Lorraine Eiler was dazzled by the 1953 Harlem Globetrotters’ visit to Adelaide, which prompted her to start playing the game.
It was the Harlem Globetrotters who were largely responsible for Lorraine Eiler playing basketball.
At the time, she was already an outstanding young athlete, but she became a sporting superstar in South Australia and Australia.
In 1953 when the Harlem Globetrotters played in Adelaide, Lorraine and the rest of her seven-a-side basketball team – now called netball – were asked to fill in on the evening’s program.
Eiler’s personality seems to be one that drove change. Dazzled by the “five-a-side” game, Eiler and Eril Homburg (nee Drennan) asked local coach Vern Thomas for a few lessons on this new game.
That group eventually formed the Vikings club.
Lorraine Eiler was a phenomenal athlete:
Lorraine dove the startup of the national championships, and as SA captain, she guided SA to the Australian championship titles in 55 and 56.
She was selected captain of the Australian Opals, the players funding themselves (1,100 Pounds) to compete at the 1957 FIBA World Cup in Brazil. SA’s Vern Thomas was selected as coach.
She was inducted into the Basketball Australia Hall of Fame in 2007 and into the SA Sports Hall of Fame in 2015. She was also inducted as a Legend into Basketball SA’s Hall of Fame in 2021.
A superbly talented athlete known as an inspirational leader on and off the court, smart player, and natural athlete, Lorraine Eiler decided to stay on in the US following the world championships and learn more about the game by taking up a basketball scholarship at an American University.
In 2025, Basketball SA decided to rebrand its highest award for a female basketballer, the Halls Medal, to become the Lorraine Eiler, hugely honouring this remarkable champion.
