The Philadelphia Rage was one of the eight original franchises of the American Basketball League (ABL), a women's professional basketball league. The franchise existed for just two-and-a-half seasons, from 1996 to 1997 in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

, and from 1997 to late 1998 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

History

The Rage was led by 1996 U.S. Olympic team point guard

Dawn Staley Dawn Michelle Staley (born May 4, 1970) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team. A point guard, she played college basketball for the Virginia Cavaliers an ...

and

Adrienne Goodson Adrienne Goodson (born October 19, 1966) is an American former basketball player, a 6-foot forward who played professionally for 14 years, in Brazil, the American Basketball League (1996-1998), ABL, and the WNBA. Amateur basketball career Bor ...

, who shot like a guard and rebounded like a power forward. With power forward

Taj McWilliams Taj McWilliams-Franklin (born October 20, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player. A two-time WNBA champion with the Detroit Shock and Minnesota Lynx and six-time all-star, McWilliams-Franklin's professional career has spanned ...

, the Rage had three players out of the ten named to the 1997 All-ABL First and Second teams—the most of any team. The Rage made sports news headlines by signing heptathlete and long jumper

Jackie Joyner-Kersee Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee (born March 3, 1962) is an American former track and field athlete who competed in both the heptathlon and long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals at four different Olympic Games. Joyne ...

. The team's initial draft choice was

Lisa Leslie Lisa Deshaun Leslie (born July 7, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. She is formerly the head coach for Triplets (basketball), Triplets in the BIG3 professional basketball league, as well as a studio analyst for Orlando ...

, who opted to sign with the WNBA instead.

Richmond Rage Team Record

Even without Leslie, the Rage had a strong first season. Although its win–loss record was 21-19, a full ten games behind the 31-9

Columbus Quest The Columbus Quest was a professional women's basketball franchise located in Columbus, Ohio, in the now-defunct American Basketball League (ABL). They were one of the league's original eight teams that started play in 1996. In the league's b ...

, its record was good enough for second place in the Eastern Conference, and that was good enough to put the Rage in the four-team playoffs. Matched in a best-of-three set against the top team in the Western Conference, the

Colorado Xplosion The Colorado Xplosion was the first women's professional basketball franchise in Colorado, an American Basketball League (ABL) team based in Denver. Playing from 1996 through 1998, the team produced many memorable moments for Colorado sports fa ...

, the Rage won two straight to advance to the finals against Columbus. In the best-of-five finals, the Rage jumped out to a 2–0 series lead, only to lose the last three games.

Philadelphia Rage Team Record

Despite fielding essentially the same team that went all the way to the finals, the relocated Philadelphia Rage did not do nearly as well in its second season, going just 13-31 and finishing fifth (dead last) in the East.

Last Season

Under new coach

Anne Donovan Anne Theresa Donovan (November 1, 1961 – June 13, 2018) was an American women's basketball player and coach. From 2013 to 2015, she was the head coach of the Connecticut Sun. In her playing career, Donovan won a national championship with Ol ...

, the Rage was off to a 9–5 start when the league suddenly folded on December 22, 1998. Less than a month later, on January 18, 1999, Rage reserve guard Katrina Price died of a self-inflicted gunshot.

All-ABL Rage Players

(All-ABL 1st Team 1996–1997) *

(All-ABL 2nd Team 1996–1997) *

(All-ABL 2nd Team 1997–1998) *

(All-ABL 2nd Team 1997–1998)

References

{{reflist Basketball teams in Philadelphia Defunct basketball teams in Pennsylvania American Basketball League (1996–1998) teams Basketball teams established in 1996 Basketball teams disestablished in 1998 1997 establishments in Pennsylvania 1998 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Women's sports in Virginia Women's sports in Philadelphia