HoopSalute - The end of the ABL - Part 4 of 5

The American Basketball League was a professional league of women basketball players. It went out of business in December 1998, breaking the hearts of thousands of dedicated fans.

Immediately afterwards, an unofficial All-Star game was organized by Gay Katilius, a fan of the San Jose Laser team. She managed to get some of the biggest stars of the ABL together for an exhibition game to be played at DeAnza College in Cupertino, California the following month, January 1999.

The event was a great success. Players such as Teresa Edwards, Kate Paye, Anita Kaplan, Anna DeForge, Naomi Mulitauaopele, Sheri Sam, Kate Starbird and Jennifer Azzi participated. The women played hard and had a lot of fun, and as the footage shows, these women were GOOD ATHLETES! Afterwards, the players scattered, some joining the new WNBA, some pursuing other careers. The ABL is now history, but it burns bright in the memories of many, many fans.

As a fan, I went to HoopSalute with my video camera and caught the event on tape. I'm putting it on YouTube so that ABL fans, and fans of women's basketball in general, can see it. I'm splitting it into multiple segments so that it will fit on YouTube. I hope you will understand that I'm not a professional photographer and my video gear was pretty basic, but I think I captured the spirit of this event.

In its short history, the ABL inspired many girls and young women to pursue their dreams. I hope my videos will help continue that legacy.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• american
• basketball
• league
• ABL
• lasers
• women's