Ira R. Herr Athletic Hall of Fame
The first undefeated team in Elizabethtown College Athletics history, the 1935-36 women's basketball team established a bar of excellence for the storied Blue Jays program in decades to come.
Led by coach Ira R. Herr, Elizabethtown won its first 11 games on its way to an 11-0-1 record. The Blue and Gray held five opponents to 10 points or fewer and outscored opponents 452-183 for the season. E-town nearly completed a perfect season, tying Moravian 23-23 in its final game.
The 11 victories stood as a program benchmark for 11 seasons before the 1946-47 team won 11 and the 1947-48 team surpassed it with 12. Further highlighting how special their season was, the 1935-36 team's 11 wins were tied for second most in a season in program history for 40 years.
Official record and documentation of the 1935-36 roster is unavailable, but based on student activities listings in the Etonian yearbook from that year, the following women are believed to have made up the College's first unbeaten team:
Seniors (2): Martha Groff Brubaker, Ruth Groff Newman
Juniors (4): Edna Barnes, Ruth Bishop Jones, Alma Hartman, Bella Kapp Shoener
Sophomores (5): M. Lucille Brown, Charlotte Glassmire Garman, Dorothy Hollinger Fike, Mildred Miller Shaull, Lucille Wenger
Freshmen (3): Lois Brehm Shirk, Dorothy Metzler Hollinger, Mary Posey Grove
