Margaret Gisolo can be considered a pioneer for women's sports everywhere.
In 1927, prior to coming to Indiana State, Gisolo became one of the first women to play on an all-male baseball team. The 13-year-old Gisolo signed up to play for the Blanford Cubs, a local American Legion team and helped lead them to a state championship.
The season was not without controversy. One of the teams in the state tournament protested her participation after she drove in the winning run against them. That led to a meeting with national representatives which determined she could play. Gisolo later toured with a traveling team throughout the Midwest.
She worked on her degree from ISU in the off-season and graduated in 1935. In 1936 Gisolo won the prestigious Maybelle Steeg Lammers Award in women's athletics.
Gisolo served as supervisor of physical education for the Paris, Illinois, School System and joined the U. S. Navy's WAVES, where she finished as a lieutenant commander. In 1954 Gisolo was hired as an instructor of tennis and dance in women's physical education at Arizona State University.
She retired in 1980, and in 1982 she was honored as one of Indiana State's distinguished graduates. Cisolo has an honorary doctorate degree in humane letters from Indiana State. She is currently one of the top senior tennis players in the United States.
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First Female in Indiana to play American Legion Baseball (1928)
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Maybelle Steeg Lammers Award (1935)
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Two-time Gold Medalist, Tennis Senior Olympics (1989, 1991)
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Chairperson Emeriti, Department of Dance, Arizona State University
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Distinguished Alumni Award (1982)
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Inducted into Hall of Fame February 6, 1998
