Rick O'Brien: At long last, Jones gets her wish

In many circles, she was "the woman who stopped the game."

And because people viewed her as the person responsible for ending the annual City Title series, which matched the Catholic League and Public League champions in various boys' sports from 1938 to 1980, Lurline Jones was the target of considerable scorn.

Profanity-laced letters, crank calls, even a threat to paint her Mount Airy home pink.

"For years, I was lambasted by every sports male in the city because of the stance I took," Jones said. "It got pretty bad."

In November 1979, Jones, then the girls' basketball coach at University City, filed a Title IX lawsuit in an effort to give girls, in all sports, equal footing with the boys. If the boys could have City Title games, she wanted the same for girls.

When Archdiocese of Philadelphia honchos decided to cancel the series rather than fight the lawsuit, the last City Title game in the books was Overbrook's 65-56 overtime win against Roman Catholic at the Palestra in March 1980.

"Title IX was in effect at the time," said Jones, who retired as University City's coach and athletic director two years ago. "I thought there was no reason for them to say, 'No, the girls couldn't play.' But the Catholic League decided to take its basketball and go home rather than let everyone play."

At the time, Frank Greco was an assistant boys' varsity coach in the Public League. Like coaches and administrators at other Public League schools, he was not happy that Jones' crusade brought about the demise of a treasured tradition.

"Everybody was upset for a lot of years," said Greco, who had two stints as the head coach of the Central boys' team and recently completed his 11th season as the school's girls' coach. "Everyone pointed the finger at her. But, getting past that, what she did for girls' basketball in Philadelphia was remarkable. She deserves a lot of credit."

Last weekend at Temple, for the first time in 29 years, the Catholic League and Public League boys' basketball champions squared off to determine city bragging rights. Also, in a first, the girls were part of the event that produced boys' and girls' titlists in three classifications.

Freire Charter, with a 66-33 win over Kennedy-Kenrick in the District 12 Class AA final, became the Public League's first girls' city champion.

"I had mixed emotions," Jones said. "Back then, when I brought the suit, the girls just wanted to play. It took 29 years for that to happen."

While often controversial, Jones, who compiled a 647-202 record (.762 winning percentage) in 33 seasons at University City, was a vocal spokesperson for girls' hoops in Philadelphia and beyond.

"She was a great promoter for the sport," said Greco, whose Lancers bowed to Cardinal O'Hara, 48-35, in the District 12 Class AAAA championship. "She traveled with her team, got her players involved with AAU ball. She was responsible for putting Public League girls' basketball on the map."

Jones, 64, guided the Jaguars to 12 Public League championships. The long list of standout players she mentored, on and off the court, includes Yolanda Laney (Class of 1980), Shawnetta Stewart (1996, nicknamed Baby Barkley), and Marcedes Walker (2004).

The closest Jones came to coaching in a city championship game was a nonleague contest vs. Catholic League power Archbishop Carroll in February 1995. University City, ranked No. 1 in the area and led by Stewart, then a junior, bowed to the No. 2-ranked Patriots, 57-51.

These days, Jones, a grandmother of three, devotes much of her time to helping others. Once or twice a week, she oversees a Bible study class for minimum- and community-custody men in the alternative and special detention division of the Philadelphia Prison System.

"It's a sad thing, really," said Jones, who also teaches CPR at local churches. "Sometimes, they just need to talk to someone or get words of encouragement."

Jones, still feisty and passionate about her causes, has not ruled out a return to the sideline. "I might come back and coach somewhere," she said. "It's something that's in the back of my mind."