The 1978 WBL draft was the 1st annual draft of the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL).[1] The draft was held on July 18, 1978, at the Essex House in New York City, New York,[2] before the 1978–79 season.
| 1978 WBL draft | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Date(s) | July 18, 1978 |
| Location | Essex House (New York City, New York) |
| Overview | |
| 80 total selections in 5 rounds | |
| League | WBL |
| First selection | Ann Meyers (Houston) Rita Easterling (Chicago) |
The draft consisted of a five-round college phase of 1978 seniors and a five-round draft of free agents.[2][3]
Draft selections and draftee career notes
editSeveral players decided against signing with the WBL to keep their Olympics eligibility ahead of the 1980 Olympics. Ann Meyers from UCLA was selected first overall by the Houston Angels[4] but decided against signing with the Angels to keep her amateur status. However, in the fall of 1979, Meyers signed a no-cut $50,000 training camp contract with the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association. After being cut by the Pacers before the start of the regular season, she finally joined the WBL and signed with the New Jersey Gems. Carol Blazejowski also decided to keep her amateur status and did not join the league until the 1980–81 season, following the United States boycott of the 1980 Olympics.[5][6]
Few of the selections where of the promotional aspect and never played a game in the WBL. The New York Stars selects CBS-Sports host Phyllis George with their last pick of the free agent draft. The Iowa Cornets selected 6'11" Gwen Bachman Hayes and the Chicago Hustle selected Sandy Allen, the world's tallest woman at 7'7".[7]
The lone pick from outside the United States was Uljana Semjonova of the Soviet Union.[8]
Key
edit| Pos. | G | F | C |
| Position | Guard | Forward | Center |
| ^ | Denotes player who has been inducted to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame |
| + | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game |
| x | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-WBL Team |
| # | Denotes player who has never appeared in an WBL regular season or playoff game |
College draft
editChicago Hustle
edit| Round | Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Janie Fincher |  United States
|
UNLV | |
| 2 | JoAnn Burrell[9] | United States
|
Boise State | |
| 3 | Judy Toiberg | United States
|
Trinity-Illinois | |
| 5 | Jane Trippet | United States
|
Cal State-Sacramento |
Houston Angels
edit| Round | Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ann Meyers | G | United States
|
UCLA |
| 2 | Belinda Candler | United States
|
UNLV | |
| 3 | Marie Kocurek | C | United States
|
Wayland Baptist |
| 4 | Patty Bubrig | United States
|
Nicholls State | |
| 5 | Pat Johnson | United States
|
Stephen F. Austin |
Iowa Cornets
edit| Round | Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlotte Lewis | C | United States
|
Illinois State[10] |
| 2 | Doris Draving | C | United States
|
East Stroudsburg |
| 3 | Monica Havelita | United States
|
Cal State-Long Beach | |
| 4 | Debra Thomas | United States
|
Miami Dade-South | |
| 5 | Theresa Thompson | United States
|
Prairie View A&M |
Milwaukee Does
edit| Round | Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sarah Williams | C | United States
|
Southeastern[11] |
| 2 | Heidi Nestor | United States
|
UCLA | |
| 3 | Linda Gehrke | United States
|
Colorado | |
| 4 | Debbie Brock | PG | United States
|
Delta State |
| 5 | Cindy Lundberg | United States
|
Eastern Kentucky |
Minnesota Fillies
edit| Round | Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ramona von Boeckman[12] | G | United States
|
Delta State |
| 2 | Jackie Langley | United States
|
Tampa | |
| 3 | Peggy Jackson[13] | United States
|
Concordia College | |
| 4 | Melody Neumeister | United States
|
Milligan | |
| 5 | Deb Provost | United States
|
Eastern Montana |
New Jersey Gems
edit| Round | Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carol Blazejowski | F | United States
|
Mountclair State |
| 2 | Denise Burdick | United States
|
Immmaculata | |
| 3 | Tara Heiss | PG | United States
|
Maryland |
| 4 | Maggie Nelson | United States
|
Stanford | |
| 5 | Wanda Szeremeta[14] | United States
|
Montclair State |
New York Stars
edit| Round | Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Althea Gwyn | C | United States
|
Queens College |
| 2 | Marnie Dacko | C | United States
|
Southern Connecticut |
| 3 | Dawn Forster | United States
|
Cortland State | |
| 4 | Susan Bretthauer | United States
|
St. Johns, New York | |
| 5 | Lynda Lyman | United States
|
Cortland State |
Dayton Rockettes
edit| Round | Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | June Brewer | United States
|
Ohio State | |
| 2 | Tina Price[15] | G/F | United States
|
University of Georgia |
| 3 | Donna Forester | United States
|
Clemson | |
| 4 | Vivian Greene | United States
|
Norfolk State | |
| 5 | Felicia Payne | United States
|
Dubuaue |
Free agent draft
editChicago Hustle
edit| Round | Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rita Easterling | G | United States
|
Mississippi |
| 2 | Janice Fuller | United States
|
UNLV | |
| 3 | Liz Hannah[16] | United States
|
Middle Tennessee | |
| 4 | Sandy Allen | C | United States
|
N/A |
| 5 | Alice Townsend | United States
|
Mississippi College |
Houston Angels
edit| Round | Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lusia Harris | C | United States
|
Delta State |
| 2 | Doris Felderhoff | C | United States
|
Stephen F. Austin |
| 3 | Gail Dobson | United States
|
Tennessee | |
| 4 | Jessie Kenlaw | United States
|
Savannah State | |
| 5 | Doris Horace | United States
|
Prairie View A&M |
Iowa Cornets
edit| Round | Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gwen Bachman Haynes | C | United States
|
Oauchita Baptist |
| 2 | Anita Green | United States
|
Charleston, S.C. College | |
| 3 | Paula Dean | United States
|
Berry College | |
| 4 | Kathy Hawkins | United States
|
Nebraska | |
| 5 | Uljana Semjonova | C |  Soviet Union
|
TTT Riga |
Milwaukee Does
edit| Round | Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patricia Roberts | United States
|
Tennessee | |
| 2 | Sheila Sullivan | United States
|
Mississippi University | |
| 3 | Pam Cook | United States
|
S.E. Louisiana State | |
| 4 | Kathy DeBoer[17] | United States
|
Michigan State | |
| 5 | Cindy Henderson | United States
|
S.W. Missouri State |
Minnesota Fillies
edit| Round | Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deborah Sherer | United States
|
Urbana | |
| 2 | Pam Prowning | United States
|
Kentucky | |
| 3 | Jane Westendorf | United States
|
Millikin | |
| 4 | Joan Slagel | United States
|
Western Washington | |
| 5 | Patti Decker | United States
|
St. Cloud State |
New Jersey Gems
edit| Round | Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jean Giarussio | United States
|
New Hampshire | |
| 2 | Elizabeth Harty | United States
|
C.W. Post | |
| 3 | Tina Marie Krah | United States
|
Immaculata | |
| 4 | Suzanne Wera[18] | United States
|
Olivet-Michigan | |
| 5 | Donna Kirby | United States
|
Drexel |
New York Stars
edit| Round | Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harriet Novarr[19] | F | United States
|
Queens College |
| 2 | Joanie Smith[20] | United States
|
Arizona State (traded) | |
| 3 | Pat Samuel | United States
|
CCNY | |
| 4 | Debbie Mason | United States
|
Queens College | |
| 5 | Phyllis George | United States
|
Denton-Texas |
Dayton Rockettes
edit| Round | Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheila Patterson | United States
|
University of the District of Columbia | |
| 2 | Denise Craig | United States
|
Shaw | |
| 3 | Linda Stoich | United States
|
Michigan State | |
| 4 | Angela Scott | United States
|
Maryland | |
| 5 | Sue Reyna | United States
|
Virginia |
References
edit- ^ Kiri Oler (2 September 2023). "The story of the first Women's Professional Basketball League draft". The Next. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
- ^ a b "Women's loop will hold draft". Mansfield News Journal. Associated Press. 8 July 1978. p. 10. Retrieved 18 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Women's basketball draft list released". Sun Herald. Associated Press. 19 July 1978. p. D2. Retrieved 18 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "UCLA woman first draft pick". Rapid City Journal. Associated Press. 21 July 1978. p. 7. Retrieved 18 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Phil Pepe (24 January 1980). "Carol, the Blaze, big loser in games boycott". New York Daily News. p. 23C. Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Blaze signs with Gems". The Pantagraph. Associated Press. 29 October 1980. p. B1. Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Greg Schmalz (19 July 1978). "Can WBL lure Blaze?". The Herald-News. p. D1. Retrieved 20 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Mark Neuzil (19 July 1979). "Will Phyllis have to go 1-on-1 against Ulina?". The Gazette. p. 4B. Retrieved 20 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Women's pro league left her cold". Arizona Daily Star. Associated Press. 12 December 1978. p. C3. Retrieved 22 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Draft surprises Charlotte Lewis". The Pantagraph. 22 July 1978. p. 13. Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Forrest, Williams are drafted by WBL". The Era-Leader. 26 July 1978. p. 17. Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Stew Thornley; Marc Hugunin (2006). Minnesota Hoops. Minnesota Historical Society Press. ISBN 978-0873515740.
- ^ Richard Mudry (19 July 1978). "Spartans' Langley excited about pro pick". The Tampa Times. p. 3C. Retrieved 20 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Szeremeta signs to play for Gems". The Herald-News. 14 November 1978. p. C3. Retrieved 2 November 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Tucker Mitchell (19 July 1978). "Pros draft Tina Price". The Macon Telegraph. p. 1C. Retrieved 2 November 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Women's pro league drafts 2 local stars". The Tennessean. 19 July 1978. p. 28. Retrieved 2 November 2023 – via Newspaper.com.
- ^ Mick McCabe (22 July 1978). "DeBoer can pick her court - law or basketball". Detroit Free Press. p. 2C. Retrieved 22 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Mark Katz (19 October 1978). "Rockettes make first player deal". Dayton Daily News. p. 31. Retrieved 22 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Terry Price (21 January 1979). "Harriet Novarr shoots for bit time basketball". Hartford Courant. p. 8C. Retrieved 2 November 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Warren Collier (28 August 1978). "Fifth quarter". Muncie Evening Press. p. 13. Retrieved 22 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
