cover image Mad Seasons: The Story of the First Women's Professional Basketball League, 1978-1981

Mad Seasons: The Story of the First Women's Professional Basketball League, 1978-1981

Karra Porter. Bison Books, $18.95 (336pp) ISBN 978-0-8032-8789-1

For a nearly forgotten league that lasted just three years, the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) enjoyed a surprising share of good stories, recorded here for the first time. Having represented WNBA players in her law practice, Porter is well-versed in women's basketball past and present, and treats her subject with care. From the beginning of its first season in October 1977, the league was populated by women whose motivation was ""love of the game""-unsurprising considering the pay they were (supposed to be) pulling in, but surprising considering their astonishing level of commitment to the chaotic league. Players washed their own uniforms; crammed three or four to a hotel room; traveled long distances to games by van (often driven by their coach); and, of course, were generally paid very little, if at all (by December 1979, Washington Metros players had yet to be paid). Through it all, there was some good basketball played-and some really good players making it happen; WBL stars included Ann Meyers, Molly Bolin, Nancy Lieberman and Carol Blazejowski, some of whom remain in the game as coaches, managers and commentators. Still, Porter's account is largely about the forgotten names, the players who sacrificed so much to advance women's basketball long before the success of the WNBA, and pays fitting tribute to them. Dramatic and insightful, this should please anyone with an interest in the history of hoops.