1980–81 WBL season
The 1980–81 WBL season was the 3rd and final season of the Women's Professional Basketball League. The season ended with the Nebraska Wranglers winning the WBL Championship, beating the Dallas Diamonds 3 games to 2 in the WBL Finals.[1]
| 1980–801 WBL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Women's Professional Basketball League |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | 1980 – 1981 |
| Number of teams | 9 |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Nancy Lieberman |
| Picked by | Dallas Diamonds |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | Nebraska Wranglers |
| Season MVP | Rosie Walker (Nebraska Wranglers) |
| Top scorer | Carol Blazejowski (New Jersey Gems |
| Playoffs | |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Nebraska Wranglers |
| Runners-up | Dallas Diamonds |
The league was divided into two divisions, with the Dallas Diamonds, New Jersey Gems, New Orleans Pride, San Francisco Pioneers and the New England Gulls in the Coastal Division and the Nebraska Wranglers, Chicago Hustle, St. Louis Streak and the Minnesota Fillies in the Central. Struggling financially, New England disbanded after 12 games in January 1981.[2]
Rosie Walker of the Nebraska Wranglers was named the league's MVP while Greg Williams and Michael Stavers of the Dallas Diamonds where named the Coach of the Year and the Owner of the Year.[3]
Notable occurrences
- On June 16, 1980, Nancy Lieberman was selected with the first pick in the 1980 WBL draft.[4]
- After sitting out the previous two seasons to keep her amateur status, Carol Blazejowski finally joined the league following the United States boycott of the 1980 Olympics, signing with the team that drafted her in 1978, the New Jersey Gems.[5][6] She went on to lead the league in scoring, averaging 29.6 points per game.[7]
- On February 7, 1981, Connie Kunzmann of the Nebraska Wranglers went missing.[8][9] Three days later, Lance Tibke, at the urging of his father, confessed to her murder. Seven weeks later, her body was found in the Missouri river.[10][11]
- On March 21, 1981, players of the Minnesota Fillies walked off the court before the starting lineups were announced in an away game against the Chicago Hustle in a protest over unpaid salaries. Referees and team coach Terry Kunze tried to convince the players to return and play their game, but at no avail. As a result, the Fillies, which had been averaging 1,000 to 1,500 in attendance per game, were suspended from the WBL by commissioner Sherwin Fischer, who called the walkout as "very detrimental to the league".[12]
Standings
| # | Coastal Division | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-Dallas Diamonds | 27 | 9 | .750 | – |
| 2 | x-New Jersey Gems | 23 | 13 | .639 | 4 |
| 3 | New Orleans Pride | 18 | 19 | .486 | 9.5 |
| 4 | San Francisco Pioneers | 14 | 22 | .389 | 13 |
| 5 | New England Gulls | 2 | 10 | .167 | ... |
| # | Midwest Division | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-Nebraska Wranglers | 27 | 9 | .750 | – |
| 2 | x-Chicago Hustle | 18 | 18 | .500 | 9 |
| 3 | St. Louis Streak | 14 | 21 | .400 | 12.5 |
| 2 | Minnesota Fillies | 7 | 28 | .200 | 19.5 |
Notes
- z – division champions
- x – clinched playoff spot
Playoffs
| Semifinals | Finals | ||||||
| Nebraska Wranglers | 2 | ||||||
| Chicago Hustle | 0 | ||||||
| Nebraska Wranglers | 3 | ||||||
| Dallas Diamonds | 2 | ||||||
| Dallas Diamonds | 2 | ||||||
| New Jersey Gems | 1 | ||||||
Statistics leaders
| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points per game | Carol Blazejowski | New Jersey Gems | 29.6 |
WBL awards
- Most Valuable Player: Rosie Walker, Nebraska Wranglers
- Coach of the Year: Greg Williams, Dallas Diamonds
- Owner of the Year: Michael Stavers, Dallas Diamonds[3]
All-Pro team
First team
- Rosie Walker (Nebraska)
- Nancy Lieberman (Dallas)
- Carol Blazejowski (New Jersey)
- Althea Gwyn (Chicago)
- Inge Nissen (Chicago)
- Janice Thomas (New Jersey)
Second team
- Cindy Haugejorde (San Francisco)
- Molly Bolin (San Francisco)
- Carol Chason (Nebraska)
- Rosalind Jennings (Dallas)
- Cindy Brogdon (New Orleans)
- Paula Mayo (Chicago)
- Trish Roberts (St. Louis)
Source:[3]
References
- "Nebraska tops Dallas to clinch WPBL title". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. April 21, 1981. p. 5 (Section 4). Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Gulls out of WBL". The Belleville News-Democrat. UPI. January 22, 1981. p. D6. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "WPBL picks Rosie Walker best player". Omaha World-Herald. May 9, 1981. p. 24. Retrieved October 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "WBL draft no suprise; Nancy Lieberman first". The Times-News. UPI. June 17, 1980. p. B4. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Phil Pepe (January 24, 1980). "Carol, the Blaze, big loser in games boycott". New York Daily News. p. 23C. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
- "The Blaze signs with Gems". The Pantagraph. Associated Press. October 29, 1980. p. B1. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Blaze vs. Lieberman highlights of playoffs". The Record. April 3, 1981. p. C4. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Bruce Brothers (February 12, 1981). "WBL, Women's Professional Basketball League, Connie Kunzmann". Star Tribune. pp. 1D, 5D. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Ron Rosen (February 11, 1981). "A Death Stuns the WBL". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
- "Guard pleads guilty to killing former Cornet". The Gazette. UPI. p. 3C. Retrieved June 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- Chris Ballard (February 24, 2022). "You Really Should Know Connie Kunzmann". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
- "Fillies Walk Out And Draw a Suspension". New York Times. Associated Press. March 22, 1981. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
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