Penny Ann Early

Penny Ann Early was the first woman to play in any professional basketball league.

Early became the first licensed female jockey in the United States in 1968. Male jockeys unanimously refused to ride in the first few races in which she was slated to compete at the Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

In the midst of this controversy the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association signed Early to a contract to play basketball for the team. Early had not played basketball at any level. Management, including Colonels female majority owner Ellie Brown, ordered coach Gene Rhodes to play Early in a game. Rhodes was not amused and protested to management.

The moment came on Wednesday night 27 November1968, against the Los Angeles Stars. Early wore a miniskirt and a turtleneck sweater with No. 3 on the back (to represent the three boycotted races at Churchill Downs), and warmed up with the players and sat on the bench with the team.

Early in the game, during a timeout, Rhodes reluctantly sent Early to the scorer's table, where she checked into the game. In the Kentucky backcourt she took the ball out of bounds and inbounded it to teammate Bobby Rascoe. He quickly called a timeout and the Colonels removed Early from the game to a standing ovation. Afterward, she signed hundreds of autographs.

References

#Louisville Courier-Journal, "True Tales", Sunday, May 1 2005
# [http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2147522 ESPN.com story]