These grannies take it to the hoop
In a throwback to the 1920s, a senior basketball league flourishes in Iowa. It's all about fun, fitness, and the bond of sisterhood.
from the April 3, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 4
Granny basketball fits right in, only instead of carrying coffee cups, the players are bouncing basketballs. Ms. McPherson, a spark-plug with a deft shooting touch, wanted to get some exercise and have some fun. She consulted a memoir that her father, a basketball coach, wrote, in which he described the "3-court game" of the 1920s.
"They didn't move much," she says. "I could do that."
 Shooting hoops for fun, fitness, and sisterhood |
The 1920 rules are perfect for 21st-century grannies. You've got to be at least 50 years old to play. No exceptions.
"I have a sister-in-law who is 47. She wants to get a fake ID and play with us," says Rita Leitzinger, 52, of Norwalk.
The game is six-a-side on a court divided into thirds: The teams each put two players on offense, two on defense, and two in the middle. And the players have to stay in their zones.
There is no running, no jumping, and no physical contact. And players can only dribble the ball twice. There are four quarters, eight minutes each, and the clock runs continuously, even during free throws. Timeouts are allowed.
And then there is the dress code – strictly early 1920s. The players wear bloomers, midi-blouses, and long socks. Head bands are optional: One team favors lime green numbers adorned with red fabric roses.
Flout the dress code – show skin – and you get a technical foul.
It all looks a little like a dance or a 1920s tea party. But don't be deceived. The game may be played below the rim and barely above the floor, but it is filled with heart and passion.
"My mom thinks we're not trying hard enough," says Jean Weymiller, 75, of Harpers Ferry. "She says she wants to get the basketball herself and play."
Ms. Weymiller's mom is 96-year-old Muriel Adeline Cooper. She no longer plays. But Ms. Cooper's original 1920s bloomers – locked away for years in a hope chest – were used by a seamstress to design the new outfits.
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