Remembering Milwaukee's women's pro team amid WNBA fever

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- With Monday's WNBA draft setting records for viewers, many are wondering when the league will expand to Milwaukee. 

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— Dan Shafer (@DanRShafer) April 15, 2024

But even without a team right now, the city has cemented its place in women's pro basketball history. The first women's pro game was played at the MECCA (UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena) on December 8, 1978, before a crowd of 7,824.

It was the inaugural game of the Women's Pro Basketball League (WBL). The Milwaukee Does took on the Chicago Hustle, with the Hustle holding off a late Does rally to win 92-87.

Kathy DeBoer was on the Does opening night roster and describes the startup league as "organized chaos" at best, and at worst-- just chaos.

"The WBL people didn't know what they were selling, were they selling pretty girls in tight shorts," DeBoer said, "they were taking us to charm classes and teaching how to dress. There was a definite conflict in cultures."

DeBoer's time with the team didn't last long, she said she was traded to Minnesota soon after she was quoted in the media being critical of team management.

While she spent only a half season with the Does, DeBoer does have fond memories of Milwaukee.

"It was a party town, even then," she said.

While Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are current media sensations, the WBL also attracted national attention, it was featured on the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite.

Marguerite Keeley was featured in the story from 1978, and even before the league played its first game, she recognized that the WBL was blazing a trail for future generations.

"For the younger girls, junior high and high school, it's something for them to work for, until now, they had nothing to look forward to," she said.

The WBL started out strong, but the league could not sustain the opening night fan interest and folded after three seasons. Today, as she looks back on her time with the Milwaukee Does, she thinks that a women's pro league came before it's time.

"I'm not so sure everybody was ready for it," Keeley said, "but I sure appreciate the opportunity and what they were trying to do."

Fans seem to be ready for women's pro basketball in 2024, with tickets for some WNBA games netting huge prices. DeBoer says today's stars like Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark have much different challenges than the pros of the WBL.