Dayton Rockettes

Basketball team in Dayton, Ohio

The Dayton Rockettes was a women's professional basketball team located in Dayton, Ohio, United States. The team competed in the Women's Professional Basketball League, the first women's pro league in the United States, during the 1978-79 WBL season.

History

The Rockettes made their debut on 15 December 1978, losing to the Houston Angels 90–82, with Vivian Greene scoring their first points.^[1] The team was originally owned by Louis Deitelbaum but was re-possessed by the league in February after he stopped paying the bills. Dayton’s final "home" game was moved to Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, on April 8, 1979, as a showcase for potential buyers. After no buyers materialised, the Rockettes folded after the season.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, W–L% = Winning percentage

Season	GP	W	L	W–L%	Finish	Playoffs
1978–79	34	12	22	.353	3rd, Eastern	DNQ

Individual awards

WBL All-Pro team

Vonnie Tomich – 1979

WBL All-Star

Denise Craig – 1979
Vonnie Tomich – 1979
Vivian Greene – 1979

Head coaches

Linda Mann 1978^[5]
Tom Griffey 1978–1979

References

^ Marc Katz (16 December 1978). "Blastoff! Dayton Rockettes fire away, but come up short in WBL debut". Dayton Daily News. pp. 6–7. Retrieved 2 November 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Porter, Karra (2006). Mad seasons : the story of the first Women's Professional Basketball League, 1978–1981. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. p. 40. ISBN 0803287895. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
^ Joe Cunningham (15 February 1979). "Same team, new promotion". The Journal Herald. p. 15. Retrieved 2 November 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Joe Cunningham (27 March 1979). "League on the verge of moving Rockettes". The Journal Herald. p. 6. Retrieved 2 November 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Rockettes' coach dismissed after losing first two". Arizona Republic. Associated Press. 26 December 1978. p. D9. Retrieved 2 November 2023 – via Newspapers.com.