Taking a look back: 40 years of SCC athletics

Steve Brooks

Sports Editor

To celebrate SCC’s turning 40; we’ll take a look back at some memorable moments from the school’s first winter quarter in each issue.

Most college students, if they happen to be athletically inclined, tend to stick with what their school offers when they choose a sport. Maybe a little basketball, baseball, volleyball, or even some tennis--SCC offers something for everybody.

For one student 40 years ago however the school sports weren’t enough. Dannie Wanless was looking for a new way to spend her summer in 1965 when she decided to try her hand at Judo. She and some of her friends, who were also women, ap-plied for membership at every Judo school in Seattle, but each time the school turned them away.

Except for one.

Billy Corbett’s School of Self Defense, which no longer exists, was the only Judo school in Seattle that accepted women as members. Dannie began her lessons at the school in September 1965 and completed it shortly before the end of January, when her story was told in the Jan. 28, 1966 edition of the Ebbtide.

Learning Judo

Judo, which is Japanese for “gentle way,” has been referred to as an art form, a way of getting great exercise, and perhaps most importantly, a way to defend yourself.

The author of the Ebbtide article, who was anonymous, described Wanless as a “good-looking five-foot, 98-pound” athletic girl. Despite her size, Wanless became very skilled at Judo, and was able to learn 25 different throwing techniques, which involve using your opponents weight and momentum against him or her and throwing them to the ground. Wanless was able to throw a 180 pound person, someone nearly twice her own body weight.

Getting Recognition

It didn’t take long for Wanless to become recognized for her talent. She was one of five women invited to the Seattle Post Intelligencer’s annual Man-of-the-Year banquet being held in December. Each of the women in attendance were representing a different sport—car and speedboat racing, skydiving, bowling, and, of course, Judo.

From not being admitted into Judo schools because she was a woman, to being invited to a Man-of-the-Year banquet, Dannie Wanless was certainly one of the more intriguing athletes from SCC’s first year.