Virginia Marlita "Penny" Toler (born March 24, 1966) is an American basketball executive and former player who served most recently as the general manager of the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Toler holds the distinction of scoring the first field-goal and the first free throw in WNBA history.
As of 2023, Toler is one of only two players to have their jersey retired by the Sparks, the other being Lisa Leslie.[1]
College years
Toler began her college career with the San Diego State Aztecs, joining a squad led by Tina Hutchinson.[2] Toler then sat out a year after transferring to Long Beach State, where she became an All-American. During her career Long Beach State made it to the Final Four twice, in 1987 and 1988. Toler was considered one of the best ever collegiate players under future Hall of Fame coach Joan Bonvicini. In 1995 she was inducted into the Long Beach State Athletic Hall of Fame.
Having no viable domestic professional options, Toler began her professional career in Italy, playing two seasons for Montecchio and three for Pescara. She then played two seasons in Greece for Sporting Flash, and one in Israel for Ramat HaSharon.
WNBA
In 1997, she returned to the United States to play in the newly organized WNBA.[4] Toler was allocated to the Los Angeles Sparks during the player initiation round in the 1997 WNBA draft. She is most commonly remembered as the first player to score a basket in the WNBA. She did so against the New York Liberty on June 21, 1997 19:01 hour at the Los Angeles Great Western Forum.[5][6][7] Her shot was a side jumper. Toler also made the first free throw in the WNBA history. In that debut game, Toler recorded 15 points, 4 assists, 1 rebound and 1 steal with the Sparks losing the game 57 - 67.[8]
Toler played 3 seasons with the Sparks, averaging 10 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4 assists in 88 games. From 1997 to 1999, the Sparks only made the playoffs during the 1999 season after finishing with a 20 - 12 record. They matched up against the Sacramento Monarchs in the first round and won the single game elimination, but lost 2 - 1 in the Western Conference Finals by the Houston Comets. In that series versus the Comets, Toler averaged 2.6 points, 1.3 assists in 25.4 minutes a game.
In November 1999 she retired as a player. Her final WNBA game was Game 3 of the previously mentioned Western Conference Finals against the Comets. That game was played on August 30, 1999 and the Sparks would lose 62 - 72 with Toler recording 1 point and 2 rebounds.[9]
Post-Playing Career
She became a general manager for the Los Angeles Sparks and immediately after taking on a management role, she would assemble the Los Angeles Sparks roster that would become the championship team in 2001.
On July 20, 2014, Toler was named as interim head coach of the Sparks following the firing of Carol Ross.[10] She stayed as Head Coach until the end of 2014 when Brian Agler took over on January 5, 2015. She helped coach the Sparks to a playoff appearance in 2014 but they were swept 2- 0 by the Phoenix Mercury in the Semi-Finals.
Toler was fired as vice president and general manager on October 4, 2019, after the Sparks were swept out of the WNBA Semi-Finals during the 2019 WNBA Playoffs.[11] The move also came after the revelation that Toler entered the Sparks' locker room following their Game 2 loss and gave an obscenity-laced speech that included the use of the "N-word".[12]
International career
By the time the WNBA launched, Toler had already spent eight years playing basketball overseas. She has played five seasons in Italy, two seasons in Greece, and a season in Israel. While in Italy, she won a scoring title, two assist titles, and was MVP of the Italian all-star game.
.png)