Mary Alice Hill, A Pioneer in Women’s Sports
This article can be found on the Linn County Leader site as well.
MARY ALICE HILL, A Pioneer in Women’s Sports
Generally, I write about inanimate objects and dead people. This column is different. It is about a woman who is alive and who I greatly admire and respect. Her name is Mary Alice Hill. Her contribution to our nation is undeniable; without her bravery, girls and women might have continued being discriminated against in high school and college sports. As a girl dad, I can’t thank Mary enough for her tenacity. This column is different in that it discusses a trailblazer who’s still alive, but because I’m letting Mary tell her story. I’ve edited for space and clarity.
“I was born in Kirksville. I [worked on my family’s] farm prior to college. My father only had 2% hearing in one ear. So, as a child I went along with him to hear for him. As Dad would say I was his little ears. I helped with all the farm chores. We’d milk 20-30 cows twice a day. Also drove the tractor, planted, tilled, and harvested the crops. Before I started college, we … sold all the livestock and farm equipment. My family had built a restaurant they ran when I was in college. The name of the restaurant was “Hill’s Duck Inn.” [It] was there for many years.
My father, Clyde E Hill, [was] killed in a vehicle accident May 3, 1980. My mother died September 9, 2006, of natural causes. I have three sisters: Harold & Clydene (Hill) Jones, Loyd, Gene & Catherine (Hill) Finch, John & Lonia (Hill) Collins. They all live in the Brookfield area. I also have several nieces and nephews. I moved back to my home on the farm in 1995. My mother was getting older and asked if I could come back with her. Which I did.”
Mary’s love for sports started in college.
“I taught myself to throw the discus and javelin while at NEMSTC [Northeast Missouri State Teachers College]. I was a Physical Education Major. There was going to be a Track and Field meet in Columbia, Missouri and the instructors asked if I would throw the discus and javelin. I said ‘Sure.’ [The problem was that the meet was] in three days. They asked if I had a discus and a javelin. I didn’t, so they supplied one for me. The main issue was that ‘no one could help me [because] they did not know how to throw them either.”
So, Mary taught herself using a book. “I went to the meet and placed in the events…. When I got back home, I wanted to work on the events and do better the next year. So, I went about trying to get help from the Men’s T&F coach. He said he could not help me [because] he did not have time. So, I asked if I could use the weight room. He totally said, ‘Absolutely not. Women are not allowed in the weight room.’ Now one must realize that this was the early 1960’s. So, my family got the discus, javelin, and weights for me. I worked all year on the events. Then [came] the competition in the spring in Columbia. I had improved and [I] won both events [event setting a record in javelin]. In fact, my javelin throw record stood into the 80’s. On my way home all I could think of was the song ‘Is That All There Is’.”
She started her career at Colorado State University. “While at CSU the women’s program received $5,000. as the men’s program received $1.5 million. The women’s programs had to travel by college vans, paid for their uniforms, their food, and lodging… the men flew, and uniform’s, charted buses, all food and lodging were paid. Plus, they had scholarships, [unlike] the women.” The university president recognized this inequity and increased the budget to $24,000, still far less than men’s sports. At CSU she recruited two Olympic athletes who set American records.
After being dismissed, Hill filed and won a federal sex-discrimination and First Amendment case that drew widespread attention to collegiate sports inequities and the need for Title IX.
“When I interviewed at SDSU [San Diego State University], the committee was 12 educators. I also had a one-on-one interview with [Athletic Director] Ken Karr. At the interview I asked if he was concerned that I had a lawsuit against CSU. He looked at me and said: ‘That takes spunk.’ I thought to myself ‘Spunk is good.’ CSU’s president was also very supportive. I have always given Ken Karr the credit for my advancement in athletics. Ken was a wonderful mentor. He only had daughters [and I] learned that men with daughters are more receptive to women in a workplace.”
In 1976, Hill became SDSU’s Associate Athletic Director of Women’s Athletics. Two years later, she was appointed Associate Athletic Director for both Men and Women, a first for an NCAA Division 1A school. Four years later, in 1982, Hill was appointed the Director. This was ten years before the next woman was appointed to that position (About Mary Alice Hill; https://topmotivationalspeakers.wordpress.com/about/). In that position, Hill brought new opportunities for women including scholarships and televised women’s sporting events.
POST-ACADEMIA
After SDSU, Hill wasn’t done fighting for equality.
In 1989, Hill set another first for women by becoming the Director of Recreation at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base during which she received the Federal Woman’s Achievement Award, letters of appreciate from President Reagan, Vice President Quail and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and a Unit Commendation from the U.S. Secretary of Defense for founding the “Operation Desert Shield Support Walk.”.
Hill was also executive director of the National Association of Girls and Women in Sports (NAGWS). During this time, Hill was the member of committees, task forces and foundations that furthered female’s rights. “At NAGWS I implemented the HERo Award…a program “designed to promote role models for women in sports.”
Hill also dove into horse racing. In fact, one of her horses, “Pardon Dolly”, won Delmar. The horse still holds the highest payoff in Delmar history. As it turns out, the horse’s name became a kind of good omen. Hill met Dolly Parton by chance multiple times. Once on a plane bound for Hawaii with the SDSU football team, Parton stopped and spoke with the entire team. Later, while flying from an NCAA council meeting in Tennessee, Parton again approached Hill.
“The important thing about this [Tennessee] meeting was I needed to schedule two non-conference football games. The two Athletics Directors wanted to meet her [Parton]. So, I said I need to schedule games with them. They agreed. Several ADs had told the press that I would not be able to schedule the non-conference games. I sure proved them wrong.”
MARCELINE MATTERS
When Hill settled in back in Linn County, specifically in Marceline, she shifted her attention to revitalizing Marceline. She became the executive director of the Marceline Industrial Development Authority (MIDA), and a member of the Marceline Project Charitable Foundation and other local organizations.
Between 1995-2001, during her time as MIDA’s executive director, Hill had a role in publicizing Marceline’s connection to Walt Disney, asking the Missouri State Historical Preservation Office (MoSHPO) if Marceline could be named an historic district (SHPO found several of the properties in Marceline eligible for the National Register), implemented the copyright for Main Street USA, was the event director of the world premiere of THE SPIRIT OF MICKEY at the Uptown Theatre (a property now listed on the National Register of Historic Places) and the event planner for the international celebration of Walt Disney’s 100th birthday party. Furthermore, Hill was instrumental in the completion of the first phase of Main Street USA’s renovation and the Santa Fe Depot’s rehabilitation into the Walt Disney and Railroad Museum, a $35 million project. “I did get several grants for the renovation of downtown Marceline and the Disney Museum [which totaled] 1.5 + million.”
Simply put, Hill’s bravery was the catalyst for the full enforcement of Title IX protection. Without her, women’s and girls’ sports might still be treated as “separate but equal,” receiving paltry amounts of funding compared to boys’/men’s sports. Hill’s dedication to Marceline can’t be understated either. Without her, Marceline wouldn’t look like it does, and Disney’s legacy could have been lost. So, the next time you see her around, thank her for all she’s done for the nation, women, and the city.
Ed is the Founder and President of the veteran-owned Midwest Preservation Group, LLC, a historical preservation company dedicated to assisting rural communities with preserving their history. For more details about the company and historic preservation, please visit the FAQ page at midwestpreservationgroup.com. He is also the acting president of the Marceline Historical Society, a 501c3 nonprofit (marcelinehistoricalsociety.com).
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