Take your best shot for the September cartoon caption contest

U.S. Stamp Notes by John M. Hotchner

Women’s basketball has been much in the news these days as Caitlin Clark becomes a star in the WNBA (the Women’s National Basketball Association) after an incredible college career at the University of Iowa. The fact that she was not selected for the U.S. Olympic team was also front-page news.

On May 27, 2000, the Postal Service issued a 33¢ stamp (Scott 3399) showing young women playing basketball as part of the Youth Team Sports set of four (3399-3402). The Basketball stamp will be the cartoon caption contest stamp for September.

The models for this design were in a photograph by William Sallaz, a veteran sports photographer. According to the write-up about this stamp in the 2000 Linn’s Stamp Yearbook by George Amick:

“The shooter, the only player whose face can be seen, was Jenny Roulier of Cherry Creek High School in Colorado. … The defending player is Ann Mattock of Horizon High School.” Other contemporaneous press reports spell Ann’s surname as Maddock.

Derry Noyes, the designer and art director for the Youth Team Sports stamps, turned the photo into the stamp design. Contrary to previous USPS practice, she did not try to alter Roulier’s face to make her unrecognizable on the stamp. Previous efforts to alter faces from photos for stamp designs were termed “unsatisfactory” by the Postal Service.

Roulier (now Jenny Huth) went on to play college basketball at the University of Colorado, and in 2018 was named as head coach for women’s basketball at the University of Northern Colorado, after serving as an assistant coach at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) for seven seasons. Before that, she played professional basketball in Spain and the United States.

For the cartoon caption contest, take aim at the hoop and tell me what you think Roulier might be saying or thinking about women’s basketball today, about how the stamp impacts stamp collecting, or on any other subject that inspires you.

There will be two prizes given to the winners: one for the best philatelic line and one for the best nonphilatelic line.

Put your entry (or entries) on a postcard if possible and send it to me, John Hotchner, Cartoon Contest, Box 1125, Falls Church, VA 22041-0125; or email it to jmhstamp@verizon.net. If you send an email, it is essential that you include your postal mailing address.

For each winner, the prize will be a 13-week subscription to Linn’s (a new subscription or an extension). Entries must reach me no later than Sept. 27.

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