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
Rugby league in the United States the Boston Braves. The Fairfax Eagles joined the competition in 2007, and the Boston Thirteens joined in 2009. Another founder member, the Bucks County Sharks, suspended operations in 2010, while the Pittsburgh Vipers were added. In 2009, a new professional rugby league competition, the National Rugby League USA (NRLUS), was announced. The new league was to include administrators and talent from the AMNRL, and was intended to begin play in 2010. However, the league had not gotten off the ground. That year officials announced their hopes that play would begin in 2011, citing the late 2000s recession as a factor