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907:
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810:
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525:
434:, was a crucial selling point for Bolin. Under Meminger's mentorship, she finished the 1980-1981 season second in the league in scoring (26.8) and competed in her third All-Star game. The WBL's third season proved to be its last for the league was forced to dissolve under severe financial hardship.
339:
team and I couldn't even dribble full-court and make a basket". Instead of playing her sophomore year, Bolin decided to sit out to marry Dennis Bolin and give birth to the couple's child, Damien, in 1977. When Bolin returned to the court in 1978, she set university scoring records, averaging 24.6
425:
With the WBL financially struggling, long road-trips, and low pay, Bolin agreed to join the Ladies
Professional Basketball Association, a Southwestern-based league that was established to compete with the faltering WBL, as a player and assistant coach. However, after just seven games with the
309:
in her first year and 54.8 points in her senior year, while setting the school's single-game record for most points by one player with 83 points in
January 1975. Among other early accolades, Bolin was selected to participate in tryouts for
334:
basketball team. As she recollected, "College wasn't the same experience as high school and I had to learn the five-on-five full-court game pretty quickly. In fact, right out of high school in 1975, I got recruited to tryout for the
441:, arguing that Bolin's profession and her glamour shoots made her an unfit parent; however, the decision was appealed and overturned in 1983. In 1984, Bolin was selected for a USA All-Star team composed of former
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398:. During the 1979-80 season, Bolin set 12 WBL records, including most points scored in a single game (55) and the highest single-season scoring average (32.8), and was named co-
475:. Other post-basketball accolades include her induction in the Iowa High School Basketball Hall of Fame in 1986, and the Grandview College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999.
454:
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264:(WBL). Bolin, who was the first player signed with a team in the WBL, became a pioneering figure in women's basketball, both as a formidable scoring threat and as a
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After the WBL folded, Bolin was engaged in a custody battle with her recently divorced husband over their son, Damien. Initially, the court awarded her ex-spouse
394:
for her prolific scoring ability, Bolin averaged 16.7 points per game, and helped advance the
Cornets to the championship finals before they were defeated by the
453:
women's team which eventually won the gold medal. Bolin played her last professional season in the same year, signing with the
Columbus Minks of the short-lived
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in 1995 to create a women's tournament for television. Shortly after Bolin's contributions, the NBA announced its intent to establish the
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sought after by all the eight remaining WBL teams—negotiated a contract with the San
Francisco Pioneers, whose coach, former NBA player
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Following her playing career, Bolin continued to promote the concept of a new women's basketball league, and was hired by
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Bolin married to John Kazmer in 1989, and they currently reside in La Quinta, California with their two children.
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406:. Despite posting a 36-point game, the Cornets were beaten again in the finals, this time losing to the
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450:
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260:, she went on to star at the first women's professional basketball league in the United States, the
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in Des Moines, Iowa where she had to adjust to the conventional five-player style of play with the
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After her second year of eligibility, Bolin became the first player to sign to the newly-formed
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694:"Steph Curry: The Male "Machine Gun" Molly? Modern Basketball and Gendered Styles of Play"
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for $ 6,000. Honing in on her appearance as a blonde bombshell, Bolin was situated as the
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45:
293:, the fifth of six children born to Forrest and Wanda Van Benthuysen. She was raised in
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410:. That summer she coached girls' basketball at a camp in Cedar Rapids with teammates
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scored in a single game (55) and the highest single-season scoring average (32.8).
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Southern
California Breeze, the LPBA disbanded, and Bolin—a high-list
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314:' women's basketball team at 17 years-old and was voted an
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College women's basketball players in the United States
867:"History of the Women's Professional Basketball League"
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American Sports: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas
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of the league. Among her accolades, Bolin holds the
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884:"1980 Iowa Professional Basketball Camp for Girls"
871:Association for Professional Basketball Research
388:. Nicknamed "Machine Gun" by a columnist of the
825:"WBL scoring champion not rolling in the dough"
356:, when she signed a one-year contract with the
297:, where she first began playing basketball for
1060:Women's Professional Basketball League players
583:"Molly's shot at fame came a little to early"
8:
785:"Bolin returns to play against Olympic team"
19:
890:. Des Moines, Iowa. 14 May 1980. p. 26
445:and professional players to participate in
248:; November 13, 1957) is an American former
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1040:Canadian emigrants to the United States
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473:Women's National Basketball Association
455:Women's American Basketball Association
340:points per game, and graduated with an
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354:Women's Professional Basketball League
301:'s Mohawks during her junior year. In
270:Women's Professional Basketball League
262:Women's Professional Basketball League
163:Southern California Breeze (assistant)
7:
636:. Greenwood Publishing. p. 20.
581:Daniel P. Finney (10 January 2020).
497:"It's California or bust for Bolin!"
364:of the league, appearing in several
1030:American women's basketball players
632:Encyclopedia of Title IX and Sports
1055:People from Appanoose County, Iowa
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64:5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
989:"Guide to the Molly Bolin Pages"
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920:Janis Carr (25 September 1980).
905:
851:
808:
613:
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538:Tracy Dodds (26 February 1983).
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326:In 1975, Bolin began attending
922:"Molly's signing was a Breeze"
303:six-player half-court gameplay
1:
540:"A pro in search of a league"
1050:Grand View University alumni
1035:Basketball players from Iowa
830:The Belleville News-Democrat
172:Career highlights and awards
873:. Accessed October 8, 2016.
783:Wayne Grett (7 July 1984).
762:. ABC-Clio. p. 1,476.
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130:Southern California Breeze
16:American basketball player
628:Mitchell, Nicole (2007).
495:Bob Dyer (26 July 1981).
242:"Machine Gun" Molly Bolin
235:
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993:collguides.lib.uiowa.edu
668:"The Lady Is a Hot Shot"
246:Monna Lea Van Benthuysen
888:The Des Moines Register
790:The Des Moines Register
588:The Des Moines Register
502:The Des Moines Register
380:, and commercials with
344:in telecommunications.
139:San Francisco Pioneers
927:The Los Angeles Times
545:The Los Angeles Times
328:Grand View University
258:Grand View University
198:scoring leader (1980)
451:1984 Summer Olympics
318:in her senior year.
312:1976 Summer Olympics
305:, Bolin averaged 50
272:record for the most
252:player. Following a
192:All-Star (1979–1981)
25:Personal information
961:"Marriage of Bolin"
348:Professional career
299:Moravia High School
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698:ussporthistory.com
371:Sports Illustrated
342:associate's degree
289:Bolin was born in
69:Career information
865:Bradley, Robert.
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40:November 13, 1957
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447:exhibition games
384:players such as
337:'75 Pan American
223:2,479 (25.6 ppg)
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833:. pp. 1B,
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729:"The Forgotten"
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591:. pp. A1,
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505:. pp. 1D,
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412:Connie Kunzmann
391:Washington Post
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291:Dryden, Ontario
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46:Dryden, Ontario
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733:slamonline.com
727:Caputo, Mark.
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692:Araiall, Cat.
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666:Johnson, Roy.
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608:Newspapers.com
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561:Newspapers.com
548:. pp. 1,
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518:Newspapers.com
486:
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408:New York Stars
396:Houston Angels
368:, features in
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322:College career
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254:college career
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107:Career history
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754:Nelson, Murry
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432:Dean Meminger
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416:Tanya Crevier
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185:Co-MVP (1980)
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82:Moravia, Iowa
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61:Listed height
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42:(age 66)
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23:
996:. Retrieved
992:
968:. Retrieved
964:
955:
938:– via
932:. Retrieved
930:. p. 13
925:
915:
898:– via
892:. Retrieved
887:
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861:
844:– via
838:. Retrieved
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801:– via
795:. Retrieved
793:. p. 4S
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736:. Retrieved
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701:. Retrieved
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675:. Retrieved
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633:
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623:
606:– via
600:. Retrieved
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559:– via
553:. Retrieved
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516:– via
510:. Retrieved
500:
490:
477:
466:
464:
449:against the
439:full custody
436:
424:
420:Nancy Wellen
389:
375:
369:
366:photo shoots
358:Iowa Cornets
351:
325:
316:All-American
288:
245:
241:
240:
177:
121:Iowa Cornets
1020:1957 births
840:27 February
823:Tom Seals.
602:27 February
555:27 February
512:27 February
377:SportsWorld
74:High school
53:Nationality
20:Molly Bolin
1014:Categories
998:October 8,
970:October 8,
934:16 October
797:16 October
738:October 8,
703:October 8,
677:October 8,
482:References
468:Fox Sports
461:Later life
428:free agent
404:Ann Meyers
402:alongside
386:Larry Bird
362:sex symbol
285:Early life
266:sex symbol
250:basketball
213:statistics
178:As player:
112:As player:
93:Grand View
36:1957-11-13
443:olympians
280:Biography
155:As coach:
135:1980–1981
117:1978–1980
102:1978–1984
756:(2013).
56:American
48:, Canada
894:22 June
332:Vikings
209:Career
89:College
78:Moravia
766:
672:si.com
640:
307:points
274:points
244:(born
219:Points
228:Games
1000:2016
972:2016
936:2023
896:2021
842:2024
799:2023
764:ISBN
740:2016
705:2016
679:2016
638:ISBN
604:2024
557:2024
514:2024
418:and
374:and
160:1980
145:1984
127:1980
30:Born
597:A12
593:A11
400:MVP
382:NBA
256:at
211:WBL
196:WBL
190:WBL
188:3×
183:WBL
1016::
991:.
980:^
963:.
924:.
886:.
869:,
835:4B
827:.
787:.
731:.
713:^
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652:^
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550:10
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507:4D
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34:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.