WBL Memories

A tribute to the pioneers of the Women's Professional Basketball League (1978-81)

1979-80 New Orleans Pride season

1979-80 Playoffs

Notes:

The Pride's general manager was transplanted New Yorker Steve Brown, who had earlier won the contest to name the city's NBA franchise (the Jazz).

Coach van Breda Kolff was very popular among his players, and said he liked the women's game because it emphasized teamwork.  When interviewed more than twenty years later, Butch could still remember the name of every player on his Pride team and describe their strengths and weaknesses.

11/15/79 - The WBL's all-time single-game attendance record was set at this game in the Superdome.

12/11/79 - The Times-Picayune found this sufficiently noteworthy to write, "Coach Butch van Breda Kolff managed to stick around for the entire contest, being whistled for just one technical foul."  (Reliable records of ejections for the 1979-80 season are currently unavailable.)

3/16/80 - Minnesota was supposed to play California for its last regular season game, which it had promoted as Fan Appreciation Day.  When California folded near the end of the season, New Orleans agreed to take its place.  In exchange, the Pride were given home court advantage against the higher-seeded Fillies in the upcoming playoffs.  The Fillies had defeated the Pride all three times during the regular season.

1980-81 New Orleans Pride season

Notes:

12/17/80 - Head Coach Butch van Breda Kolff was fairly mild in his Pride's second season, only being ejected from three games.

12/17/80 - The trade of Pride players Beverly Crusoe and Betty Booker was controversial, at least to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, which suggested racial motives for the move.  Van Breda Kolff said he was opposed to one of the trades, negotiated by the owners, but believed there was no improper motive.

12/30/80 - The Pride had one of the stranger schedules of the 1980-81 season, which included five home games in a row early in the season, three 11-day layoffs, and two occasions when the Pride played back-to-back-to-back games.

1/28/81 - The game reached overtime under unusual circumstances.  With 47 seconds left in regulation, van Breda Kolff was hit with a technical by official Donald Durr, with whom he had a history.  Nancy Lieberman's free throw gave the Dallas Diamonds a 3-point lead.  After another exchange of buckets, a desperation three-pointer by Cindy Brogdon tied the game at 99.  The score was tied again (106) at the end of the first overtime.

2/15/81 - Cindy Brogdon was the Pride's leading scorer.  One factor in van Breda Kolff's later suspension was unhappiness of the team's owners with Brogdon's playing time, particularly after the injury.

2/21/81 - The Pride tied the all-time WBL record for free throws made (50) in this game.

3/17/81 - The suspension of van Breda Kolff was said to be due to declining morale (of two players in particular), and failure to pay technical fines in a timely manner.  Additionally, owner Claudette Simpson was reportedly bothered by van Breda Kolff's failure to wear socks at times.  Van Breda Kolff denied that he attended any games sans socks, but a month earlier WBL Interim Commissioner Sherwin Fischer had relayed a complaint that van Breda Kolff had "not worn proper attire" at games, and "has on other occasions used abusive language and smelled of liquor."

3/29/81 - The Pride refused to resume play with 4:58 remaining.  Although the official explanation given was that it did not have enough players left (three had fouled out and two were injured), the principal reason was frustration with officiating, which the players concluded was so poor as to pose a threat to their safety.  After deliberation, the league considered the score final rather than record it as a 2-0 forfeit to San Francisco.

The Pride played 37 games in the 1980-81 season, one more than any other team.  19 games were on the road, and 18 were at home.  The Pride led the league in average attendance at road games, 1,754.  At home, 12 games at the Superdome averaged 1,353, and 6 games at the University of New Orleans averaged 585, for a combined season attendance average of 1,183.  Sybil Blalock and Vicky Chapman played all 37 games.

Blalock, the starting point guard, led the team in playing time, averaging 38.7 minutes per game.  She was fifth in the WBL in assists with 5.2 per game, and sixth in steals with 2.3 per game.  Augusta "Gus" Forrest led the team, and was second in the WBL, in field-goal percentage at 52.6 percent.  Kathy Andrykowski led the team in rebounds with 7.3 per game, and was second in the WBL in blocked shots with 1.76 per game.  The Pride shot 46.2 percent from the field as a team, and allowed 43.1 percent from its opponents.  Cindy Brogdon led all New Orleans scorers with 15.5 points per game.