Take 2
A different spin on sports by The Seattle Times staff and readers.
Title IX: More than 40 memories
We know, we know. There are others. In reporter Jayda Evans' Title IX feature on Sunday, "40 Years, 40 Memories," she wrote about great athletes, teams and moments from the past 40 years, since Title IX became law on June 23, 1972.
Many of you wrote in praise of the article -- and several had ideas for other great athletes who could have, or should have, been included. Some had not been included in the article because they were from the pre-Title IX era, others were athletes who competed in sports traditionally played by women.
The great runner, Doris Brown Heritage, was mentioned by multiple readers, as were tennis star Trish Bostrom and figure skating champion Rosalynn Sumners.
But that's the great thing about Title IX, right? It's hard to squeeze it all into just 40. Here are a few of your comments:
Dan Bubar: Didn't see Jill Bakken in this list. While at Lake Washington HS (Kirkland) in the early 1990s, she was invited to Lake Placid and was instrumental in starting the U.S. women's bobsled team. She won a gold medal in 2002 at the Salt Lake Winter Olympics.
Wes Lingren, Professor Emeritus, Seattle Pacific University: Dr. Ken Foreman organized the Falcon Track Club at Seattle Pacific in the late 1960s to provide a place for talented track and field women athletes to be coached and to develop their talents because they could not participate in their sports at the university/college level.
This group, which operated until 1974,was led by Doris Brown Heritage, who was a two-time Olympian and international cross country champion. Heritage and Foreman are members of the national Track and Field Hall of Fame.
Foreman also did serious research on the effects of stressful athletics on women and helped dispel many myths about the same, such as the idea that running too much reduces the chances of having healthy babies. He testified in the Blair v. WSU case for the plaintiffs.
Janet Hopps was the first international caliber woman tennis player from the Seattle area. She played No. 1 on the Seattle University men's tennis team (in the late 1950s), since they did not have women's tennis, and later competed at Wimbledon.
Trish Bostrom, a local product and UW varsity women's tennis player, later competed internationally, as well.
Donald Cohan: In 1971, Trish Bostrom was a club tennis player at UW, because there was no women's varsity tennis team. She wanted to try out for the men's team, but was refused. She took on the UW powers and was eventually given the opportunity to try out.
The much greater story was that because of her efforts, the UW began to have women's varsity sports very early on. Trish ultimately became an international touring tennis pro and was later inducted into the Husky Hall of Fame. Her story is legendary among UW women's athletes.
Jacob Wahlenmaier: I was surprised that you left out one of the most successful women athletes ever, often referred to as one of the founders of women's distance running, Doris Heritage Brown. She has five national world cross-country titles, two Olympic appearances, was a women's track coach at the '84 and '88 Olympics, and so many more accolades.
There could be arguments made as well for former Seattle Pacific runner Jessica Pixler (now Tebo) who has won more NCAA national championships than any other male or female athlete in any division and hit the Olympic A standard this year (though she'll miss the trials due to a stress fracture in her leg), the SPU 2008 national championship women's' soccer team, and (almost on par with Doris) Laurel Tindall, the SPU gymnastics coach who has led the team to something like 30 national appearances in 31 years and has a couple national titles herself (one from UW).
Denny Van Dorn: Trish Bostrom graduated with us all at Chief Sealth 1969, very athletic and a great tennis player. She went on to the UW and in order to get good competition played the men. At Wimbledon in '72 she placed third in doubles. I always wondered what could have been if Title IX had been there for Trish.
Mar 7 - 2:00 PM Sometimes smaller is better in college basketball
Mar 6 - 1:00 PM Enhancing our city and region's sports reputation
Mar 4 - 3:00 PM Indoor tennis center to open at Sand Point on June 1
Mar 2 - 2:00 PM What Seattle Times readers are saying








