Family ties: Georgeann Wells and Rodney Gallagher
It has been 40 years since West Virginia center Georgeann Wells broke the barrier and became the first woman to dunk a basketball in a college game.
On Dec. 21, 1984, Wells went on to make history. Playing at Elkins Randolph County Armory against the University of Charleston (W.Va.), with 11:18 remaining in the game, Wells received a pass from point guard Lisa Ribble and achieved the first official dunk in a women鈥檚 college basketball game. WVU won 110-82.
There is a Fayette County connection with Wells that I became aware of when Alyssa Gallagher, sister of former Laurel Highlands great Rodney Gallagher, on Jan. 22 posted this on X: 鈥�40 years ago our cousin Georgeann was the first woman to dunk a basketball.鈥�
Rodney Gallagher, who just completed his freshman season as a wide receiver on the WVU football squad, confirmed the connection.
鈥淚 was aware of the dunk,鈥� Gallagher stated. 鈥淚鈥檓 not too tight with her, but my grandparents are very tight with her and they get to talk to them.
鈥淭he connection is through my grandpap.鈥�
Wells was a tremendous player for WVU women鈥檚 basketball from 1982-86, but is known as 鈥淭he Mother of Dunk.鈥�
Truth be known, Wells actually threw down a dunk before the game in Elkins. Wells thought she had recorded a dunk in a game the prior season, but the basket was overruled because a foul had occurred before she took the shot.
That first dunk happened against Massachusetts and former WVU baseball player Bruce Clinton, refereeing the game, was the official who made the call to erase history. A picture of the dunk, taken by David L. Zicherman, is the one that is most frequently circulated today.
After the dunk in Elkins, Wells told the media. 鈥業t was a great feeling you can鈥檛 really describe, It was one of my goals. I knew I was one of a few women who could do it and it was just up for grabs.鈥�
Wells followed up the first dunk and did it once more a week later against Xavier at the U.C. Fieldhouse in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the circumstances were similar. She took a long pass from a teammate on the right side of the key, dribbled and slammed the ball through the basket with her right hand.
鈥淭his one was awesome,鈥� Wells said of her second one in a newspaper article. 鈥淚t was much better than the first one. I had confidence all the way that I could do it. On the first one I was kind of scared, but now I know I can do it. I felt a little pressure because everybody鈥檚 expecting me to do it now.鈥�
Rodney Gallagher is proud of his cousin and his mother the late Crystal Fields-Gallagher, who scored 1,054 career points while playing for Tri-Valley High School (now Albert Gallatin) from 1989-92.
鈥淚鈥檓 part of a super athletic family,鈥� Gallagher said. 鈥淓verybody has some type of athleticism, it鈥檚 great.鈥�
Those two dunks by Wells brought considerable national attention to West Virginia women鈥檚 basketball, That is what co-head coaches Blakemore and Bill Fiske were seeking 鈥� particularly Fiske, who encouraged Georgeann to practice her dunking before practice each day.
George Vecsey profiled her for the New York Times and USA Today had her as one of its celebrity Super Bowl selectors when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Miami Dolphins 38-16 in 1985.
The University of Houston men鈥檚 basketball coach Guy Lewis wrote Wells a letter officially welcoming her as an honorary member of Phi Slama Jama, the name given to his high-flying, slam dunking teams.
Wells was a very good college player, scoring 1,484 points and grabbing 1,075 rebounds during her four seasons at WVU, but she was not in the same category athletically as Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker, Brittney Griner or the other dunkers who came after her. The next dunk in women鈥檚 college basketball did not occur until Charlotte Smith of North Carolina did it in 1994.
The age of the female dunkers became inevitable when the NCAA adapted a slightly smaller ball for women. Wells dunked with the men鈥檚 ball.
Despite the media coverage, national headlines, and the 100 or so eyewitnesses at the game for Wells鈥� dunk in Elkins for nearly 25 years it was believed that there was no videotape of Wells鈥檚 achievement. Then Reed Albergotti, a sports reporter from The Wall Street Journal, started the research for a 2009 feature article. Albergotti contacted Ford Francis, the son of Bud Francis, who had been the University of Charleston coach in December 1984. Anticipating Wells鈥� intention and even warning his players against the likelihood that Wells would attempt a dunk, Bud Francis stationed a team staffer with a camera on the east side of the armory. A quarter of a century later, Ford Francis recalled that, after his father鈥檚 death, he had inherited a tape labeled simply 鈥淲.V.U.-84 Elkins.鈥� Upon watching the tape, Francis and Albergotti realized that, even though West Virginia University had left its heavy cameras at home, the historic footage did exist.
Now married, Georgeann Wells Blackwell spent time playing internationally for several years, earning a degree in elementary and physical education, coaching her kids鈥� basketball teams. She decided to act on an old dream of hers. She now runs her own catering business in Ohio, Tall Chicks CMK Smokehouse. She was inducted into the WVU 缅北禁地 Hall of Fame in 2007.
Rodney Gallagher is following in his relatives鈥� footsteps with the Mountaineers.
鈥淚 met her when I was little,鈥� Gallagher explained. 鈥淏ut I do hope that I get to meet her again and hopefully she can come here for a football game.鈥�
In a 2023 magazine article Wells Blackwell reflected on her dunks and their place in history.
鈥淚t broke that barrier that lets these women do it now. I鈥檓 glad and happy to see it. We鈥檙e now playing above the rim, which is so exciting.鈥�
George Von Benko鈥檚 鈥淢emory Lane鈥� column appears in the Sunday editions of the 缅北禁地. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.