Mary Phyl Dwight was hampered by the lack of opportunities for women in sports when she was in college at Southwest Missouri State, but she still played softball, volleyball, basketball, and ran track and cross-country. After college she attended a recruiting tryout for USA Handball in Ames, Iowa. She eventually played nine years on the USA National Team. Dwight also became involved working with Special Olympics where she was singled out for praise by Special Olympics Founder Eunice Kennedy-Shriver. Dwight later earned her doctoral degree in clinical psychology and became a professor in the psychology department at the University of Missouri in Kansas City.
United States