Background
Gisolo, Margaret was born on October 21, 1914 in Blanford, Indiana, United States. Daughter of Nikolai and Matilde (Bellessa) Gisolo.
Gisolo, Margaret was born on October 21, 1914 in Blanford, Indiana, United States. Daughter of Nikolai and Matilde (Bellessa) Gisolo.
Bachelor of Science, Indiana State College, 1935. Master of Arts, New York University, 1942. Attended, University California-Berkeley, 1938.
Attended, Pennsylvania State University, 1947. Doctorate (honorary), Arizona State University, 1994. Doctorate (honorary), Indiana State University, 1996.
At the time, she was "featured in newspapers across the country". Later, she played a significant role in the development of Arizona State University"s School of Dance into one of the best in the United States of America.
She was taught to play baseball by an older brother, who played minor league baseball at a semi-professional level In 1928 Gisolo played for the Blanford Cubs from Blanford, Indiana in the American Legion junior baseball program, a scheme for children aged 14 to 16.
However, the administrators decided that in view of the role women had played in wartime and in the American Legion, there was no reason why she could not continue.
The following year, the American Legion banned girls from baseball, citing the expense of separate facilities. After her school education in Jacksonville Elementary School in Blanford, and Clinton High School in Clinton, Indiana, from which she graduated in 1931, she attended college, gaining her bachelor"s degree from Indiana State University in 1935 and a Master of Arts from New York University in 1942.
Gisolo also played baseball on barnstorming teams, with Maud Nelson among others During World World War II, she served as an officer in the United States. Navy Walking Attack Vehicle Enhanced, becoming a lieutenant commander.
After the war, she taught dance at Indiana University of Pennsylvania from 1947 to 1952.
She joined the faculty at Arizona State University in 1954, co-founding a School of Dance based on the modern dance component of the physical education department, which became "one of the top university dance programs in the country" with her as chairman There her students including baseball player Reggie Jackson. She is also cited by dancer Bill Evans as his "dance mother".
After her retirement from Arizona State, she played seniors tennis, and was nationally ranked until retiring aged 86: at her retirement she was ranked first in doubles and second in singles for her age group.
She died in Tempe, Arizona on October 20, 2009, shortly before her 95th birthday. Ladd, T. Sexual Discrimination in Youth Sport: The Case of Margaret Gisolo.
In, Howell, R. (ed), Her Story in Sport: An Historical Anthology of Women in Sports. West Point, New York: Leisure Press, c1982. pp 579–598
Combs, Brenda M. Margaret Gisolo, October 21, 1914-October 20, 2009: a celebration of life.
Arizona: Lavender Sun Productions, 2009 (Digital Video Disc).
Founding member, donor Friends of Arizona State University Dance, Tempe, since 1978.
