The Night the Cowgirl Cagers came to the Benton Harbor Armory

The 1950s weren’t known for their women basketball teams. Come to think of it, the 1950s weren’t known for their women, period. In the “good old days” women didn’t often get out of the role of housewife to pursue loftier athletic ambitions and when they did, it was due to global circumstances out of their control. The All American Girls Professional Baseball League comes to mind, immortalized by Penny Marshall’s movie, “A League of Their Own.” To offset the drafting of so many young male baseball players to fight in World War II during the early 1940’s, Chicago Cubs owner Phillip Wrigley decided to start a women’s baseball league, which actually started out as a softball league until rules were changed.

Dempsey Hovland

Dempsey Hovland, a Wisconsin native, had a similar idea about women’s basketball. Hovland was a former athlete for the House of David, and he had an eye for business. While working at a hotel in Chicago in 1949, he pitched his idea to boxer Jack Dempsey’s manager, Jack Kearns. He told him he wanted to start a barnstorming ladies basketball team. But not just an ordinary team of women. His cagers would be unique. Not only would they be star basketballers, they’d also be entertainers. Think of them like a female version of the Harlem Globetrotters. Kearns was interested, but wanted to see Hovland’s team in action. Dempsey quickly rounded up some talent for an exhibition game but lacked enough players to sit the bench and give an appearance of a full roster. The clever manager called up some old friends from the House of David and a few of the men came to Chicago for the game, suiting themselves up and passing themselves off as women. They already had long hair so all that was needed was a bit of makeup for the event. They sat the bench and played the part perfectly. The trick worked and Kearns was on board. Hovland then had the time to recruit more Cowgirls and the colonists went back to Benton Harbor. Just a few years later, Hovland’s girls would return to the Twin Cities, and this time they wouldn’t need any help from the long haired House of David boys. Their Benton Harbor debut would take place at the Benton Harbor Armory in February of 1956.

1955 Texas Cowgirls

Barnstorming teams were all the rage at that time. Hovland had been a barnstormer himself with the House of David basketball team. The House of David was more well known for its baseball teams, which brought not just good ball but a lot of entertainment to its spectators. The long haired ball players became a sensation, and their baseball team in particular was known for their excellent hand-eye coordination. Their handling prowess was demonstrated in a pregame warm-up dubbed the “Pepper Game” consisting of several players tossing the ball around in an almost juggling fashion. No doubt, spectacles like the pepper game and similar ball handling antics inspired Hovland in creating his Texas Cowgirls basketball team. Even the name was part of the gimmick, as no Cowgirl was actually from Texas despite marketing to the contrary. They were also known to play men’s teams, under men’s rules. Their entertainment included wearing boleros, six shooters, holsters, and cowgirl hats for their warm-ups. Common routines included antics such as hog tying their male opponents, “shooting” the referees, and shooting baskets blindfolded.

The Benton Harbor Naval Armory, located at 472 Cass Street, was built in 1926. Initially built as a home for Benton Harbor’s Naval Reserves, it has since been used for an assortment of community activities, including basketball games, wrestling and boxing matches, and it was even used to house German POWs in World War II. The Harlem Globetrotters played there in 1942. Thirty years after the Armory was built, the Cowgirls came to town.

When the Cowgirls arrived on February 23rd, they boasted about having beat 70% of the teams they played. In Benton Harbor, the girls were challenged by the Michigan State Spartan football players. The News Palladium dubbed it “Cage Battle of the Sexes.” The exhibition game was staged by local promoter Rex Sheeley.

The game was played in front of a crowd of 500. Tickets were $1.25 for adults and .75 for children. The halftime act was Funnyman Jerry McLaughlin with a dribbling act of his own. Most of the time the Cowgirls faced off against faculty members and former coaches. But in February of 1956, their opponents were a bit more intimidating.

The Spartans were Rose Bowl winners that year, and their only loss on the season was to their “Big Brother,” the Michigan Wolverines.

Buck Nystrom was MSU’s center, seen here posing with his five quarterbacks.

Facing off against the girls were Joe Badaczewski, Buck Nystrom, Gerry Planutis, Dale Hollern, Norm Masters, Gary Lowe, and Leo Hardys. Although they all were rough and tough football players, the Cowgirls handled them like cattle on a ranch, defeating them 67-53. The Spartan gridders started off strong, the ladies rallied in the fourth quarter to outscore the football players 29-11. The Herald Press reported that the Spartan squad bowed to the Cowgirls, insisting that they were “perfect gentlemen” who “permitted” the Cowgirls to win the game. How nice of them!

High scorers for the Cowgirls were Dolores Kaltifleiter with 23 points, Linda Yearby with 18, and Ruth Meyer with 14 points. Nystrom and Planutis for the Spartans scored 11 points apiece.

The match-up in 1956 was not the last time the Cowgirls came to Berrien County. They made several return trips to southwest Michigan in their nearly three decade long career. In 1960, they traveled to Eau Claire to play against a team of Big Eight Conference coaches. Linda Yearby was on that team as well. In 1962, they played the high school faculty at Three Oaks. In 1969, they came to Bridgman to play a faculty team. And they played another faculty team from Coloma in 1970. They made a return trip to Benton Harbor in 1974, but they didn’t play in the Armory. They played on the high school gym, again against male faculty.

Nor were the Cowgirls Dempsey Hovland’s only barnstorming basketball team. At least early on, the Cowgirls were predominantly white. Soon after, Hovland also put together a black team named the Harlem Chicks, whose name was later changed to the Harlem Queens. They also boasted that they beat 70% of all the male teams they played, and they were also known for their fancy ball playing, although they were marketed differently than the Cowgirls. Linda Yearby managed them for awhile. The Queens came to Covert in 1967 to battle against high school teachers. And they came to Benton Harbor in 1973 to play the local coaches. Proceeds from the game helped send six (male) students to basketball camp.

By the 1970’s, both teams were traveling on similar circuits, and it wasn’t uncommon for the same young women to have played on both teams at some point in time. Women’s basketball was gaining acceptance with the passing of Title IX and the NCAA tournament, but unfortunately the Cowgirls and Queens teams didn’t play another game after 1977. Dempsey Hovland died in 1979.

Another barnstorming ladies basketball team, although not managed by Hovland, was the Arkansas Lassies. Linda Yearby started that team – originally called the Shooting Stars in 1964. In the mid 1960’s, and in the late 60’s and into the early 70’s, the Lassies made several trips to Eau Claire to play exhibition games. Local reporting said that the Lassies combined serious basketball with comedic routines and that they had won 149 of 151 games.

The Benton Harbor Naval Armory was renamed the Bobo Brazil Community Center in 1998, after the death of legendary Benton Harbor professional wrestler whose real name was Houston Harris. It closed down in 2009 due to costs, and has remained closed. Benton Harbor City Commissioners have recently applied for a grant to reopen it.

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Further reading:

The Pioneering, Barnstorming Women’s Basketball Stars of the Texas Cowgirls https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/texas-cowgirls-womens-basketball-history/

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