In the record books, she’s a lady of firsts.
Gail Marquis, St. Albans resident, defied the color barriers in the world of women’s basketball and achieved goals that will embed her name in the history books.
On September 24, Marquis will become the first African-American woman inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. Her illustrious career has spanned from playing for the varsity team in Queens College, to winning the silver medal at the Montreal Games in the 1976 Olympics.
“I’m very proud of this accomplishment and knowledge of my body of work,” Marquis said.
Starting her basketball tenure in 1972 with the Queens College Lady Knights, Marquis excelled at her position and her team went to the nationals on four separate occasions throughout her undergraduate career.
One of Marquis’ biggest accomplishments that she remembers vividly is how her 1975 Queens team had the opportunity to play a game at the Mecca of basketball – Madison Square Garden. That was the first time any women’s collegiate team set foot on the hardwood to play a game at the Garden.
Along with plenty of great memories with the Lady Knights, a stand out moment was her 1972-73 team being inducted into the same NYC Basketball Hall of Fame for finishing second in the national tournament.
“That was a great feeling for me because I just never quit,” said Marquis.
Soon afterwards, Marquis worked her way into the most exciting and memorable event of her life.
Though it did interfere with her collegiate years, Marquis tried out for Team USA in the regional open-tryouts and advanced to the nationals. She impressed the scouts with her strong defensive skills and quick jab-step jump shot.
She was then invited to play for Team USA in the Montreal Games and helped her team strive through adversity and take the silver medal.
“The Olympics are something that I think about every day of my life,” she said. “I’ve always considered myself as a representative and ambassador for my country and the game.”
Right after those remarkable games, Marquis ventured out into international ball and joined a French professional team. In France, she turned into a scoring machine and focused her game much more on offense rather than defense.
She learned how to speak fluent French during her stint overseas and from then on was known by the nickname – Ms. World.
Her next move was back to the United States to play for her home town New York Stars of the Women’s Professional Basketball League. The team won the 1980 championship and soon after folded due to financial problems.
After bouncing around from team to team, she realized that she needed a career change and moved onto color commentary for an array of different venues.
“After the league folded, it left a bad taste in my mouth…there was no legacy,” said Marquis.
Now, she only focuses on her career. Marquis is the vice president of Element Financial Group, and she does everything she can to change the situation of those who desperately need help.
“I just really enjoy helping people because I know so much about finances and money,” she said. “Now, I just look for people that I can help.”
Even though she knows that playing ball ever again is unquestionably out of the picture, Marquis really misses one thing…her jab-step jump shot that had defenders scratching their heads after she drained the bucket.
