Tag: Thomas Dunn Sports Center

Illustration of Ann Meyers on the cover of a 1980 New Jersey Gems basketball program

New Jersey Gems

The New Jersey Gems were one of eight founding franchises in the Women’s Professional Basketball League in the winter of 1978-79.  The WPBL was the first professional basketball league for women in the United States. Of the eight original clubs, the Gems were one of only three to survive for all three of the league’s seasons. The Gems featured two of the highest paid and best known players in the early years of the women’s game – Ann Meyers and Carol Blazejowski – but never seriously contended for a league championship. 

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