KALW’s “Bounce” Podcast Live w/ SF’s First Women Pro Hoops Players + Free Pizza

Join KALW’s Bounce podcast on Tuesday, July 15th for a special event featuring the first generation of professional women’s basketball players & former members of the San Francisco Pioneers. Featuring free pizza from our sponsor: Joyride Pizza.

The Golden State Valkyries are the first WNBA team to play in San Francisco, but not the Bay Area’s first women’s professional basketball team. That distinction belongs to the Pioneers, an expansion team from the Women’s Professional Basketball League (WBL) that played between 1979-81.

The women of the Pioneers were the real deal: professional athletes competing at the highest level in arenas across the country. Along the way, they faced stifling skepticism, sexism and racial prejudice. And when the WBL folded in 1981, so did the Pioneers, despite being one of the strongest franchises in the league. Suddenly, the teammates scattered to the winds, never returning together to the city where it all started.

That is, until now. The San Francisco Pioneers are finally reuniting, invited by the Golden State Valkyries to be honored inside Ballhalla. And these women want to share their story. Meet the Pioneers, live in-conversation with reporter Maya Goldberg-Safir, and hear directly from them about the triumphs, adversities and unrealized possibilities of the first generation to pave the way to the creation of the WNBA.

This Month’s Guests

Anita Ortega, Number: #11 Nickname: Thoroughbred 

A women’s basketball trailblazer from Los Angeles, Ortega led UCLA in scoring during the AIAW national championship game, winning the title in 1978. After being selected in the WBL draft’s third round, Ortega outshined earlier picks with over 24 points & 5 assists per game as the Pioneers’ top scorer. Playing nearly every minute of every game, she was selected both to the All-Pro Team & the 1980 WBL All-Star Game. Later, when Ortega was traded to the Minnesota Fillies, she took part in their historic walkout protesting lack of compensation. After the WBL she joined the LAPD & was the first African American woman to be Area Commanding Officer. She also officiated Division I women’s college basketball for 25 years.

Anna Johnson, Number #25 Nickname: AJ 

Born and raised in Oakland, Johnson took her talents to Southern California after high school, where she won an AAU national championship & competed for Long Beach State University. As a walk-on to the Pioneers, Johnson scored 4 points during the team’s first game and is remembered for her toughness at practices, her tireless energy, and the fact that she deserved more playing minutes. After the WBL, Johnson dedicated her career to coaching the next generation of players, including revitalizing the girls basketball program at her alma mater, Oakland Tech. She contributed mightily toward organizing the Pioneers reunion in 2025 by coordinating locally with the Valkyries & is a proud season ticket holder.

Gerry Booker, Numbers: #35 & #51 Nickname: Book

Named a Muhammad Ali All-American in basketball during her time at Benedict College in South Carolina, Booker was determined to play professional women’s basketball, crossing the country from her home in Connecticut to make history competing in the WBL’s first-ever game between the Milwaukee Does and the Chicago Hustle on December 9, 1978. That season, she was named a 1979 All-Star and was the league’s third-leading rebounder. Traded to the Pioneers in 1980, Booker contributed solid defense off the bench. Booker felt called to California since she was a child in the 1960’s, and she’s made San Francisco her home since arriving in the city on January 10, 1980.

Maya Goldberg-Safir makes stories about women’s basketball and splits her time between Chicago and Oakland, where she was born and raised. She spent 12 years at the Third Coast International Audio Festival in Chicago and is the creator of Rough Notes, a newsletter breaking traditional rules of sportswriting and chronicling women’s basketball throughout its evolutions.

This Month’s Hosts:

Erin Lim is Bay Area born-and-raised. She has called San Francisco home for two decades and has worked in various communication roles around The Bay. Erin started her career in local radio, then moved into newsrooms and cable TV productions, and then landed in PR/marketing. During her years in PR (hotel and film), she founded the award-winning culture podcast Bitch Talk and is producing a documentary called The Nomadic Family Project. Both creative projects continue to inspire her. Recently, Erin graduated from KALW’s Audio Academy and is the host of KALW’s BOUNCE, a podcast about the first season of the Golden State Valkyries.

Ben Trefny, BOUNCE executive producer, has been part of the KALW family since 2004. As Executive News Editor and then News Director, he helped our news department win numerous regional and national awards for long- and short-form journalism. He also helped create numerous training programs — for teenagers, incarcerated people, and early-career journalists — and have taught hundreds of audio producers. He served as interim Executive Director for nearly two years.

His work is currently focused on creating original live events, programming, and building partnerships with like-minded organizations. He oversees KALW’s community space at 220 Montgomery Street in downtown San Francisco where he organizes town hall conversations, film screenings, literature readings, concerts, and fundraisers. He also curates the 111 Minna Street stage for Downtown First Thursdays.

About BOUNCE

“BOUNCE: The Valkyries First Season in the Bay” is a 10-episode, sound-rich, biweekly podcast. It follows the nationally award-winning “BOUNCE: The Warriors Last Season in Oakland.” It’s tracing the origin and evolution of Ballhalla as it unfolds in real time. It also includes features contextualizing this historical moment in women’s sports and what it means to people in the Bay Area.Episodes include:- Reviewing the history of women’s team sports in the United States through the sound of its great moments.- Profiling Valkyries Head Coach Natalie Nakase, the first Asian American to lead a team in the WNBA.- Launching the Bay Area’s first bar dedicated to women’s sportsAnd many more.Subscribe to the podcast here.Let’s see what happens.

There is a $10 – $20 sliding scale suggested donation for this event. Nobody will be turned away for lack of funds.

Please become a KALW member today and receive your first drink on us at all 220 Montgomery events.

220 Montgomery St., San Francisco, 2 blocks from BART/MUNI Reception doors open at 5:00️ Program begins at 6:00🆓 The event is free with an RSVP — and you are welcome to donate what you want

Please note:

• The event space is just to the left of the main entrance to the Mills Building at 220 Montgomery Street
• We recommend taking BART/MUNI, exiting at Montgomery, and walking two blocks north
• Ride-shares can drop off and pick up directly in front of the venue
• If you drive, there are several garages within two blocks of the event location; free street parking is available across from the venue at 7:00 pm