Historic Spotlight
Senda Berenson was born on March 19, 1868 in Russia. She immigrated to Boston, Massachusetts at just 7 years old.
She became a PE (physical education) instructor at the Smith College located in Northampton, Massachusetts. She studied the teachings of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, and decided the girls in her class could benefit from learning how to play basketball.
Her goal was not only to teach them how to compete and become the best at the sport, but also to learn how to important team-building skills. She went on to host many games and tournaments. To combat stereotypes and criticism from her male counterparts that the sport was “too vigorous, manly or unhealthy” for women to play, she hosted the games in small sections across the court as opposed to using the full court. Despite her success, she and many other coaches of the sport had to go to great lengths to keep the players protected from scrutiny or worse being shut down by officials who thought that women did not deserve to play sports.
The first official game she organized took place in March of 1892. She held a scrimmage game, pitting the sophomores against the freshman. Berenson emphasized passing and cooperation with teammates over ball possession, which improved the team’s overall chemistry. It became such an exciting game that hundreds of schools across the country adopted the concept within just three years after that first game was played. The popularity of her games became a major selling point for women’s rights in sports and helped open the door for more opportunities for women and girls to play any sport of their choosing. Many women, especially those who are of African American or Native American descent, had to fight tooth and nail to protect themselves and their players from outsiders who wanted to stop women from playing. Despite their efforts, women’s basketball continued to grow, and Sendra Berenson went on to become the first woman to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985, a whopping 11 years prior to the launch of the WNBA.
This pioneer for women also authored the first guide ever written for women’s basketball. She served as chairwomen on the Women’s Basketball Committee for 12 years. She was so committed that she continued to make amendments to her “Basketball Guide for Women” book. She is still considered to be the “Mother of Women’s Basketball” to this day. From Senda Berenson’s story to many others that came after her, they would likely be filled with tears of joy if they saw how far the world of women’s basketball has come. Even those who did not play but understood the racial and gender biases of those who did, those who lived through the Great Depression, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights movement, would truly be in awe of how different the game of women’s sports is now. However, the work is far from over!
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