Girl's Basketball in Starke County dates back to at least 1919 and
possibly a few years before. Women sporting activities had been frowned upon prior to that time. Even swimming at the lake
was considered a man's activity and not something ladies did. It had only been 1900 since women were allowed to participate
in the Olympic Games.
The 1919 Knox Girl's Basketball Team called themselves the "Reds".
The team consisted of Hilma Rodgers, Ruth Johnson, Florence Newston, Dora Stevens, Dorothy Kellogg, Grace Wilcken, Lenore
Pentecost, Kletha Kreuter and Ruth Cox.
Knox did not have a gymnasium until 1926-1927. About the same time,
Center Twp, Hamlet, Grovertown, North Judson and San Pierre also built gymnasiums. Before that, practice and games would have
been held outside and subject to the weather. But by 1919 Gus Reiss in Knox was allowing the use of the upstairs floor in
his department store (now Main Street Computers) for basketball games.
Today, it is hard to imagine but in those days there was a second
high school just one mile west of the Knox High School. It was known as Center High School. All Center Twp students who didn't
live within the city limits of Knox went there. We know that Center also had Girl's Basketball teams during the 1920's and
1930's. It isn't known if they were called the "Blue Streaks" as the boys were called or not. But Center School burned down
in 1941 and its students were merged in with Knox. A few years ago blue was added to Knox's school colors in recognition of
Center School.
The 1927 Knox Sandbur mentions Girl's Basketball games with Hamlet,
Union Township, Argos, Pulaski and Walkerton. It says their sweaters were not paid off until the very last game, so ticket
sales must have helped pay some of the costs. Teachers Bertha Abner and Evelyn Phillips were coaches through some of these
years.
The 1931 Knox "Redskin" Yearbook mentions the Girls Basketball Team
had new uniforms that year. It talks about playing the champions of La Porte and Marshall Counties and loosing the county
tournament in the last minute of play. A comment is made about building next year's team, but by 1933 Girl's Basketball is
mysteriously no longer mentioned. Instead, Girl's Indoor Baseball seems to have taken its place. The 1935 and 1937 Redskins
do mention Intramural Girl's Basketball. But at least through 1938, Girl's Indoor Baseball seems to have been seems to have
taken basketball's place as an official school sport.
