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Ruth Riley

Ruth Riley, American basketball player

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Born
August 28, 1979
Age in 2026
47
Zodiac sign
Virgo
Birth year
1979

About Ruth Riley

Ruth Ellen Riley Hunter is a retired American professional basketball player, playing most recently for the Atlanta Dream in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Her Notre Dame team won the NCAA women's championship in 2001, and her Detroit Shock team won the WNBA championship in 2003 and 2006. Riley was the Most Valuable Player in the 2001 and 2003 championship series, becoming the first person to win the MVP awards in both the NCAA and the WNBA championships. She has also played on teams that won the National Women's Basketball League (NWBL) championship, the gold medal at the Olympic Games, and the 2010 EuroCup Championship. In 2019, Riley was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Ruth Riley timeline

  1. Riley was the Most Valuable Player in the 2001 and 2003 championship series, becoming the first person to win the MVP awards in both the NCAA and the WNBA championships.
  2. Her Notre Dame team won the NCAA women's championship in 2001, and her Detroit Shock team won the WNBA championship in 2003 and 2006.
  3. She has also played on teams that won the National Women's Basketball League (NWBL) championship, the gold medal at the Olympic Games, and the 2010 EuroCup Championship.
  4. In 2019, Riley was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

The world when Ruth Riley was born

Ruth Riley was born in 1979. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1979

  • #1 song"My Sharona" – The Knack
  • Top movieKramer vs. Kramer
  • Top TV showLaverne & Shirley
  • Best-selling bookThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports moment"Miracle on Ice" (1980 — actually)
  • Top headlineIran hostage crisis begins
  • Technology milestoneSony Walkman released — portable music goes mainstream
  • Defining fadSony Walkman — portable music revolution
  • Notable inventionSony Walkman
  • World population4.38 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderJimmy Carter
  • Sports championPittsburgh Pirates (World Series)
  • Also wonSeattle SuperSonics (NBA)
  • U.S. population225.1M

1979 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Ruth Riley's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19792026
Gas$0.86$3.45/gal
Average home$62,900$435,000
Average income$19,554$67,500
Minimum wage$2.90$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$2.51$11.95
Postage stamp$0.15$0.73
Population225.1M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, FIBA, Eurobasket. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.