, the coaches realized that the US Olympic committee had so little faith in them that they hadn't allotted beds for them at the Olympic pavillion.
In Canada things aren't much better with the sixteen-woman team crammed into a two room flat filled with bunk beds and one bathroom for them to share.
Everyone knew that the 1972 passage of Title IX would change everything when it came to collegiate sports for women. Four years later, the US Women's Basketball team has a chance to prove just how much. Getting to the Olympics is already going to change the landscape of women's sports for years to come. But only one team will ever be the first in Inaugural Ballers: The True Story of the First US Women's Olympic Basketball Team by Andrew Maraniss (2022).
Maraniss takes a holistic approach to this story offering backgroun on the sport and women's role in basketball from its inception in Canada right up to the 1976 Olympics alongside chapters detailing the major players in the 1976 and the team's journey to the Olympics. With a roster filled with women who go on to leave a lasting impact on basketball as both players and coaches, basketball fans will recognize many of the key figures including Billie Moore, Lusia Harris, Pat Head and so many more.
Inaugural Ballers does assume a basic knowledge of basketball for readers so some descriptions of game play might go over the heads of readers not well-versed in the game. That said, even with little to no understanding of basketball or the 1976 Olympics, Maraniss does an excellent job laying out the stakes for the Olympic game and also detailing the team's lasting legacy on women's sports to follow. Talking about the 1976 Olympics also goes hand in hand with detailing the impact of Title IX on school and collegiate athletics programs and the disparity the women's team faced while being at the literal top of their game--feminist concerns that Maraniss unpacks throughout the story without ever bogging down the narrative.
Inaugural Ballers: The True Story of the First US Women's Olympic Basketball Team is the best kind of narrative non-fiction filled with high stakes, memorable characters, and team you have to cheer on.
Possible Pairings: Courage to Soar by Simone Biles, No Stopping Us Now by Lucy Jane Bledsoe, Let Me Play by Karen Blumenthal, Gender Inequality in Sports by Kirstin Cronn-Mills, My Shot by Elena Delle Donne, Attucks! by Phillip M. Hoose, The Matchless Six by Ron Hotchkiss, One Life by Megan Rapinoe, Game Changers by Molly Schiot, Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team by Steve Sheinkin, Hoops by Matt Tavares, Play Like a Girl by Misty Wilson and David Wilson
- Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2023If you are a fan of sports and/or non-fiction, you must check out my author friend, Andrew Maraniss. He is a fabulous human being. His latest book is near and dear to my heart for many reasons.
One, he has visited my middle school in Kansas twice, and he is a fabulous guest author! I can’t wait for him to visit again. (Hint, hint! How can we make it happen with your next book?) He is able to keep students and teachers interested as he talks about writing, research, and sports.
Two, the idea for the book was sparked by a question during his first visit to my school when he was promoting another book, Games of Deception. The basketball book has ties to Kansas, which is how Andrew and I first connected through social media several years ago.
Three, seeing my name and my school in a published book is the coolest thing ever! It never gets old reading that paragraph in the Acknowledgements of Inaugural Ballers. The only thing cooler will be if one day one of my former students writes a book and gives a shout out to me as a librarian that helped them learn to love reading and inspired them to write. I know I have many future authors just waiting to shine.
Four, thank you for shining a light on sports for women and girls. While I am not a very athletic person, I have two daughters that grew up playing various sports. Thanks to the strong women portrayed in your book, playing sports was never an issue for them. I am so happy to live in the greater Kansas City area, where we have a groundbreaking stadium being built. The Kansas City Current soccer stadium will be the first women’s professional sports stadium in the world! How cool is that???!!!
Andrew, thank you for doing what you do!
Top reviews from other countries
- Richard SlippReviewed in Canada on August 25, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Hoops History
Excellent and informative book. Having known a lot of the history and many of the Canadian personalities it was a great read.