By Richard Kellam

Equality in sports has been a hot topic in the world of athletic competition since the early 1900s. Women have been competing for the right to play organized sports just as vigorously as they compete on the playing field.

Authorities were concerned and convinced that strenuous athletic competition was not advisable for females. Women and girls were relegated to slower paced, less physically demanding activities such as croquet and badminton, team sports were considered too arduous and demanding for females back in the day.

Alice Milliat and Babe Didrickson were among the early pioneers in the battle for equality in women’s sports. Milliat lobbied for the inclusion of women in the Olympics in the 1920s, Didrickson raised the public’s attention with her achievements in track and field during the ’30s and ’40s. Didrickson won two gold medals in the 1932 Olympics, then went on to a career in professional golf. She played all sports and pitched against several Major League baseball teams in spring training in 1934.

Her accomplishments clearly debunked the long held concept that women were too delicate to play at the same level as the men.

Equality continued to be an uphill struggle even with the exploits of Didrickson and others. In the 1930s and ’40s many colleges dropped or downsized women’s sports, opting instead for fitness programs, the mentality remained, women and girls were not physically or mentally capable to engage in organized athletic competition.

This mind set, shared by many educators and medical professionals would not go quietly.

Katherine V. Switzer took matters into her own hands in the 1967 Boston Marathon when women were banned from running. She used her initials K.V. Switzer to register and race official Jack Semple even tried to remove her but without success. In 1972 women were finally eligible, and the women’s marathon became an official Olympic event in 1984.

During World War II, the All American Girls Professional Baseball League was established. The league lasted for three years and was disbanded when the soldiers returned home. It was a milestone for women at the time but the old feelings die hard, women’s sports still played second fiddle. The league was portrayed in the movie “A League of Their Own.”

Title IX forever transformed the face of women’s sports. Colleges now offer scholarships and a complete line of women’s sports. Women struggled just for the right to play at first, now they are fighting for equal pay.

Crisfield High School has produced championship teams and a bevy of star athletes, the majority in the boys’ programs, however, the Lady Crabbers field hockey team earned South Division, Bayside and Regional titles in 2012 — the first CHS girls’ team to ever claim a championship in the Bayside and girls State tournament era.

Crisfield added Regional crowns in 2018 and ’19 before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The Lady Crabbers have struggled since then, losing records in all team sports.

Why did it take so long for the Lady Crabbers to earn a championship? The Bayside division was formed in 1972, girls State playoffs started in the same time period.

CHS had some close calls in 2002 and ’03 in basketball. The field hockey team had several Regional finals, softball a pair of Regional semifinal appearances.

This story will be continued as we look at some outstanding accomplishments by Lady Crabbers athletes.