Boston city leaders gathered Saturday afternoon at the Walker Playground in Mattapan, to dedicate the basketball courts there in honor of late Medina Dixon.
Mayor Michelle Wu and Boston Parks Commissioner Ryan Woods were joined by members of Dixon's family, as well as local coaches and players to dedicate what became the first ever basketball courts in the City of Boston park system to be named after a woman.
"This is a tribute to as much Medina Dixon as it is to the family and the legacy that they continue to represent," Mayor Michelle Wu said. "We’re very grateful to the Parks Department and so many for making sure that her legacy will always and forever be here as a platform for other young people to build their dreams on top of as well."
Dixon grew up in Mattapan, and by the time she transferred to Cambridge Rindge & Latin from West Roxbury High School, she was among the top female high school players in the country. She started off in college at South Carolina in 1981 before heading to Old Dominion. There, she was an NCAA champion and brought gold back at the FIBA World Championship, and bronze at both the 1991 Pan American Games in Cuba and the 1992 summer Olympics in Barcelona.
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"Medina Dixon was the best female basketball player to ever come out of New England," community activist and successful basketball coach Alfreda Harris said. "It was an honor for me to have coached her and been a part of her life."
She would go on to play professionally for 10 years in countries around the world like Italy and Japan. Dixon died last year at age 59 from pancreatic cancer.
