{"id":2105,"date":"2021-11-25T10:00:42","date_gmt":"2021-11-25T16:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/?p=2105"},"modified":"2023-08-07T11:22:22","modified_gmt":"2023-08-07T16:22:22","slug":"six-on-six-basketball-gone-but-not-forgotten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/2021\/11\/25\/six-on-six-basketball-gone-but-not-forgotten\/","title":{"rendered":"Six-on-Six Basketball: Gone but Not Forgotten"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The following post was written by IWA Graduate Assistant, Emma Barton-Norris.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Six-on-six girls\u2019 basketball was extremely important in Iowa, to both those who played the game and to those who made the trek to attend the annual Iowa State Championship every year. In the newly processed collection, Six-on-Six Girls Basketball in Iowa ephemera, the stories of individuals who experienced the \u201cjoy and zest\u201d of the sport are put on display.<\/p>\n\n\n

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IWA graduate assistant, Emma Barton-Norris, processed several of IWA’s Six-on-Six Basketball collections this fall. Pictured here with Title IX 40th anniversary commemorative basketball, Christine Grant papers<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The Six-on-Six Girls Basketball in Iowa ephemera<\/a> is a continuation of a long-standing project at the Iowa Women\u2019s Archives (IWA). Finding unique and inspiring stories in the past of Iowa\u2019s girls\u2019 and women\u2019s sports, the IWA created the physical and digital exhibit 6-on-6 Basketball and the Legacy of Girls\u2019 and Women\u2019s Sport in Iowa<\/a> back in 2018. During the traveling exhibit, IWA Curator K\u00e4ren Mason and University of Iowa lecturer Jennifer Sterling collected stories from Iowans about their personal histories with one of Iowa\u2019s favorite pastimes: girls\u2019 six-on-six basketball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is six-on-six basketball, and just what made it different and exciting for players, coaches, and fans alike? According to the 2008 Iowa Public Television documentary \u201cMore Than a Game: 6-on-6 Basketball in Iowa<\/a>,\u201d the six-on-six version of basketball that became known and loved by Iowans was established by 1920. Girls played a two-court, six-on-six game that required three forwards from one team and three guards from the other on each side of the center line \u2013 and no one was allowed to cross it. This meant that if a team had one high scorer, they couldn\u2019t be beat. In addition, players were only allowed two dribbles at a time and a referee was needed to inbound the ball after every basket. But why was this new version of the traditional five-player basketball game (that had been invented and played for nearly half a century before) necessary? It\u2019s simple: sexism. Girls were seen as the \u201cweaker sex\u201d and the full-court, five-on-five version would be too strenuous for their weak disposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This did not stop the rise to fame that girls\u2019 basketball experienced in small town Iowa. In fact, the game was uniquely made to help small-town Iowan schools thrive because of a team\u2019s ability to rely on one high scorer. Towns like Newhall and Van Horne became the heart and soul of six-on-six.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Highlighted within the new ephemera collection are notable names in women\u2019s Iowa basketball, such as 1968 State Championship star Janet Scharnberg and 1995 University of Iowa women\u2019s basketball coach Angie Lee. Numerous newspaper clippings showcasing the excitement rural Iowans had for their \u201cIowa girls\u201d are also heavily featured. One such newspaper article exemplifies how the passion of six-on-six fans encouraged the longevity of the game in Iowa. Newhall and Van Horne won the Iowa State Championship in both 1927 and 1962. Within Jean Kubu\u2019s folder of Six-on-Six Girls Basketball in Iowa ephemera, a copy of the March 9, 1972, South Benton Star-Press <\/em>cover story features this girls\u2019 basketball team in 1927 and 1962 \u2013 two state champion teams, side by side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As told by \u201cThe Bobcat\u201d in 1972:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201c\u2026we take you back to the year 1927\u2026 It was a hectic journey to the number one spot, as it so often is, even for the best of team, which Newhall was, as evidenced by their outscoring of combined opponents, 703-147. [\u2026] By the final round of the [State Championship] tournament, Newhall had three starters on the bench, but kept battling, narrowing it to 37-36, favor of their opponents Sioux Center. With just 30 seconds remaining in the game, Newhall\u2019s Luella Gardemann fired in the winning basket for a thrilling 38-37 victory and the state crown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor the girls from Newhall wearing bloomers, it was a great time and one the people who lived in Newhall in 1927 will never forget. The tears, smiles, hard work and teamwork all paid off for those Newhall girls and their coach\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

From ten minutes away, and thirty-five years apart, the Van Horne girls\u2019 basketball teams of 1962 would accomplish the same feat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Bobcat\u201d continues:<\/p>\n\n\n

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1927 team photograph, South Benton Star-Press article, 1972, Six-on-Six Basketball in Iowa ephemera, Box 1, Iowa Women’s Archives<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
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\u201cThe year was 1962. Van Horne went to the state finals at Waterloo with much going for them. [\u2026] During the week of the state tournament, Van Horne, and the surrounding areas had a bad snowstorm, but the fans came to Waterloo anyway. The team had not even practiced because of bad weather, and they didn\u2019t check into their hotel until they had already played their first game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTension was tight during the game and the score was close, but the team won 62-59 to win the coveted state championship. [\u2026] As they left Waterloo, they were on the television and at the Garrison corner a caravan of about three miles in length followed them to Van Horne [\u2026] to present the trophy to the team and coach.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Bobcat\u201d concludes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe Bobcat\u201d concludes: \u201cIt was a great experience for the basketball team\u2026 It was a week that coach, the team, and fans will never forget.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

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1962 team photograph, South Benton Star-Press article, 1972, Six-on-Six Basketball in Iowa ephemera, Box 1, Iowa Women’s Archives<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The Iowa Women\u2019s Archives is proud to now have these Iowans\u2019 stories available for all to enjoy. Materials include memorabilia, photographs, newspapers, tournament programs, and film of actual State Championship games. With the help of basketball players, old and new, the IWA has been able to save the legacy and history of girls\u2019 and women\u2019s sport in Iowa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The progress six-on-six basketball made for young women carries on in every girl\u2019s high school basketball game. Those who attended the crowded six-on-six championship games can never forget the energy on the court and in the stands. Iowa\u2019s high school and collegiate players who now participate in five-on-five basketball should never forget that their great-great-grandmothers also played the game they loved. Six-on-six may be gone from high school athletics, but it will never be forgotten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Citations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More Than a Game: 6-on-6 Basketball in Iowa<\/a>, directed by Laurel Burgmaier (2008; Johnston, Iowa: Iowa Public Television, 2008), DVD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Six on Six Girls\u2019 Basketball in Iowa ephemera, Iowa Women\u2019s Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following post was written by IWA Graduate Assistant, Emma Barton-Norris. Six-on-six girls\u2019 basketball was extremely important in Iowa, to both those who played the game and to those who made the trek to attend the annual Iowa State Championship every year. In the newly processed collection, Six-on-Six Girls Basketball in Iowa ephemera, the storiesContinue reading “Six-on-Six Basketball: Gone but Not Forgotten”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":189,"featured_media":2109,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,18,373],"tags":[14,375,144,355,374,376,354],"syndication":[20],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2105"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/189"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2105"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2243,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2105\/revisions\/2243"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2105"},{"taxonomy":"syndication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/syndication?post=2105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}