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The five starters of the 1976 Cathedral High girls basketball team consisted of, from left, Marjie Ducey, Nancy Soener, Eileen Halpine, Rose Smagacz Parfitt and Judy Howard. The Cathedral girls were named the unofficial state champions because a tournament didn’t exist in their sport after Title IX was slowly rolled out.
I pull the plastic bin from the closet, pawing through old newspaper clippings and photographs to find the gold medal that lay hidden beneath a lifetime of memories.
At not much bigger than a quarter, it was much smaller than I remembered. Tiny figures play basketball on the front, and there it is on the back:
Cathedral High School bicentennial Greater Omaha League and Omaha World-Herald all-class champs.
It took a lot of abbreviation to make it all fit. Instead, we just called ourselves the unofficial state champions. The last of our kind.
Fifty years ago, Title IX legislation changed the arc of women’s sports. But not immediately. At least not in Nebraska high schools. Girls state tournaments sprouted little by little.
Track and field in 1971. Volleyball in 1972. Swimming in 1973. Golf in 1974. Tennis in 1975. Basketball in ’77. One year too late for my senior class of ’76. Nebraska’s tardiness cost my Cathedral High School team a chance at a sanctioned state championship.
Our achievements were lost in time. Only nine losses in four years. Champions of the Greater Omaha League in 1976. Our roster included seven seniors, including all five starters.
Three made The World-Herald’s All-Omaha team (it included Metro Conference players): Rose Smagacz Parfitt and Judy Howard on the first team and Eileen Halpine on the second. Howard was a repeat selection on the All-Nebraska team, and she and Parfitt were repeat Class B all-staters. Although they didn’t make it, both were asked to try out for the 1976 Olympic squad.
I joined the team as a sophomore, after a summer of playing basketball against the neighborhood kids improved my shaky skills. Cathedral already was deep and talented.
Disparities in Nebraska youth sports need to be addressed, advocates say
Frank Smagacz, who had coached Gale Sayers at Central High, had made sure of it, fielding teams in softball and basketball for his daughter and other Cathedral girls. Alongside another legend, Roger Higgins, he built a juggernaut.
Back in ’73, when that special class went 19-0 as freshmen, Smagacz lamented that Cathedral wouldn’t get a chance to play for a state title. They’re pushing everything but basketball, Smagacz told the weekly Omaha Sun newspaper, even though it’s growing.
“Iowa has it,” Smagacz said. “Their girls get as much publicity as the boys. Everybody has it. We’re probably the least progressive in that area than anyplace in the United States.”
One of my earliest basketball memories is Smagacz’s voice booming from the stands at the John F. Kennedy College Invitational in Wahoo. Between games, the glorious sound of “Sweet Georgia Brown,” the Globetrotters’ theme song, filled the gym.
Marjie Ducey, Eileen Halpine, Nancy Soener, and Rose Smagacz Parfitt flip through an old scrapbook.
Everyone called me Duce then, which Smagacz interpreted as Juice. So that’s what he’d yell as he urged me to use the backboard. My dad, a Wayne State football player and quite an athlete in his day, would tell me to watch the back door, so no one would sneak behind me for an easy layup.
I’d gotten my first taste of the state basketball tournament in 1972, when the Cathedral boys won Class B. Hundreds of fans traveled to Lincoln to see Mike Fouts sink a 20-footer with six seconds left in a 66-65 win over Crete. What a thrill.
But I knew I would never get the same treatment.
Title IX in Nebraska: UNL and most other colleges still fall short of parity
By ‘76, we weren’t the only ones who felt the sting of no state tournament. Omaha Burke coach Karen Peterson, whose team was one of the favorites for the first Metro Conference title, said so in a preseason preview.
“I wish it was this year,” she said. “I’m losing three seniors, and I would have liked to have seen how they would have done.”
But while coaches were talking about goals, we were clueless. We concentrated on the games themselves and what was coming after graduation.
“It’s hard to miss something you did not have,” longtime starter and defensive specialist Nancy Soener said recently.
Girls athletics had progressed at Cathedral, a now-defunct school of mostly working-class kids at 39th and Burt Streets.
Marijo Wasinger Malesa remembers then-athletic director Tom Kros buying new uniforms for the track team when she was a sophomore. “I felt like we finally had somebody who gave a damn about girls sports,” she said.
In 1975, the girls won state in track and field. Thirty-four teams scored in Class B. “We competed against all those schools in track,” Howard said. “Why wasn’t it the same in basketball?”
Another CHS teacher, Nadine Ridder, created a C Club for those with varsity letters in basketball, volleyball or track. We recognized the differences between the boys and girls teams, but any improvements due to the landmark Title IX legislation that passed in 1972 still were far away.
“It was just in the beginning,” Howard said. “Nobody really knew what the effects or ramifications were going to be.”
I hustled to weekend practices smelling of Mister Donut, where I worked. I remember telling my dad we didn’t have the same kind of equipment as the boys. We had only one set of uniforms. Decent but ugly, Soener said. Parfitt remembers asking why we always had to practice after the boys.
“How dangerous was that?” Parfitt asked. “We always got the gym at 8 o’clock at night, and we were walking home at 10."
Cathedral compromised by saying we could practice early when the boys had road games. But even that was nixed in favor of the grade school boys teams.
Private schools made up most of our schedule: Marian, Mercy, Duchesne, Holy Name, Notre Dame, Paul VI and Dominican. They often learned their skills early in Catholic Youth Organization leagues.
“I really do have to credit the archdiocese and Catholic schools for creating that opportunity,” Marian star Julie Uryasz said. “My friends coming up in public school certainly had some great teams, but they didn’t have that opportunity that started back in grade school.”
We played most of our games away from home. Once, the bus made a pit stop before we even left the neighborhood to pick up Halpine, a two-time state hurdles champion who was slower about meeting our take-off deadlines.
She remembers feeling sorry for the boys, who didn’t win as much.
That final year, we road warriors averaged 65 points a game while holding opponents to 36. Smagacz led the way with 20 points a game, and Howard averaged 17 rebounds. (Editor’s note: The author is modest. She averaged 10 blocked shots a game.)
“I loved our full-court press,” Parfitt said. “No one could break it when we were on our game.”
Our only loss came at Marian over Christmas break while I was on a school trip to Paris. Who knew they would even miss my shot-blocking?
For years, Marian and Cathedral eyed each other across the city, often meeting for championships.
“Playing Cathedral was always the biggest rivalry of the year,” said Uryasz, the star of the Crusaders in 1976 along with Ann Cannon and Michelle McCarthy.
We couldn’t wait for the rematch in the regular season finale. At stake, the GOL championship.
Our coach, Mike Harris, said there wasn’t a “milquetoast’ in the bunch. In other words, the Cardinal girls weren’t timid. Some even lifted weights, a World-Herald article pointed out. And still had dates.
Harris was never shy about talking up our team. I was nearly 6-3, Howard was 6-foot and Parfitt was 5-11. We used to laugh at game programs or newspaper articles. We seemed to grow an inch with each one.
At Marian, there wasn’t a visitors’ locker room, just a room with a piano — school officials chastised us for playing it before the game. The tile gym floor lay between a wall and a few rows of bleachers.
We didn’t need a big venue to feel the pressure. As we closed out our high school careers, this game meant everything to us.
The first half was close, but then we took over after the break and won 58-48. Parfitt had 21 points, Howard 16 and Halpine 12. I chipped in seven. Highlights appeared that night on the TV news, and the Sun devoted an entire page to the game.
Conde Sargent of The World-Herald named us his unofficial No. 1 afterward in a tight battle with Lincoln East, which beat Burke for the first Class A title the next year.
We received our gold medals at a postseason athletic banquet, validation for our hard work. We never played together for CHS again.
Parfitt, who scored 1,324 points in her career, went on to play at Kansas. Howard chose Tarkio. Halpine attended Kearney State. Soener went to St. Teresa in Winona, Minnesota.
I played two years at Creighton, where I briefly held a single-game rebounding record and, according to then trainer Clair “Butch” Fennell, executed one of the best side-saddle rejections he had ever seen.
Eleven years after leaving Cathedral, my daughter, Lindsay, was born. By the time she entered high school, she had competed in basketball, volleyball, softball, tennis, soccer and track. She traveled farther with her select soccer teams in grade school than I ever did, even in my years at Creighton.
I hungered for her to earn the state tournament bid that I’d missed. She never made it in basketball or volleyball. But as a junior, she advanced to the state tournament in tennis. I felt vindication at last.
It wasn’t her last highlight.
Five years later, we visited the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tennessee, after she was named an NAIA Division II first-team All-American for the third time. I saw her Hastings College jersey on display, one of the proudest moments of my life.
Who knew the daughter of a working-class Cathedral girl, a late bloomer in this late-blooming sport, could go so far?
Of course, my high school team still harbors a sense of regret. After the Nebraska girls state tournament began in 1977, girls like us were quickly forgotten. Nebraska’s last unofficial state champions merited a medal, but we preferred a place in the record books.
Judy Howard, my old teammate, thinks it would have been cool to launch the state tournament in 1976, the same year we celebrated the country’s 200th birthday. Regardless of age or anniversary, our coming-of-age story still binds us together.
“I still think we were the best team all around,” Howard said. “I don’t care what anybody says.”
Title IX at 50: Throughout the summer, The World-Herald will have a multipart series on the 50th anniversary of Title IX, remembering the achievements of women in sports while examining the barriers that still remain to equality under the law
Georgia Female College is the first women's college to open in the U.S.
Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first woman elected to Congress.
U.S. women gain the right to vote.
A federal appeals court effectively says doctors can prescribe women birth control.
The first Truman Commission report pushes for more equal access to higher education, including ending race and religious discrimination.
Toni Stone becomes the first woman to regularly play professional baseball (Negro Leagues).
George E.C. Hayes, Thurgood Marshall, James M. Nabrit
U.S. Supreme Court rules “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal” in landmark Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision.
Wilma Rudolph becomes the first American woman to win three gold medals in an Olympics. The star Black sprinter becomes a prominent advocate for civil rights.
The Commission on the Status of Women, headed by Eleanor Roosevelt, finds widespread discrimination against women in the U.S. and urges federal courts that "the principle of equality become firmly established in constitutional doctrine.” Congress passes the Equal Pay Act.
The Civil Rights Act includes sex as one of the things that employers can't discriminate against. It also establishes the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Patsy Mink of Hawaii becomes the first woman of color elected to the U.S. House; she later co-authors Title IX, the Early Childhood Education Act and the Women’s Educational Equality Act.
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act gives federal funding to K-12 schools with low-income student populations. President Lyndon Johnson also signs the Higher Education Act of 1965 that gives college students access to loans, grants and other programs.
The National Organization for Women is established, calling for women to have “full participation in the mainstream of American society ... in truly equal partnership with men.”
Aretha Franklin covers Otis Redding’s 1965 hit, “Respect, ” and it quickly becomes a feminist anthem.
New York Democrat Shirley Chisholm becomes the first Black woman in Congress. She later becomes the first woman to seek nomination for president.
The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) is founded to govern collegiate women’s athletics and administer national championships.
Congress passes Title IX, which is signed into law by President Richard Nixon. Title IX states: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Congress also passes the Equal Rights Amendment, but it never gets approval from the 38 states needed to become law.
Battle of the Sexes Riggs King 1973
The Supreme Court issues its Roe v. Wade opinion establishing the right to an abortion. Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs in straight sets in the “The Battle of the Sexes” tennis exhibition match.
The Women's Educational Equity Act provides grants and contracts to help with “nonsexist curricula,” as well as to help institutions meet Title IX requirements.
President Gerald Ford signs Title IX athletics regulations, which gives athletic departments up to three years to implement, after noting "it was the intent of Congress under any reason of interpretation to include athletics.”
NCAA challenges the legality of Title IX regarding athletics in a lawsuit that is dismissed two years later.
Three female students at Yale, two graduates and a male faculty member become the first to sue over sexual harassment under Title IX (Alexander v. Yale). It would fail on appeal.
Ann Meyers becomes the first woman to sign an NBA contract (Indiana Pacers, $500,000). She had been the first woman to receive a UCLA basketball scholarship.
U.S. officials put into effect the important three-prong test for Title IX compliance when it comes to athletics.
Title IX oversight is given to the Office of Civil Rights in the Education Department.
Sandra Day O'Connor becomes the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Louisiana Tech beats Cheyney State for the first NCAA women’s basketball title. Two months later, the AIAW folds, putting top women’s collegiate sports fully under the NCAA umbrella. Cheryl Miller scores 105 points in a high school game to kick off one of the greatest careers in basketball history.
Democrat Geraldine Ferraro becomes first woman to earn a vice presidential nomination from a major political party. The U.S. wins its first Olympic gold medal in women's basketball.
Pat Summitt wins the first of her eight women’s basketball national titles at Tennessee.
Congress overrides President Ronald Reagan’s veto of the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, making it mandatory that Title IX apply to any school that receives federal money.
The Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act is passed. Under Title IX, schools with federal financial aid programs and athletics must provide annual information regarding gender equity, including roster sizes and certain budgets.
Connecticut wins the first of its 11 national titles under coach Geno Auriemma.
Female athletes win a lawsuit and force Brown to restore funding for women's gymnastics and volleyball after the saying the school violated Title IX when it turned both teams into donor-funded entities. The NBA clears the way for the Women’s National Basketball Association to begin play the following year.
Brandi Chastain’s penalty kick gives the United States a win over China in the World Cup final, invigorating women’s sports in the U.S.
Ashley Martin becomes the first woman to play and score in an Division I football game as a placekicker for Jacksonville State.
Danica Patrick wins the Japan 300 to become the first female victor in the top level of American open-wheel racing.
Becky Hammon becomes the first full-time female assistant coach in NBA history.
In this July 5, 2015, file photo, the United States' Megan Rapinoe celebrates after the U.S. beat Japan 5-2 in the FIFA Women's World Cup soccer championship in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The United States’ 5-2 win over Japan in the Women’s World Cup final becomes the most viewed soccer game in the history of American television.
Citing Title IX, the Obama administration says transgender students at public schools should be allowed to use the bathroom or locker room that matches their gender identity, the guidance was rescinded by the Trump administration. Hillary Clinton becomes the first woman to win a major party nomination for president.
Serena Williams wins her 23rd Grand Slam title, second-most of all time.
New Title IX amendments take effect, largely regarding sexual harassment.
Report rips NCAA for failing to uphold its commitment to gender equity by prioritizing its lucrative Division I men’s basketball tournament “over everything else,” including women's championship events.
South Carolina's Dawn Staley becomes the first Black Division I basketball coach, male or female, to win more than one national championship. The U.S. women's national soccer team reaches a milestone agreement to be paid equally to the men's national team.
marjie.ducey@owh.com, 402-444-1034, twitter.com/mduceyowh
Sent weekly directly to your inbox!
The five starters of the 1976 Cathedral High girls basketball team consisted of, from left, Marjie Ducey, Nancy Soener, Eileen Halpine, Rose Smagacz Parfitt and Judy Howard. The Cathedral girls were named the unofficial state champions because a tournament didn’t exist in their sport after Title IX was slowly rolled out.
Title IX at 50: Throughout the summer, The World-Herald will have a multipart series on the 50th anniversary of Title IX, remembering the achievements of women in sports while examining the barriers that still remain to equality under the law
Marjie Ducey, Eileen Halpine, Nancy Soener, and Rose Smagacz Parfitt flip through an old scrapbook.
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