1975 WOMEN'S FINAL
The first Women's Superstars final was held in Rotonda, Florida following preliminary rounds a month earlier in Houston. Eleven women, each from a different sport had advanced to the final. On the first day of competition, Laura Ching, who barely qualified for the final, was a surprise leader with second place finishes in swimming and rowing. Softball's Joan Joyce easily won the bowling with a 181 score. Basketball player Karen Logan easily defeated all her competitors in tennis while volleyball player Mary Jo Peppler defeated Ching in rowing and Olympic diving champion Micki King beat Ching in swimming to move within one point of the lead after four events. Wyomia Tyus, Olympic 100 meter champion in 1964 and '68, withdrew from the competition after the first day. Logan defeated King in the 60 yard dash, but the second place finish moved King into the lead. King extended her lead by defeating Logan in the quarter mile run. However, it was Peppler who took the overall crown. Peppler surged into the lead with a runner-up finish in the bike race and then wins in the softball throw and the basketball event. Entering the obstacle course, an event in which Peppler elected not to participate, Peppler led with 41 points, followed by Logan with 38 and King with 34. Logan, who needed just a third place in the obstacle course, recorded the second fastest time, but was charged with a penalty for failing to grasp the last bar on the monkey bars. King also had a chance to win, but she dislodged the bar on the high jump and finished fourth in the obstacle course, giving the first Women's Superstars title to Peppler. This competition was profiled in part in novelist James Michner's Sports in America. The event was held the same time as the third men's preliminary round. The women performed very favorably when compared to the men in similar events, especially swimming, bowling, tennis and the bike race.
Rotonda West, Florida
Competition Dates: January 27-29, 1975
Air Date: February, 1975
Announcer: N/A.
PLC. NAME, SPORT |
BOWL | TEN | ROW | SWIM | 60 | 440 | BIKE | SOFT | BSKT | OC | TOTAL | MONEY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Mary Jo Peppler, Volleyball | x |
x |
10 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
7 |
10 |
10 |
x |
41 |
$34,100 |
| 2. Karen Logan, Basketball | x |
10 |
10 |
7 |
4 |
7 |
x |
0 |
38 |
$13,800 |
||
| 3. Micki King, Diving | x |
1 |
4 |
10 |
7 |
10 |
x |
2 |
x |
2 |
36 |
$8,600 |
| 4. Kiki Cutter, Alpine Skiing | 2 |
7 |
x |
2 |
x |
4 |
2 |
x |
7 |
10 |
34 |
$3,400 |
| 5. Laura Ching, Surfing | x |
2 |
7 |
7 |
1 |
7 |
24 |
$2,400 |
||||
| 6. Dianne Holum, Speed Skating | 1 |
x |
2 |
4 |
2 |
10 |
4 |
23 |
$2,300 |
|||
| 7. Barbara O'Brien, Football | 7 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
15 |
$1,500 |
|||||
| 8. Joan Joyce, Softball | 10 |
0 |
x |
1/2 |
10 1/2 |
$1,050 |
||||||
| 8. Paula Sperber, Bowling | x |
4 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
1/2 |
10 1/2 |
$1,050 |
||||
| 10. Cathy Rigby, Gymnastics | 0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
$400 |
||||||
| 10. Wyomia Tyus, Sprinter | 4 |
0 |
wd |
wd |
wd |
wd |
wd |
wd |
wd |
wd |
4 |
$400 |
INDIVIDUAL EVENT RESULTS
BOWLING
| 1. Joan Joyce | 181 |
| 2. Barbara O'Brien | 163 |
| 3. Wyomia Tyus | 143 |
| 4. Kiki Cutter | 121 |
| 5. Dianne Holum | 100 |
| 6. Cathy Rigby | 91 |
TENNIS
| 1. Karen Logan | 10 |
| 2. Kiki Cutter | 7 |
| 3. Paula Sperber | 4 |
| 4. Laura Ching | 2 |
| 5. Micki King | 1 |
| 6. Joan Joyce | 0 |
| 7. Barbara O'Brien | 0 |
| 7. Cathy Rigby | 0 |
| 7. Wyomia Tyus | 0 |
| Cutter d. O'Brien | 6-0 |
| Sperber d. Rigby | 6-0 |
| Cutter d. Tyus | 6-0 |
| Logan d. Joyce | 6-2 |
| Ching d. King | 7-6 |
| Cutter d. Sperber | 6-2 |
| Logan d. Ching | 6-2 |
| Logan d. Cutter | 6-2 |
ROWING - 100 yards
| 1. Mary Jo Peppler | N/A |
51.94 |
| 2. Laura Ching | N/A |
52.48 |
| 3. Micki King | 54.49 |
|
| 4. Dianne Holum | 54.50 |
|
| 5. Barbara O'Brien | 56.97 |
SWIMMING - final (50 meters)
| 1. Micki King | 32.24 |
| 2. Laura Ching | 32.63 |
| 3. Dianne Holum | 34.26 |
| 4. Kiki Cutter | 35.34 |
| 5. Mary Jo Peppler | 38.0 |
60 YARD DASH - final
| 1. Karen Logan | 7.53 |
| 2. Micki King | 7.64 |
| 3. Paula Sperber | N/A |
| 4. Mary Jo Peppler | 8.00 |
| 5. Laura Ching | 8.10 |
QUARTER MILE RUN
| 1. Micki King | 1:02.12 |
| 2. Karen Logan | 1:03.53 |
| 3. Kiki Cutter | 1:04.50 |
| 4. Dianne Holum | 1:06 |
| 5. Mary Jo Peppler | 1:09 |
BIKE RACE - final (half mile)
| 1. Dianne Holum | 1:15.13 |
| 2. Mary Jo Peppler | 1:17.14 |
| 3. Karen Logan | 1:18.10 |
| 4. Kiki Cutter | 1:19 |
| 5. Paula Sperber | 1:26.1 |
SOFTBALL THROW
| 1. Mary Jo Peppler | 222-8 r |
| 2. Karen Logan | 178-1 |
| 3. Barbara O'Brien | 172-10 |
| 4. Micki King | 152-10 |
| 5. Paula Sperber | 143-11 |
BASKETBALL
| 1. Mary Jo Peppler | N/A |
| 2. Kiki Cutter | N/A |
| 3. Barbara O'Brien | N/A |
| 3. Cathy Rigby | N/A |
| 5. Joan Joyce | N/A |
| 5. Paula Sperber | N/A |
OBSTACLE COURSE
| 1. Kiki Cutter | N/A |
N/A |
| 2. Laura Ching | N/A |
N/A |
| 3. Dianne Holum | N/A |
|
| 4. Micki King | N/A |
|
| 5. Cathy Rigby | N/A |
e = estimated time
r = Superstars record
N/A = result not available
dnf - did not finish
nm - no mark