Playing basketball isn't ladylike. That's what Jewell Chapman's high school headmaster told her in 1961 when he was against the girls' basketball program. "We were very discouraged, " said Chapman, a forward for her high school team of Des Moines. Nearly 50 years later, Chapman is back on the playground. She's 62 and plays for "Hot Pink Grannies", joining about 10 other women on a team whose uniforms are black trousers and hot pink socks. They play in the Iowa Granny Basketball League. It's one of dozens of basketball leagues for women over 50 that have arisen across the country. For some, it's a chance to exercise and meet people; for others, _  "You see more and more elderly women's teams taking part in state and national competitions," said Michael Rogers, a professor in sports studies at Wichita State University. "In the future it will be something common to have leagues like this." Yearly surveys by the National Sporting Goods Association show the number of women aged 55 and older who play basketball at least 50 times a year has grown from 16,000 in 1995 to nearly 131,000 ten years later. The women on the Hot Pink Grannies are good - natured but competitive when game time comes. "I think I'm tough" says Colleen Pulliam, 69, showing off her strong arms at her challengers in a game against "Strutters", known for their bright yellow socks. Granny Basketball Leagues and similar groups spread quickly through much of the country, including California, Louisiana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. Who is probably a player of "Hot Oink Grannies"?
Des Moines. Colleen Pulliam. Michael Rogers. Strutters.