And now the first sports anime made for a female audience.
1969's Attack No. 1 was based on the manga of the same name by Chikako Urano, and ran for 2 years. It spawned a number of compilation movies and a live action tv series made last year. It's about the trials of Kozue Ayuhara as she sets out to become the number one volleyball player.
And of course being hugely popular, a massive influence, aimed at a female audience and more than ten years old there is very little information on it in English. In fact the most information online that I could find was on this Radiohead fan's website, due to the fact Johnny Greenwood has a picture of the main character on his guitar.