Taking a Swing at the Gender Barrier in School Sports at Johnson High School

Recently someone posted in honor of Ruth Bader Ginsburg to recognize her passing. The gist of it was, that if you're a woman who has obtained credit in her own name, played on a traditionally-male athletic team, bought a car in your name, and a variety of other things, you have RBG to thank. I stopped to think about that and realized I had done all those things long before Ruth ever was on the legal scene. And while I recognize she championed a lot of milestone rights for women, many of us achieved success (however minor) in male-dominated areas without her.

It's been my observation over the years that sometimes people just do the right thing without needing a law to tell them they have to.

In my youth I had a number of opportunities to confront traditional male roles, but I don't recall that being my intent. There were just things I was interested in doing, and really, being the rebel that I was, generally the best way to encourage me was to tell me I couldn't. Except that in some cases no one was telling me no. Besides being able to get a Dayton's credit card once I got my first paying job and getting my first car loan without needing Dad to co-sign, there were three significant milestones in my personal female life in high school:

Gordon Grant, our journalism teacher, took the radical step of appointing me sports editor of the yearbook and school paper

I got hired in the first batch of females at the East Side McDonald's (another post for another time)

I made the boys' varsity tennis team

I didn't realize how novel the sports editor position was; I just knew I had been raised on Twins baseball and Viking football as well as hockey in all its manifestations, and I loved sports. But I had no role models. The first female to have a notable role in professional sports broadcasting wouldn't come along until 1974, when Phyllis George (who had won Miss America in 1971) joined CBS as a sportscaster. Of course, Minnesota can claim sports news powerhouse Michelle Tafoya as one of our own. The Edina resident has played a huge role in sports broadcasting in the Twin Cities, everything from sports reporter/anchor on WCCO TV and radio to play-by-play commentator at various Big Ten Games. But I digress; this was long before she made her first on-air appearance.

And then tennis team thing? I will confess I tried out because of the 'you can't do this' thing, but not because I was female. The guy I was dating at the time, a tennis player, used to mock me for my lack of athletic ability whenever I would try to play with him. So, just to prove otherwise I learned to play tennis, without his help. And so in my senior year - 1972/73 - I showed up for tennis team tryouts, just to see what would happen. (I think it was mainly just to prove a point, even if I didn't make the team.)

God bless Coach Conrad Hoff; I don't think he intended to be a pioneer in the women's sports issue. Title IX - the federal law that provided equal funding for women's athletics - had just become law, but I don't remember being aware of that. I doubt he was, either. After all, it had to do with funding and not access. Women's rights to play on previously male-only teams came along later. I don't know if Coach Hoff was short for players or if he just had a rebellious streak, but I made the team, along with another girl, Cathy Hansen.

And Mr. Hoff didn't treat us any differently than he did the boys. We were expected to do the same drills, were subject to the same criticisms, and held to the same standards. But he also bestowed equal praise when earned. And I never heard him say anything remotely along the lines of "....for a girl."

Okay, I will admit I wasn't really very good, but I had a stubborn determination and a desire to improve. I briefly toyed with the idea that it might help pay for college, but I really wasn't playing at the level that would have garnered me a scholarship. I have a competitive streak, so being able to compete on a one-on-one level was exciting. (I did have a couple of turns at doubles, so two-on-two counts as well.) My dad had played on the tennis team in high school (previously unknown to me), and he pulled out his vintage team jacket and gave it to me. I know he was proud of me; my mom not so much.

At the time the high school athletics conferences around the state were in a transition as to allowing girls in varsity sports. Apparently it wasn't an issue with our conference, but whenever we played games out of town, I usually ended up on the sidelines with a clipboard, making notes for Coach Hoff on players' performance. I did get to suit up and ride the team bus, but I had to leave my racket behind. Fortunately for me it was all about the experience of being involved, not so much how often I could win a match (which wasn't often, I will admit).

I stuck with it for the season and managed to even get a sports letter. I think Cathy Hansen and I were one of the first ones in school history to letter in boys' varsity sports. Now Johnson has all kinds of opportunities for girls in sports, but back then it was cheerleading and synchronized swimming, along with intramural girls-only sports. As I introduced Herb Brooks (yes, THAT Herb Brooks) as the speaker at the Lettermens' Banquet, I really wasn't cognizant of the barriers I was breaking, just that I was getting an opportunity to do what I loved.

And really, isn't that what should be important - that we all get a chance to do what we love without it mattering what gender we are? As I look back, I am thankful that Mr. Grant and Mr. Hoff didn't care that I was a girl and gave me opportunities to do just that.

UPDATE: A recent visit from an old childhood friend revealed that I wasn't the first girl on the tennis team. Cindy Elstad and Cathy Hansen played on the team the year before. That's one of the side effects of publicly sharing your memories with people who were there - they can prod you to recall things you'd forgotten. Which is one thing I really appreciate from those who've given me feedback on my posts. I had to laugh, because you'd think as a former sports editor for the yearbook that I would have recalled that!