Hockey / Hall names its first women honorees

TORONTO - The Hockey Hall of Fame has its first female members, Cammi Granato and Angela James. In an announcement made yesterday, Granato and James were revealed as inductees along with former NHL All-Star Dino Ciccarelli. All three will join the Hall of Fame in the players category.

	Cammi Granato.
	Photo by: AP

The induction ceremony will be held in November.

While women had always been eligible for induction, the Hall made it easier for them to be voted in when it established a women's subcategory this year.

Catherine Michelle Granato, 39, was the captain of the USA team that won gold at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan, and helped the team take silver at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. An NHL rinkside reporter for NBC, Granato also took eight silver medals and the 2005 gold in the Women's World Championships.

Angela James was a member of the Canadian national team, scoring 34 points in 20 games during four world championships between 1990 and 1997. Canada won the gold medal in all four tournaments.

Considered one of the first female hockey stars, James played forward in the Central Ontario Women's Hockey League, now known as the National Women's Hockey League.