Retro RFH Girls Basketball Courting — Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect

Basketball season is usually a slam dunk for RFH girls.

With the season in full play, the girls of both the varsity and junior varsity teams competed with St. Rose and Holmdel high schools in the past couple of days. Full court.

These days, it’s just a given that there are both girls and boys teams. But, back in the day, like the very early ’70s — before Title IX of the 1972 Educational Amendments “required schools to provide equal access to all school activities …” mainly sports — it wasn’t. Before Title IX, the girls were more likely on those sidelines cheering. But they wanted to be dribbling down that court.

In fact, the senior girls on this team were considered real court blazers, so to speak. Girls basketball has been played seemingly since the dawn of time, but usually half court in the beginning. Then it was on to full.

Title IX kicked in and the hoops girls fought for equal court time and competition with the boys. And they won. Not only did they win, but some of these girls were bigger equal sports time champs than the guys. In fact, one of the teams members, Nancy Whelchel, became the first girl on the boys baseball team at RFH. And she hit a home run in not only trail blazing but scoring big for that team.

This basketball team? Well, it was a special kind of scary competitive one. These girls were driven … to making every move on the court a slam dunk. They had to be. And most were scholars, too. In fact, the scholar-athlete effect emanating from this team was downright intimidating. They were admired.

You could say that these girls were everyone’s alley-oop. Slam dunk!

Now, who remembers them? Which player stands out most in your memories? How about those coaches? Mr. McBride was the one on the left, and Don Trotter (right) was also an administrator. Remember what he was?

Your girls sports or just plain pro-girls coup? Remember when, only a few years before this, girls couldn’t even wear pants to school?