Penny Ann Early becomes the first woman to play in a major professional men's basketball league, for the Kentucky Colonels in an ABA game against the Los Angeles Stars.

Penny Ann Early was an American athlete who achieved two notable firsts in her lifetime as she was the first female jockey to be licensed to ride parimutuel horse races and was the first woman ever to play in a professional men's basketball league in the United States, both during the 1960s.

The Kentucky Colonels were an American professional basketball team based in Louisville, Kentucky. They competed in the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1967 to 1976. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky Colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of any franchise in the league's history. However, the team did not join the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the 1976 ABA–NBA merger. The downtown Louisville Convention Center was the Colonels' venue for their first three seasons before moving to Freedom Hall for the remaining seasons, beginning with the 1970–71 schedule.

The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association throughout its existence. The second of two leagues established in the 1960s after the American Basketball League, the ABA was the more successful rival to the NBA.

The Anaheim Amigos were a charter member American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in Southern California. They were the first professional sports team to identify with the city of Anaheim, California. After their first season in Anaheim, the team moved to Los Angeles to become the Los Angeles Stars. In 1970, it moved to Salt Lake City and became the Utah Stars.