Little Ink, Lots of Heart: the Story of the 1940-41 New England Championship
season of the Peabody High School Girls Basketeers

by Joanne O'Keefe

First Reader:Judith Smith

Second Reader:Lois Rudnick

O'Keefe's project uses the 1940-41 Peabody High School Girls' Basketball season to comment on American attitudes toward female athletes during 1941-45. Through close reading of girls' backetball coverage in the Peabody Times and various other primary and secondary sources, O'Keefe writes about how sportswomen were largely ignored by the media even while maintaining highly competitive records.

This project looks at cultural assumptions about sports that suggested girls could not engage in activities as strenuous as competitive basketball. O'Keefe also recognizes the strong role model of Helen Riley, Peabody basketball coach, in remaining dedicated to her team despite the absence of public acknowledgement of her skills or the tremendous success of her team. Riley's dedication is contrasted with the Peabody Times's lack of support for women's sports.

Ideas for possible dissemination:
Peabody High School Library, any North Shore historical societies, writing a shorter journalistic piece for a local newspaper; any women's or sports historical journals interested in women and sports.