Historical Synopsis of the Wayland Baptist Flying Queens

By KELLIE MITCHELL & DR. SYLVIA NADLER

As most of you know, both the Wayland Baptist Flying Queens and their longtime coach, , were nominated separately for the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Class of 2016.

On Feb. 12, we learned the Flying Queens were included as one of the finalists for the Class of 2016. After the finalists were announced, we learned that this nomination was for the program as a whole. Thus, all Flying Queens, their former sponsors (the Hutcherson family), and all of their coaches are honored as Wayland moves forward among the elite group of finalists contending for induction.

The Class of 2016 inductees will be unveiled Monday, April 4 at the Men's NCAA Final Four in Houston, with enshrinement festivities occurring in Springfield, Mass., Sept. 8- 10, 2016. Find more information at www.hoophall.com.

The Wayland Baptist Hutcherson Flying Queens have earned this recognition in many ways.

The historic and groundbreaking nature of the program

In the early 1950s (and before), there were no such entities as the WMBA or NCAA. Women were relegated to prescriptive roles that offered limited opportunities. Women’s basketball scholarships and basketball careers such as that of a referee, zthletic cirector or coach simply did not exist then. In the 1950s, the Flying Queens program began providing full athletic scholarships to 13 students annually. The program attracted 40 to 50 women to campus each year for Flying Queens’ try-outs. This preceded the Education Amendment of 1972 (Title IX) by over 20 years.

As early as 1950, the Queens were being flown in private airplanes belonging to Claude and Wilda Hutcherson to compete across the USA and in Mexico. In 1971, Claude Hutcherson estimated that he had logged 2 million miles flying the Queens and never had one accident.

Coach Redin convinced Globetrotter star Marques Haynes to teach the Queens some tricks, and then transformed the pre-game warm-up into a Globetrotter-style show that fascinated audiences and piqued an interest in women’s basketball for women and men alike.

The Queens blazed the trail through the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) by being a crucial part of laying the foundation of women’s college basketball that led to the development of organizations like the NAIA and NCAA, and eventually the WNBA, where both Wayland coaches and players were recruited for the start-up teams.

The excellence of the program:

The Wayland Baptist Flying Queens (1953-58) hold the record to this day for the most consecutive wins in collegiate women’s and men’s basketball history at 131 games.

The Queens hold the record for the most games won by a women’s collegiate team with over 1,550 wins. The Flying Queens have won 10 AAU National Championships and finished second nine times.

During their AAU days, Wayland players accrued 75 AAU All-American awards and placed players on USA All-Star teams 69 times. The Flying Queens garnered 49 other All-American awards, bestowed by various organizations such as Kodak, the National Scouting Association, and Street & Smith.

Between 1974 and 1982, the Queens participated in the National AIAW Tournament six times and placed third once, fourth twice, and won the consolation bracket twice. Since 1983 they have qualified for the NAIA Division I National Championships 22 times, finished second twice, third once and received 23 NAIA All-American awards.

The Flying Queens have had eight individuals and one team inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn. Coach Redin was part of the inaugural class.

Former team sponsor Claude Hutcherson was inducted for his lasting and unique contributions to women’s basketball. Coach Dean Weese was an early inductee, while players Lometa Odom, Patsy Neal, and Jill Rankin Schneider were recognized as players who influenced women’s basketball significantly. , an NCAA Division I championship coach who played for Wayland’s junior varsity and also coached the Queen Bees, was recognized as one of the most successful coaches in the nation while at Texas Tech.

Less than three years ago, the 1953-58 Flying Queens were recognized by the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame as Trailblazers of the Game. More than 50 years later, 25 of the 31 players – and their coach – are still living. Coach Redin will turn 97 years old this summer.

The influence of the program:

First, the Queens and their coach advanced the game through education of athletes. Coach Redin began the Flying Queens Clinic in 1957 that developed into an annual event. By 1971, over 2,500 high school coaches and students attended to learn from the best coaches in the state and watch the Queens demonstrate basketball fundamentals, which included various offenses and defenses.

Second, they advanced the game through post-season play. Redin and others founded the National Women’s Invitational Tournament in 1969. It was a tournament limited to college teams in an effort to further the goal of having the Queens compete against intercollegiate teams rather than the corporate sponsored, semi-professional paid teams whose players participated for as long as 15 years while Wayland players were limited to the typical 4-year collegiate term. What began as an eight-team tournament now hosts 64 teams. It was renamed the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) in 1998. The Queens crushed their opponents to capture 11 NIT tournament titles. Today, the Women’s NIT Championship is televised nationally.

Third, they advanced the game through advocating rule changes. Coach Redin began as early as 1958 pushing for the AAU to discontinue using rover rules with limited dribbling and adopt unlimited dribble, a 30-second clock, and full-court play. On several occasions, he pointed out to AAU officials that USA women’s teams would be severely handicapped on the world stage until they adopted the basics of international rules.

Fourth, they advanced game and international goodwill. Individual members of the Flying Queens plus three of their coaches – Caddo Matthews, Redin, and Dean Weese – were selected to represent the USA in international competition. Nineteen Queens played in seven World Games held in Chile, Brazil (twice), Peru, Czechoslovakia, Russia and Mexico. Twenty-eight Queens played in Pan American games. Matthews coached the 1955 USA Pan Am team in Mexico City, and Redin coached the 1959 team in Chicago. The USA won the Pan Am championship both years. In 1971, Redin, assisted by Weese, coached the U.S. Pan Am team in Cali, Columbia. The USA team finished second. Twenty Queens were on nine different USA All-Star teams that played foreign teams at home and abroad. Many of these games were against Russia and were a part of the State Department’s Intercultural exchange program to enhance relations between the United States and the USSR during the Cold War when tensions were high. Coach Redin was selected as one of coaches of the 1959 team that played the Russians in Madison Square Garden, the first time a women’s basketball game was played in that venue.

Finally, graduates of the Queens program have influenced generations of women in sport and leadership. As coaches, sports officials and administrators, they implemented Title IX, sanctioned sports for girls in schools, fought for equal pay for women coaches and officials, and served as role models for generations of women.

Together, these coaches and players shaped the world of women’s basketball through a program that laid a foundation for women’s competitive basketball. They deserve our support as these impressive finalists are considered for the Naismith Class of 2016 Basketball Hall of Fame!

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