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

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Granny basketball was unveiled in 2005 – four teams played in a "state tournament." Now, between 80 and 100 women play on eight teams. Games are played at least once a month. Practices are weekly. There are even exhibitions. The grannies have appeared at fundraisers and at half time of women's college games.

Rawson and her sisters play for the Center Point Curvaceous Chicks. Arlene Wear of Center Point is 79, her age matching her number. She's a tough defender, arms raised, sliding side to side.

Marj Baetty, 72, of Atkins, is a demon under the basket, even throwing an elbow to grab a rebound.

"I have a tendency to run and jump," Ms. Baetty says. "Old habits die hard."

Virginia Roths, 71, of Cedar Rapids, plays in the center, tracking the ball with her eyes. Ten years ago, she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. "Getting together with us girls, having the right medicine, this has been really good for me," Ms. Roths says.

A fifth sister, Bertha Rhinehart, 74, of Coronado, Calif., plays whenever she's in town. "When it stops being fun, we're going to quit," Baetty says.

But fun – and sisterhood – is what this is really all about. At a recent outing in Alburnett, a small town just outside Cedar Rapids, the grannies played in the school's main gym while a girls' volleyball tournament was held in a smaller gymnasium. Throughout the afternoon, teens peeked into the main venue and watched the grannies in three games.

"I guess that's what we'll look like in 25 years," one teen says, snapping a photo.

Before the opening jump ball – actually a coin flip, remember, no jumping – the Cedar Rapids Sizzlers took to the court to the sounds of Richard Gere crooning "Razzle Dazzle" from the musical "Chicago." The Sizzlers strutted and waved plastic necklaces. Des Moines Car-X came out to "Sweet Georgia Brown," the theme for the Harlem Globetrotters.

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