May Belle Long: A Pioneer in Athletics and Education

May Belle Long (also known as Maybelle Long) was a trailblazing educator, athlete, and coach who shaped the course of girls’ athletics in El Paso, Texas. A proud graduate of El Paso High School in 1919, she would return to her alma mater to leave a legacy in both education and sports.



After high school, Long pursued higher education at the University of California, Berkeley, and later earned a master’s degree in physical education from Columbia University. Her academic credentials, combined with her passion for sport and teaching, made her one of the most influential physical educators of her era in Texas.

At El Paso High School, she led the Girls’ Physical Education Department, where she developed robust athletic programs at a time when few opportunities existed for female athletes. She founded the school’s girls’ hockey team, sponsored the Girls Tumbler’s Club, and taught dance, acrobatics, and tennis. Her efforts helped normalize athletic competition and physical training for young women, decades before Title IX.

As a coach, Long’s most remarkable legacy was in tennis. She established and led the girls’ tennis program, coaching her students to an impressive eight state championships. During World War II, she also stepped in to coach the boys’ tennis team, leading them to similar success — a rare achievement for a woman in that era.

In her own right, Long was a champion tennis player. She won three El Paso city singles titles and, alongside her longtime doubles partner Chella Phillips, dominated women’s doubles competition in the city from 1930 to 1941. Together, they captured three New Mexico State Doubles Championships.

Beyond coaching and competition, Long was a certified basketball referee, having trained at Wesley College in 1929, and also attended advanced training at the Northwest Hockey Camp in Illinois. She further contributed to the field of physical education by co-authoring the textbook Fundamentals of Physical Education, used to train future educators.

May Belle Long’s influence extended beyond her students — she helped define the early framework for girls’ athletics in West Texas and inspired generations of women to pursue sport with pride, skill, and confidence. She remains a key figure in the history of El Paso High School and a pioneer in the broader story of women in American sports.

She passed away in May 1987.