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43-398: In 1912, 25-year-old teacher John Percy Page had moved from Ontario to Edmonton , Alberta , where he was employed by local high schools to organize commercial classes . Page soon taught commercial classes at the newly established McDougall High School . When Page decided to organize basketball teams for the school , his teaching assistant chose to coach the boys team, while Page coached

86-611: A National Historic Event . Two years later, Parks Canada dedicated a plaque in the team's honour. In 1983, the Canada Basketball Hall of Fame inducted the entire team roster of 38 players. In 1987, the National Film Board released a documentary about the team entitled Shooting Stars . In the late 1980s, the city of Edmonton established Edmonton Grads Park in Westmount , installing a permanent historical display. In 2010,

129-506: A feeder system to train and recruit his new players: promising high school students were invited to join a secondary team called the Gradettes, and the best Gradettes were promoted to the Grads whenever a space opened up. In 1915, the Grads defeated women's basketball teams across Alberta to become provincial champions. Teams were allowed to challenge the title holders to a match at any time during

172-481: A demonstration sport . These Games also included art competitions in five categories: architecture, painting, sculpture, literature, and poetry. However, the IOC no longer considers these to be official medal events, so the medals awarded are not included in today's Olympic medal counts. Fourteen sports venues were used for the 1928 Summer Olympics. The Swim Stadium was demolished in 1929. The Het Kasteel football stadium

215-635: A floor." Some Grads players went on to join other Canadian basketball teams, such as the Comets and the Hedlunds. The Grads continued to stay in touch with each other after disbandment, meeting for reunions every four years. In 1961, the Grads decided to form an official organization to help them stay connected and answer public inquiries about the team. They established the Edmonton Grads Club, beginning to collect and preserve archive material and memorabilia, and

258-667: A local high school tournament. Upon graduation from McDougall High School in mid-1915, the team members decided they wanted to continue playing basketball, establishing what eventually became the Commercial Graduates Basketball Club. Their new basketball team was called the Commercial Graduates (known informally as "the Grads"). Page remained coach for the team. Members were recruited primarily from McDougall High School students and graduates, but also from other business and technical schools. Page also established

301-572: The Dutch national flag , holding a peace leaf in his hand. The poster was made for a German book about the Amsterdam Olympics. The last living competitor of the 1928 Summer Olympics was Carla Marangoni , a member of the silver medal-winning Italian gymnastic team who had been twelve years old during the Olympics. Marangoni died 18 January 2018, at the age of 102 as the oldest living Olympic medalist at

344-667: The Netherlands Olympic Committee was established. The Olympic Games were canceled in 1916 due to World War I . In 1919, the Netherlands Olympic Committee abandoned the proposal of Amsterdam in favor of their support for the nomination of Antwerp as host city for the 1920 Summer Olympics . In 1921, Paris was selected for the 1924 Summer Olympics on the condition that the 1928 Summer Olympics would be organized in Amsterdam. This decision, supported by

387-484: The Order of Sport and inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2017. That same year, Historica Canada released a Heritage Minute clip about the team for International Women's Day. On November 9, 2019, the Grads were featured in a Google Doodle celebrating the team. John Percy Page John Percy Page (May 14, 1887 – March 2, 1973) was a Canadian teacher , basketball coach, provincial politician , and

430-592: The Royal Canadian Air Force took over the Edmonton Arena for wartime use, depriving the Grads of a local space in which to play against international teams. The commencement of World War II disrupted regular basketball competition throughout Europe and beyond, causing the cancellation of tournaments and championships and making it increasingly difficult for sports teams to travel. Additionally, despite Page's continuous efforts to find suitable competition over

473-553: The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tennessee, commemorated the Grads with an honorary plaque. In 2014, Canada Basketball launched its first Edmonton Grads International Classic event, named in honour of the Grads. Taking place every two years, this event has pitted the Canada women's national basketball team against teams from Brazil, China and Turkey. A non-profit organization called

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516-471: The eighth Lieutenant Governor of Alberta . Born in Rochester, New York , the son of Absalom Bell Page and Elizabeth Thomas, he moved with his family in 1890 to Bronte, Ontario . He attended Oakville Junior High School, Hamilton Collegiate Institute, Ontario Normal School , and Queen's University . He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University, and a Bachelor of Commercial Science degree from

559-545: The 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games . Still, it was obliged to give way to war-torn Antwerp in Belgium for the 1920 Games and Pierre de Coubertin 's Paris for the 1924 Games . The only other candidate city for the 1928 Olympics was Los Angeles , which would eventually be selected to host the Olympics four years later. In preparation for the 1932 Summer Olympics , the United States Olympic Committee reviewed

602-661: The American Institute of Business. In 1906, he accepted a teaching position at Rothesay Collegiate in Rothesay, New Brunswick . In 1907, he switched to the St. Thomas Collegiate Institute where he taught until 1912. In 1910 J. Percy Page married Maude Roche, daughter of Gilbert Roche, of St. Thomas, Ontario. They had one daughter: Patricia Hollingsworth. In 1912 Percy took a position in Edmonton, Alberta to introduce commercial training into

645-565: The British Empire, but was not dominions. For other sovereign states (i.e. United States, France, Argentina, Japan, etc) and the international community as a whole (i.e  League of Nations ) the term dominion , used internally in the British Empire, was very ambiguous, meaning "something between a colony and state". It was only years later with the Statute of Westminster 1931 that this ambiguity would be dispelled. Philippines

688-758: The Edmonton Grads Basketball Centre currently operates out of the Saville Centre in Edmonton, where they offer summer basketball programs for girls. In 2015, a mural dedicated to the Grads was unveiled at the Saville Centre, and the board of governors of the Edmonton Grads Basketball Centre announced they would begin awarding an annual Commercial Grads scholarship to members of the University of Alberta Pandas women's basketball team. The Grads were awarded

731-476: The Edmonton high school system. Before retiring from teaching in 1952, he would be a Principal at two Edmonton high schools. While at the McDougall Commercial High School in 1914-15 he was the coach of the senior girls' basketball team. He continued to coach the same girls after graduation on a team that became known as The Edmonton Grads . The team under his tutorship would become one of

774-564: The Grads also took on the best teams in Europe, ultimately defeating challengers in Paris, London, Amsterdam, and Berlin. The Grads swept four consecutive Olympic Games from 1924 to 1936, winning all 24 Olympic matches they played. This achievement was unrecognized on the medal podium, however, as women's basketball did not become an official Olympic sport until the 1976 summer games in Montreal . In 1940,

817-580: The Grads gained new sponsors and financial support in Canada. Page secured the Edmonton Arena as a permanent home venue for the team. Although the Grads were hopeful of returning to Europe for the Women's World Games of 1926, basketball was not included at that year's event, and the Grads remained in North America to compete against Canadian and American teams. Over the next two years, the Grads advocated for

860-635: The Grads played a total of 412 games, with 392 wins and 20 losses. This approach would affect the team's winning percentage only slightly (95.1%). As the most successful women's basketball team of the early 20th century, the Edmonton Grads made news headlines across North America and as far away as Hong Kong and the Philippines. Their success had a strong impact on public attitudes towards female athletes, making it more socially acceptable for women to play sports. The Grads National Basketball Championship in 1932

903-445: The Grads played a total of 522 official games between 1915 and 1940, with 502 wins and 20 losses. This gives the team an overall win-loss percentage of 96.2%. Biographer M. Ann Hall has suggested that this total number of games played (522) may be incorrect, partially because official record-keeping of the Grads' games only began to be taken seriously after their national championship win in 1922. Based on her research, Hall proposes that

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946-491: The Netherlands Olympic Committee, was announced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 2 June 1921. Los Angeles ' bid for the 1928 Summer Olympics was unsuccessful in 1922 and again in 1923. The city was eventually selected as host city for the 1932 Summer Olympics , being the only bidder for that year. During the 1928 Summer Olympics, there were 14 sports, 20 disciplines and 109 events in

989-464: The Olympic Games for the first time. Germany returned after having been banned in 1920 and 1924. The nations that participated in the previous games in Paris 1924 but was absent in Amsterdam 1928 was Brazil and Ecuador . At the time,  Australia , New Zealand ,  Canada , South Africa and Ireland were all dominions of the  British Empire . India and Rhodesia was also part of

1032-500: The costs and revenue of the 1928 Games. The committee reported a total cost of US$ 1.183 million with receipts of US$ 1.165 million, giving a negligible loss of US$ 18,000, which was a considerable improvement over the 1924 Games. The United States won the most gold and medals overall. Dutch nobleman Frederik van Tuyll van Serooskerken first proposed Amsterdam as the host city for the Summer Olympic Games in 1912, even before

1075-507: The federation invited the Grads to travel to Amsterdam, Netherlands , to defend their world title. After winning the Canadian women's championship of 1928, the Grads arrived in Europe and played nine matches. They won every match, beating most teams by 60 or 70 points, and the Grads finished their tour by defeating the French champions by 46–14. In addition to dominating their sport in North America,

1118-422: The first female Olympic track and field champion. Reports that the 800 meter run ended with several of the competitors being completely exhausted were widely (and erroneously) circulated. As a result, the IOC decided that women were too frail for long-distance running, and women's Olympic running events were limited to 200 meters until the 1960s. Tennis disappeared from the program until it reappeared in 1968 as

1161-645: The first international Underwood Trophy . The Edmonton Grads faced off against the Cleveland Favorite-Knits and defeated them with a two-game score of 53–33, becoming the inaugural Underwood Trophy winners. The Grads retained their amateur status to make sure they would be eligible for the Olympics if basketball was made an official Olympic sport. In 1924, the Grads were invited to play at the summer Olympic games in Paris . They won every game, defeating women's teams from Paris, Roubaix, Strasbourg and Lille with an average score of 60–10. After their final match,

1204-463: The girls. Despite having only a basic knowledge of basketball, Page improved his understanding of the sport through study. He held practices twice-weekly. The high school had no gymnasium, so students practiced basketball on an outdoor court throughout the year, even during frigid winter weather . Beginning their first year of competitive play in 1914, the McDougall High School girls team won

1247-465: The group continued to hold official reunions until 1987. On July 23, 2018, the last surviving member of the Grads, Kay MacBeth, died at the age of 96. Page encouraged his players to "play basketball, think basketball, and dream basketball." He put firm emphasis on the moral behavior of his team, insisting that the Grads strive for a clean game at all times. During road trips, Page enforced a curfew, and players were discouraged from drinking or smoking. He

1290-570: The inclusion of basketball — both men's and women's — as a sport at the 1928 Summer Olympics . Despite support from the Canadian Olympic Committee , this request was denied by the International Olympic Committee , and basketball did not receive a place on the program. However, the Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale had organized a European women's basketball tour in cooperation with the Olympics, and

1333-458: The most successful teams of all time in sport, winning 502 of 522 games, for a winning percentage of .961, and winning all 27 Olympic matches they played in the Olympics in 1924 , 1928 , 1932 and 1936 . However, women's basketball was not an official Olympic sport until 1976. In 1955, he was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame as a basketball builder. In the 1940 Alberta election , he

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1376-536: The team traveled through Europe on holiday. Page and two of his players — Winnie Martin and Daisy Johnson — returned to Paris for the third congress of the Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale (International Women's Sports Federation). The federation formally admitted Canada as a member and declared the Grads world basketball champions, permitting the team to hold the title until the next world games. Returning home as world champions,

1419-451: The tournament. In parentheses is the number of events per discipline. Women's athletics and team gymnastics debuted at these Olympics, in spite of criticism. Five women's athletics events were added: 100 meters, 800 meters, high jump, discus, and 400 meter hurdles. In protest of the limited number of events, British women athletes, boycotted the Games. Halina Konopacka of Poland became

1462-549: The trophy. In November of that year, the Grads had a rematch and successfully regained their title as provincial champions. The University of Alberta challenged the Grads again in April 1920 and lost the match, but immediately demanded another game, complaining that the Grads had improperly allowed a younger high-school-aged player on their team. After another game, the Grads lost the title to their rivals once more. In 1923, Canadian and American women's basketball champion teams competed for

1505-443: The years, no team had ever proven themselves consistently good enough to be a clear rival for the Grads. The Grads' dominance in basketball no longer attracted the same attention it had before, and regular game attendance had been shrinking. In May 1940, the Grads won their last Canadian championship before disbanding. Dr. James Naismith , the inventor of basketball, called the Grads the "finest basketball team that ever stepped out on

1548-472: The year—with a three-month wait between rematches, if defeated—and the Grads successfully held on to their trophy for the next several years. In 1917, with a growing reputation for beating all challengers, the Grads retained their provincial champion status without needing to defend it once. On April 27, 1919, the University of Alberta Varsity team challenged the Grads, winning the match by two points and taking

1591-535: Was an unincorporated territory and commonwealth of the United States . These are the top ten nations that won medals at the 1928 Games. The official poster for the Games displaying a running man in a white shirt was designed by Jos Rovers however the IOC never succeeded in obtaining the copyright of the image. The IOC used a different poster, with the German text Olympische Spiele , and an athlete partly covered in

1634-662: Was appointed House Leader for the Progressive Conservatives. He was re-elected in 1955 . He lost re-election in 1959 . From 1957 to 1959, he was also a trustee of the Edmonton Public School Board. In 1959, he was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Alberta and served until 1966. In 1961, he was made a Knight of Grace of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem . In 1961, he

1677-662: Was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Alberta . The J. Percy Page School in Edmonton is named in his honour. 1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( Dutch : Olympische Zomerspelen 1928 ), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad ( Dutch : Spelen van de IXe Olympiade ), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam , Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for

1720-475: Was described by his players as "a nice man and a wonderful gentleman". After the team disbanded in 1940, Page was subsequently elected to the Alberta legislature , where he served as a politician until 1959. In late 1959, at the age of 72, Page became lieutenant-governor of Alberta . He held the position until 1966. Page died in 1973, due to complications of pneumonia. Official records have traditionally stated that

1763-662: Was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the Edmonton electoral district as a member of the Independent Citizen's Association , an anti-Social-Credit alliance of Conservatives, Liberals and others, of which he was a leading member. He was re-elected in 1944 . From 1945 to 1948, he was the Leader of the Opposition . He was defeated in 1948 , but was elected in 1952 as a Progressive Conservative . In 1952, he

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1806-574: Was essential to the Edmonton Rustlers women's hockey team, helping them gain support to travel east and play the Preston Rivulettes for the national hockey title. When the Canadian Press polled sportscasters and sports editors across the country in 1950, the Grads were voted Canada's greatest basketball team of the first half of the 20th century. In 1976 the Grads' success was designated

1849-480: Was renovated in 1998–99. The Monnikenhuize stadium was demolished in 1950. The Schermzaal sports hall has also been demolished. The Olympic Stadium was renovated between 1996 and 2000, and is still in use. The Old Stadion was demolished in 1929 and replaced with housing in the Amsterdam area. A total of 46 nations were represented at the Amsterdam Games. Malta , Panama , and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe ) competed at

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