Lily Margaret Wade (December 30, 1912 – February 16, 1995) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player and coach. Wade was inducted in the inaugural class at the

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's bask ...

in 1999.

Early years

Margaret Wade was the youngest of eight children born to Robert and Bittie Wade in Cleveland, Mississippi. She grew up in Cleveland, playing forward for the Cleveland High School girls basketball team. She made the All-Conference team in 1928 and 1929.

College

Wade played college basketball for

Delta State University Delta State University (DSU) is a public university in Cleveland, Mississippi, a city in the Mississippi Delta. History The school was established in 1924 by the State of Mississippi, using the facilities of the former Bolivar County Agricultu ...

in 1930-1932. In her second season, she was named captain of the team and earned All-Conference honors. In her junior year, she continued as captain, and was named the team's most valuable player. Over the three years, the team's record was 28–5–2. In her junior year, the school decided the game was "too strenuous for women" and dropped the program. Wade was very upset; she and her teammates decided to burn their uniforms.

AAU

Wade played for two years for the Mississippi Tupelo Redwings, a nearby AAU team. She was the team captain and helped her team reach the Southern Championship. Her playing career was cut short by a knee injury.

Coaching career

Wade started her coaching career at Marietta High School in Marietta, Mississippi in 1933. Her first year, the team had a record of 12–2. She then moved on to coach at Belden High school, where her team had a record of 11–3. After that, she coached Cleveland High School's girls basketball team from 1935 to 1954 with a 453-89-6 record. Her teams won the Bolivar County Championships and entered the North Mississippi tournament fourteen out of her last fifteen years, and came in second in the state championships three consecutive years. Wade also coached the girls' track team to consecutive state championships in 1958 and 1959. When

Delta State Delta is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South (Nigeria), South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State, on 27 August 1 ...

restarted the women's basketball team in 1973, Wade became the coach for them. They won three consecutive national championships at the AIAW women's basketball tournament in 1975, 1976 and 1977. Those seasons included a 51-game winning streak. She also coached a future Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Lusia Harris-Stewart. Cleveland High School's Margaret Wade Gymnasium, on the campus of Margaret Green Junior High School, was named in her honor in 1977. The top women's collegiate player is now awarded the

Wade Trophy The Wade Trophy is an award presented annually to the best upperclass women's basketball player in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I competition. It is named after three–time national champion Delta State ...

named after her. She was inducted into the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 1992. She was enshrined in the

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

in 1985 and in the

in 1999. A Mississippi Historical Marker honoring Margaret Wade was unveiled on the front lawn of Cleveland High School on October 11, 2008.

Notes

References

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External links

Basketball Hall of Fame page on Wade
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wade, Margaret 1912 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American sportswomen Basketball coaches from Mississippi Delta State Lady Statesmen basketball coaches Delta State Lady Statesmen basketball players High school basketball coaches in Mississippi Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees People from Attala County, Mississippi