CLUB STORE CO-EDS

The Club Store Co-Eds were a pioneering all-Black women’s basketball team formed on the South Side of Chicago in 1930 by entrepreneurial African American nightclub promoter Dick Hudson.

Location:Chicago, Illinois
Manager:Dick Hudson
Established:1930
Type:Barnstorming With financial backing by the Club Store, a Black-run community cooperative shop located at East 47th and Wabash Avenue in Bronzeville, the Co-Eds featured an all-star lineup that included 6-foot 7-inch center Helen “Streamline” Smith and played their home games at the South Side’s renowned Eighth Regiment Armory. Co-Eds center Helen Smith standing next to a teammate in a photograph used by newspapers to promote their barnstorming tours.

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