The Evolution of Girls Basketball Uniforms and the Early Game

The Evolution of Girls Basketball Uniforms

            The evolution of girl’s basketball uniforms should be called “From bloomers, bows, and middie blouses to just like one of the boys.”  In the early days the girls wore long bloomers, bows around their necks and bows in their hair to go along with their cute little middie blouses.   They even had some sailor’s insignias on their blouses to indicate their place on the team. They also played a different brand of basketball as they only had to play or defend one third of the court.  The early rules were developed by Senda Berenson of Smith College which was in Northhampton, MS near Springfield where James Naismith invented the game.   The first game was played between Smith College and Mt. Holyoke.  The girls picked up the game almost as soon as the boys and played the game with the same passion and intensity. 

            In the beginning, the court was divided into three horizontal segments.  There were six players on each team and three from each team had to stay in the same segment of the floor.  Players could dribble only three times and hold the ball for three second before passing.  Snatching the ball away from an opponent was considered unladylike and was not allowed.  Even placing a single hand on the ball while in the possession of the opponent was a foul.  It wasn’t until 1962 that the rule was changed.  In 1910, dribbling was outlawed completely and remained that way until 1913, when a single dribble was allowed.  In 1918, the rules were rewritten to make the game similar to the men’s.  In 1938, the playing area was changed from three segments to two with six players on a team.  Three players played offense and three played defense in the respective areas of the court.  In 1971, the normal rules came into effect and the game became a full court game with five players on each side and a thirty second clock, but no ten second clock.  In the early days, men were not allowed to watch the game.  The doors were locked.

            Since Title IX became the law of the land, the game of basketball for the ladies has undergone a cataclysmic change, but if you Google the words “Granny Ball”, you can still see girl’s basketball being played in Iowa the same way it was played in the early days with grannies wearing replicas of the original uniforms. 

            I hope you enjoy the pictures of the early basketball uniforms for girls.  Most are from my home county of Montgomery County, Indiana, where basketball really started.  Here in Crawfordsville, we firmly believe that the first game of organized basketball was played right here in the old YMCA on March 16, 1894.