SPORTS HALL of FAME ATHLETE
Margaret "Peggy" Payne Phelps '68

Here comes the classic story of how someone was told they couldn't do something, based on unfair parameters, and found a way to still do what she wanted and on her own terms.

Peggy Payne excelled in any sport she participated in, and having outstanding athletic brothers - one younger, one older - and a long family lineage of athletic and acrobatic men and women who set the tone. But of course, the stigma of girls being restricted to intramural and oneday competition called the "Sportsday" meant no real recognition and certainly no statistical facts. Her gender was the reason she couldn't really compete.

In what limited information there is, we know that as a Sidney High sophomore, Peg came in second in the shot put to help the girls track team to a 2nd in the league Sportsday. As a junior, the basketball league Sportsday was held in Walton and Peg was named an honor player. In field hockey Sidney tied for first in their Sportsday. Peg was an integral part of that team as its goalie. The reason? "No one else wanted to play that position so I figured that was the best way to stay on the field!" she admits. Smart move!

As a senior Peg participated in many sports and was also the manager for the boys basketball team. She was also part of the then-Warriorettes Athletic Association (WAA) for 2 years, winning the WAA trophy that year as the Most Outstanding Female Athlete. Upon her 1968 graduation, Peg's "Sportsday" era was finally about to change.

It was on to Mohawk Valley Community College where Peggy participated in field hockey, basketball, volleyball and softball and excelled in them all. She set the record for most goals scored in a field hockey game (five) that lasted a long time, not bad for a former "goalie". Again, stats are extremely limited, but in basketball, there were many points scored because of the many shots taken, and we'll leave it at that!.

Upon Peg's transfer to SUNY-Brockport in 1970, she encountered another bit of discrimination. Attempting to make the basketball team, Peg was told that because she wasn't at least 5' 5" tall, she could not be on the team. Nonetheless, she earned her BS in physical education in 1972 and eight months later accepted a physical education job at Grand Island High School where she coached varsity and JV volleyball, varsity field hockey, varsity basketball, track & field and softball. Her volleyball teams won the sectional championships 2 years in a row (undefeated in 1974-75, 9-1 record the next year!). Her first field hockey team earned the right to represent Division II of the Erie County Girls' Athletic Association and went on to tie for the win in 1974. Her softball team came in 2nd place in their division.

Peg left Grand Island in June of 1976 and returned home for personal reasons. She continued coaching basketball, volleyball, swimming and field hockey during summers at Golden Valley Sports Camp while earning her Masters at the University of New Mexico by 1977. A series of local coaching jobs followed, including Harpursville varsity field hockey, Sidney JV basketball & junior high volleyball, and Oneonta JV basketball.

No longer told she couldn't, Peggy went about playing recreation sports such as softball (pitcher) for Payne's Tree Service, soccer for Unadilla's entry into the Oneonta Women's Rec League, and eventually, thanks to meeting the man she would marry, distance running.

Yes, Peg and Fran Phelps have run together in the New York City Marathon twice and Utica Boilermaker 15 times. Or as she calls them, "a long stroll in the park".

As her nieces started to become youth softball players, Peggy stepped back to the role of coach in the Sidney Lassie League, pitching batting practice and always encouraging all the girls on her teams. Not everyone would go on to play softball for the school team, but she was known for treating all the girls the same, which made a difference.

Perhaps no one in the Sidney Alumni Sport Hall of Fame has been as diverse as Peggy and no one else has overcome those archaic barriers, either. Bravo Peg!