1930 BC champions were considered next to the famed Edmonton Grads this country's and possibly this continent's best women's team. Claim was substantiated as they represented the "West" in the 1930 women's Olympiad winning the world title with an 18-14 victory over France.
Rene Harris, Claire Menton, Jean Whyte, Mary Campbell, Rettie Tingley, Marian Shelley, Lois Tourtelotte, Florence Carlisle, Thelma Mahon, Jack Barberie (coach).
With home games played in UBC's newly opened gymnasium, the Blue and Gold won the Vancouver and District Women's Basketball Championship with an 8-2 record. "Real ability," "good teamwork," "pep and vim," "kept opponents on the run" described the "Co-eds" play this 1929/30 season. In April of 1930 they advanced against the acknowledged World Champion Edmonton Grads, who for several years had been virtually unbeatable. It was the second time, 1928 being the first, that UBC would play Edmonton for Western Canadian basketball supremacy.
In game one against Edmonton, UBC held a 19-18 lead going into the final quarter but "collapsed" following the fouling out of centre Jean Whyte. The Grads went on to win 37-20. The second game saw the world champions outscore UBC 26-14 giving the Grads the two game total point serices, 63-34.
Immediately the Grads were invited to represent the "West" at the upcoming 1930 Women's Olympiad in Prague, but chose to turn down the invitation. UBC quickly came to mind as Canada's - and North America's - representative at these World championships. According to Edmonton coach Percy Page, " The university team is easily the second best team in Canada and should certainly be accorded the right to represent the Dominion seeing that the Grads are unable to go."
After a 17-day trip from Vancouver, BC to Prague, the students under coach Jack Barberie were surprised to learn the World Championship would consist of a one game world final - UBC representing the West against the European champion, France, on September 8, 1930.
"UBC Team Champions of World," exclaimed Canadian Press. Despite differing interpretations of the international basketball rules, Canada won the world title with an 18-14 victory before 10,000 fans at a cinder-surfaced outdoor stadium. Speed and determination overcame both the execessively rough French team and, apparently, a biased referee, "...leaving UBC a name to be respected throughout Europe," in the words of the Ubyssey.
The report from Prague stated "...The play of Rettie Tingley, Jean Whyte and Rene Harris repeatedly drew rounds of enthusiastic applause from the great crowd of spectators." The victory was popular in Prague in this the climax of the Games.
Civic awards and luncheons marked UBC's return to Vancouver in late September, the culmination of a basketball event and season whose memory would live on into the next century.
Virtually the same team returned to UBC the following year and completely dominated league play. Jean Whyte, Claire Menton, Thelma Mahon, Mary Campbell, Lois Tourtelotte and Marian Shelley in 1930/31 confirmed the quality of the 1929/30 team by winning convincingly in league play (7-1 record) and by again winning the championship of BC.
In addition to the UBC Sports Hall of Fame, this team is inducted into the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame, the Basketball BC Hall of Fame and the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame.
This Inductee is also in the BC Sports Hall of Fame.
Researched and written by Fred Hume, UBC Athletics Historian
