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Vassar College fields two student baseball teams
The all-female Vassar College fields two student baseball teams. -
Blondes and Brunettes game: first professional baseball match
The first professional baseball match between all-female teams is held between the Blondes and the Brunettes in Springfield, IL. -
Bloomer Girls play baseball against men's teams.
Bloomer Girls, hundreds of teams consisting primarily of women, begin to get paid as they travel the country playing baseball against men's teams. -
Senda Berenson Abbott introduces basketball at Smith College.
Gymnastics instructor Senda Berenson Abbott adapts James Naismith's basketball rules for women and introduces the game to her students at Smith College. -
First women's intercollegiate basketball championship.
The first women's intercollegiate basketball championship is held between Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley. -
Amateur Athletic Union sponsors first national women's basketball championship.
The Amateur Athletic Union sponsors the first-ever national women's basketball championship. -
Bloomer Girls teams disbands.
After playing for more than 40 years, the last of the Bloomer Girls teams disbands. -
All American Red Heads team is formed.
The All American Red Heads Team, a barnstorming troupe similar to the Bloomer Girls, is formed. It is generally regarded as the first women's professional basketball team. -
All-Amercian Girls Softball League is formed.
To fill the void left by many major league players enlisting for war, the All-American Girls Softball League is formed under Chicago White Sox owner Philip Wrigley. The League gradually transforms into the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. -
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League plays last season.
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League plays its last season. -
Nixon signs Title IX.
President Richard Nixon signs Title IX of the Educational Amendment of 1972. -
Women's Sports Foundation is created.
The Women's Sports Foundation is created by Billie Jean King. It is "a charitable educational organization dedicated to increasing the participation of girls and women in sports and fitness and creating an educated public that supports gender equity in sport." The first women's professional football league (WPFL) kicks off its inaugural season with seven teams. -
First varsity women's soccer program begins.
The first varsity women's soccer program begins at Brown University. -
American Women's Baseball Association is formed.
American Women's Baseball Association (AWBA) forms a four team league in Chicago. -
First women's World Cup
FIFA stages the first women's World Cup in China. The U.S. team wins the Championship and triggers a national fervor for the game. -
Women's National Basketball Association is formed.
The NBA Board of Governors approves the concept of a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) to begin play in June 1997. -
National Women's Football League is formed.
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Women's United Soccer Association is formed.
Major U.S. media companies and individual investors join forces with the nation's leading female soccer stars to form the women's United Soccer Association (WUSA).