Timeline of women's sports in the United States the ban on the signing of women to contracts, a ban that had existed since 1952. 1992 - Manon Rhéaume, from Canada, became the first woman to play in a National Hockey League game, which also made her the first woman to play in any of the major professional North American sports leagues; she played for the Tampa Bay Lightning against the St. Louis Blues, and stopped seven of nine shots. 1993 - Sherry Davies became the first woman public address announcer in major league baseball, working for the San Francisco Giants. 1993 - USA Boxing officially lifted its ban
Line of succession to the Japanese throne debate about amending the Imperial House Law to allow female descendants of an emperor and their descendants to succeed to the throne. In January 2005, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi appointed a special panel of judges, university professors, and civil servants to study changes to the Imperial House Law and to make recommendations to the government. On January 24, 2005, the Japanese government announced that it would consider allowing the Crown Prince and Crown Princess to adopt a male child, in order to avoid a possible succession disputes. Adoption from other male-line branches of the Imperial Line is an age-old imperial