Edmonton Grads (1915–1940)
Edmonton Grads (1915–1940)
Most successful basketball team in Canadian history.
When J. Percy Page, who would eventually be voted lieutenant-governor of Alberta, began to coach the girls of McDougall High in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the team was so successful that the girls decided to remain together after graduation. "Short on flash, long on execution," the all-woman Edmonton Grads monopolized the basketball courts from 1915 to 1940, winning an extraordinary 502 out of 522 games. Traveling 125,000 miles around the world, they took on all comers. This collection of stenographers, school teachers, housewives, and file clerks competed in 27 games in four Olympics; participated in 13 Canadian ladies championships, winning all of them; and triumphed in 114 of the 120 games played for the Underwood Trophy (the North American championship in ladies' basketball). They also played nine official games against men's teams, winning all but two. Fifty women played for the team over the years, including the 1922 team of Daisy Johnson, Nellie Perry, Eleanor Mountifield, Dorothy Johnson, Connie Smith , and Winnie Martin . None of the Grads were ever paid.
sources:
Batten, Jack. Champions: Great Figures in Canadian Sport. Toronto: New Press, 1971.