The Rise and Decline of Organized Women's Sports

American female athletes took a roller-coaster ride during the first half of the twentieth century. While national attention focused mainly on men, aspiring female athletes found support in many pockets of the country, especially rural, working-class, and African American communities. That support carried a handful of women to national prominence, among them swimmer Gertrude Ederle and multitalented phenomenon Mildred “Babe” Didrikson. Many others found ways to reap the benefits of athletic competition, whether on high school squads, factory-sponsored teams, barnstorming ensembles, or the powerhouse track and field teams of historically Black colleges, which produced both national champions and Olympic gold medalists. But dedicated female athletes had to walk a fine cultural line, devising ways to make places for themselves in an activity still generally viewed as masculine. They also faced considerable opposition, sometimes from men threatened by female athletic skill, sometimes from women who valued cooperation over competition. After World War II, when national culture took a conservative turn, women saw a sharp decline in athletic opportunities.