TUCSON, Ariz. — Rosemary Gala Moorhead, a longtime Peninsula College instructor and already a member of the Peninsula College Athletic Hall of Fame, was inducted into the Salpointe Catholic School Sports Hall of Fame in Tucson, Ariz.
Moorhead was a leader in girls’ and women’s sports long before the passage of Title IX. She was a teacher at Peninsula College from 1964 to 1973. She taught 14 different physical education subjects, health education and started their first varsity sports competitions. She organized volleyball and basketball workshops for the local high schools and continued to referee volleyball for eight high schools in the area.
She also led Peninsula’s outdoor recreation programs as the first woman instructor for backpacking, kayaking and cross-country skiing. In 2016, she was inducted into the Peninsula College Athletic Hall of Fame.
Moorhead graduated from Salpointe, where she earned letters in volleyball, basketball and softball, in 1957. In her senior year, she was named the outstanding sportswoman for the school, and in 1957, the girls’ volleyball team won the Arizona high school volleyball tournament.
At the University of Arizona, she was on the varsity volleyball, basketball and softball teams. She earned honors in biology and physical education and graduated cum laude. Rosemary received the University of Arizona outstanding sportswoman award in 1961.
In 1961, she joined the faculty of Wakefield Junior High School in Tucson as a physical education and health teacher. She coached volleyball and basketball for three years and refereed sports for junior high schools. She was a co-organizer of the first girls’ track and field meet for junior highs in Tucson.
In 1964, she received her master’s degree from the University of Washington and accepted a position at Peninsula College.
In 1973 she left college teaching to raise her two boys with her husband, Bruce Moorhead, who was the Olympic National Park’s wildlife biologist.
