While there have been many books released on the struggles of Black athletes from previous eras the last few years, there hasn’t been one that has focused on an exclusive set of fabulous Black female athletes from those times until now. “The Tigerbelles” gets its title from the name given to the women’s track and field team for Tennessee State University. This excellent book on the Tigerbelles by Aime Alley Card is a fantastic account of their success at both their competition against other amateur athletes and their medal-winning trips to the 1956 and 1960 Olympics.

Any discussion of the Tigerbelles has to start with their dedicated coach, Ed Temple. Temple not only provided guidance to the women on their performance on the track, but he also was a mentor on showing them how to conduct themselves outside of the school. This was not only about their behavior, but their attitudes, their dress and their temperament. There were some who would rebel against this, and they would be met with consequences but overall, Ed Temple was the driving force behind their success. The book describes what he did and his life extremely well.

As for the athletes themselves, Card writes about them with equal detail and knowledge. While the most famous member of the Tigerbelles would have to be Wilma Rudolph, her story is not the only one that makes for great reading. Others who enjoyed success with the team such as Barbara Jones and Lucinda Williams also have stories that should be shared and they are in this book. The women’s experiences, both good and bad, are shared here as well. While it is well-known about the racial discrimination faced by all Black people at that time, it is always painful to read about them. However, there are also many uplifting stories, including the experience of those who qualified for the 1960 Olympics in Rome. It was good to read about these as well as the hardships the athletes faced.

Speaking of hardships, the team faced those at their school as well. Despite their success and popularity, Temple faced many difficulties in securing funding from the school for the team and for upgrading their facilities. It didn’t help that the press did not take female athletes seriously (even more so than today) and did not give them the same respect and publicity. That didn’t detract their fellow students as Temple would annually hold a Blue and White competition with teammates running and competing against each other and it would attract many spectators on campus.

It isn’t often that a high quality book is written about a little-known athlete or team and while Wilma Rudolph may be known to some, the Tigerbelles have a story that many may not know but now will have stories that should be known by more people.

#TheTigerbelles is a story that I hope more folks will take the time to learn about. This book is as much about sports and the success of the TSU Tigerbelles as it is American and Black history that we all should know. This is an important book for our times. I hope that this book will be read widely. #NetGalley #TSU

Many successful people we see today stand on the shoulders of those who came before them. This is certainly true for American female athletes, especially women of color. They stand on the shoulders of women who broke through barriers, both athletic and cultural. At the foundation of that tower of women are those who were members of the Tennessee State University track and field team in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Tigerbelles. Against all odds, these women became Olympic champions and much more. 

I was familiar with Wilma Rudolph before I read this book but knew very little about the Tigerbelles or their extraordinary coach, Edward Temple. I remember watching athletics (track and field) events at the 1960 Rome Olympics on our grainy black and white television in my native England. We were cheering for British athlete Dorothy Hyman, but were in awe of the amazing accomplishments of 20-year-old Wilma Rudolph, especially when we learned of her struggles to overcome the effects of the polio she contracted as a young child. The Tigerbelles, a non-fiction work, not only tells Wilma’s story but also describes how the Tigerbelles of Tennessee State University became a powerhouse track and field team. For a team to accomplish what they did would be remarkable today, but to do so in the pre-Title IX 1950/60s when female athletes were frequently dismissed and not considered worthy of receiving the funds necessary for program development, this is a story worth telling. As black women, the Tigerbelles not only faced sexism, but they also faced racial discrimination whenever they traveled to off-campus meets. The depth of the author’s research is evident throughout the book. The effort to achieve the level of performance these women needed to compete on the international stage was impressive enough, but Aime Alley Card did a magnificent job of weaving the political climate of the time into the narrative. At the time Wilma Rudolph and her teammates were preparing for the Olympics at TSU, Nashville had become a center of student civil rights activity led by activist legends like John Lewis and Diane Nash, both students in Nashville. The author provides an in-depth perspective of how the coach and the team determined their roles in both the civil rights and women’s rights movements. For some, it was a difficult choice to not show solidarity by participating in the student sit-ins held just a few months before the 1960 Olympics. Knowing their participation could end any chance of making the Olympic team, most team members chose to follow Coach Edward Temple's advice that their opportunity for non-violent demonstration was by successfully competing in the Olympic Games. He wanted his team to win, not just for the sake of winning, but to prove to the world that these women were worthy and to the women themselves that they could achieve their goals with grit, determination, and above all, hard work. The most important thing that Edward Temple wanted for the team members was a good education that would help them break free from the cycle of poverty that they had known from birth. He held them to the highest standards of behavior in all areas both on and off the track. His team were not only champions, they had class.

I appreciate receiving an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This book follows the true story of Tennessee State University's 1960 all-Black women’s track team and their struggles and triumphs. This was so well written, I loved how easily it was to navigate through different scenes. In one moment I was directly with the girls, running on the makeshift track at TSU, the next, I was in each girls unique hometown with them before they got to TSU. The storytelling was so vivid and made it very easy to follow along. I do think the book was a little long and could've had the same effect with being a little shorter, but overall, a great and interesting story told very well.

“Dress like a lady. Act like a lady. Run like a man.” – Coach Temple

I adored this book about the early days of the Tigerbelles, a legendary women’s track and field team well ahead of its time at historically black college Tennessee State in Nashville.

There’s so much to love about this well-researched sports non-fiction book : the story of dedicated coach Ed Temple who cultivated talent and single-handedly advocated for women’s sports; the individual stories of girls who came from backgrounds of extreme poverty and personal challenges, and yet, who, through determination and grit, launched themselves to Olympic competition in 1956 and 1960 and international fame; the early, hard years of women’s collegiate sports exacerbated by the sexist views of many observers and sports reporters and virtually zero funding; and the additional struggles of black women becoming elite track athletes during the harsh Jim Crow era and widespread racism.

Sports stories are always tales of intense discipline, single-mindedness and overcoming adversity, but the tale of the trailblazing women of the Tigerbelles track and field team and the dedicated coach who made their success possible is an important reminder to girls and women today – and parents of girls who join sports teams – of the courageous athletes who made it all possible.

While this book will be especially loved by readers like me who love track & field, it can be equally enjoyed by a much wider audience to better understand tumultuous times and the brave, young women who never gave up, thereby fighting for change that benefits all of us.

Five well-deserved stars for this beautifully researched and written book. I’ll be buying a copy for my track athlete son.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy - all thoughts are my own.

This is the story of The Tigerbelles, an all-Black women's Olympic track team from Tennessee State University. While that may not seem like a big deal, remember that in the south in the 1950s, Jim Crow laws were in effect and these women did not have the privilege of Title IX rules to compete. Their coach, Edward Temple, recruited, protected, and guided these women to get their education and a degree when women were not supposed to do those things. He provided the encouragement, training, and discipline to turn teenagers into world class track and field medal winners. Wilma Rudolph may be the only woman you have heard of, but the rest were just as talented and gifted as athletes. Barbara Jones, Lucinda Williams, and Martha Hudson rounded out the 4 x 100m relay team that won gold in Rome in the 1960 Olympics.
I found the story of the Tigerbelles intriguing and important. The drive, courage, and talent that these women possessed was amazing, especially since the team had a minuscule budget, horrible track and locker room conditions, and few at the university who believed in what the women could accomplish. I loved learning about all the women and their backstories. They had the drive and talent, but Edward Temple pulled it all together. He was a good man and used all of his skills to coach the women as well as provide support for them in a very challenging time. The last chapter, Legacy, shares stories of what the women, and the men who supported them, beyond the medals and I am in awe of all they overcame to be successful. The author did extensive research and wrote a detailed book that shares these stories that need to be told without sounding like a textbook. I highly recommend this book for people who like history, sports, and learning something new.

Thank you to Aime Card and Lyons Press for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Tigerbelles by Aime Alley Card is the story of the Tennessee State University (TSU) track team from formation through their 1960 Olympic dominance in Rome. The story uncovers both the most famous members of the team, like Wilma Rudolph, to some lesser-known members and gives them their due and tells their story. The book is well put together and balances both the personal stories and the political and social aspects. Card keeps your attention through the whole book and I enjoyed it and learned a lot.