Her Zone Magazine January 2024

January 2024

HER zone PREMIER WOMEN'S FOOTBALL MAGAZINE

Why Not Me? Why is it so hard for women to be recognized as a football player in these times? Read more inside...

History 101 The history of women's football starting in 1939

USPWFL's Commissioner Pam McQueer tells us about her road to success with Douglas Pads

Her Zone Magazine

January 2024

CONTENTS FEATURES 4

Pushing the Boundaries of Women’s Football

Bringing awareness and raising the statistics in women’s football

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History of Women’s Football

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Commissioner Pamela McQueer

A timeline of women’s football throughout history

USPWFL’s Commissioner and her many accomplishments

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Why Not Me?

Women’s football is gaining ground quickly, but not in every aspect

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Cover Image: The Tennessee Enforcers on National Tryout Day for the USPWFL.

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Photo courtesy of Michelle Douglas, owner of the Tennessee Enforcers.

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Attention & Recognition

Pushing the Boundaries of Women’s Football I

n recent years, Women’s tackle football has gained incredible attention and recognition, battling against a typically male dominated sports atmosphere. Women to this day continue to push boundaries, bring awareness, and raise statistics that they can do what men do and quite possibly better. Women’s football has seen so much growth in popularity from not only audience, but participation. New leagues have been formed, such as the Women’s National Football Conference (WNFC), United States Premier Women’s Football League (USPWFL), Women’s Football Association (WFA), and the X League. These leagues have helped elevate the game, providing opportunities for all female athletes, no matter the previous sport or experience level to pursue a dream they never thought possible, or was always told no due to being male dominated. Women are now taking steps to beat societal norms and breaking down barriers. Their determination and skill have and continues to prove football is not just a man’s sport. It’s important that it has empowered women on and off the field. They experience a sisterhood, a bond, discipline, teamwork, and mental/physical exertion putting every bit of strength into a developed or forever loved passion. Female football players are consistently becoming role models and inspiring young girls to pursue athletic careers and challenging the notion that certain sports are reserved for specific genders.

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Author: Robyn “RJ” Bray-Henry

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Women’s Football History

History of Women’s Football

W

e are going to take a walk through female football with one of the most unforgotten times in history.

Women’s football has gained popularity over the years, as more women are now participating.

Did you know women’s football dates back to the 1920s? That’s right! The first game that was recorded, happened on November 24, 1926, in Philadelphia. The game was between the Frankford Yellow Jackets and the Atlantic City Bloomer Girls. The score of the game was 39-0 with the Bloomer Girls taking the W. Women’s football began to grow popular through the 1930s and 1940s. The very first women’s professional football league was formed in 1931, the Women’s Professional Football League (WPFL).

This league continued up to 1933.

National attention was gained in 1943 when a game was played at halftime during the NFL game between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. Oddly enough, the game consisted of members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

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Courtesy of Smithsonian Magazine

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Women’s Football History The modern reference of women’s football dates back to 1965, in Cleveland, Ohio. Sid Friedman, a talent agent, started a semi-pro tackle football league and coined it as the Women’s National Football League (WPFL). From the beginning, having only 2 teams, one in Cleveland and one in Akron, to Bowling Green, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Dayton, Pittsburgh and Toledo.

Moving into the 1973s, the Orlando Panthers made history when the first woman to play for a men’s semi-pro team laced up and played for the Panthers, Patricia Barzi Palinkas. This was also about the same time as the WPFL disappeared, which in turn, prompted the formation of a new league, the National Women’s Football League (NWFL). This league included the Dallas Bluebonnets, Fort Worth Shamrocks, Columbus Pacesetters, Toledo Troopers, Los Angeles Dandelions, California Mustangs, and the Detroit Demons.

In 1976, the NWFL split into three divisions: Eastern, Southern, and Western. The Eastern Divisions held the Columbus Pacesetters, the Detroit Demons, the Philadelphia Queen Bees, the Middletown Mustangs, and the Toledo Troopers. The Southern Division held the Oklahoma City Dolls, the Houston Hurricanes, the Fort Worth Shamrocks, the San Antonio Flames, and the Tulsa Babes. Lastly, the Western Division held the Los Angeles Dandelions, California Mustangs, San Diego Lobos, and Pasadena Roses.

All this led to leagues forming across the globe. In 1986, the American Football Verband Deutschland (American Football Association of Germany (AFVD)) was created. In 1987, the Australian Football league was formed.

Fast forward to 1999. Terry Sullivan and Carter Turner announced the Women’s Professional Football League (WPFL). They were marketing geniuses, leading to television and radio coverage, corporate sponsorship, and a hard packed set of talented players.

Women’s football, today, is played at high school, college, and professional levels. There are several leagues that exist today. Some of them include the United States Premier Women’s Football League (USPWFL), Women’s National Football Conference (WNFC), X League, Women’s Football Alliance (WFA), Women’s Tackle Football League (WTFL), and there are several more around the world including Great Britain, Germany, Canada, etc.

The leagues today are either 11 on 11 or 8 on 8. Women’s football faces a lot challenges. There isn’t much support for this great sport. Most of the women have to self-fund their own equipment and travel expenses. This is on top of team and/or league fees. There is very little media coverage and the players do not get paid to play. All of this makes it extremely hard for these teams to attract sponsors and fans.

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Commissioner Pam McQueer

M

rs. Pamela McQueer, along with her husband of 43 years, Charlie, started Michigan’s first women’s professional football team in 2000 with the National Women’s Football Association (NWFA). The team would be named the Southwest Michigan Jaguars.

While owner of the Jaguars, she saw the need for a woman’s shoulder pad design. Pam invented the first women’s football pad known as Zena, a Douglas Sports & Pads product, along with two other patented products to protect breast tissue from blunt trauma.

Women’s Football League (USPWFL), with her husband Charlie. As commissioners, they are now busy with this new league of 12 teams across the country.

She will be working and volunteering with NFL Hall of Famer, Fred Biletnikoff and his wife Angela, at Tracey’s Place of Hope.

In 2005, Pam left the NWFA to accept a position as a project manager to oversee the production of the Zena Douglas shoulder pads.

Fast forward to 2023…Pamela McQueer becomes Mrs. Michigan United States. Along with this prestigious title, Mrs. McQueer also serves as the Commissioner for the United States Premier

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Why Not Me?

Why Not Me? T

here is a huge deletion from the American sports recognition: for nearly a century, women have played football. Actually, women have been fighting their hearts out to play football and be recognized, but it’s been prevented in every regard. For years, it’s been seen as a nonsensical gimmick. Even today, a woman’s right to play football is still not protected by Title IX, which allows schools to refuse a female to play.

Since the 30s, women have played, but they don’t get the luxury as men do in the sport. But not until very recently that former players such as Katie Sowers, Lori Locust, and Jennifer King have made coaching history with the NFL. These women have strong roots in playing women’s tackle football.

More and more recognition is coming on the mainstream channels with campaigns such as Team Milk’s “Football is Football” who featured Jo Overstreet, Adrienne Smith, Jona Xiao and Lois Cook. The ever so young Sam Gordon, who at the time was 19 and formed the Utah Girls Tackle Football League, partnered with UnderArmor to allow hundreds of Utah girls to play. Soon, super sportscaster, Erin Andrews, may see her WEAR brand spread throughout the female football fields.

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Why Not Me? The origin of football is essential in understanding why the sport has excluded women over the last century.

Back then, women lived in a time when most of them had no financial or social independence. So, you can only imagine how difficult it was to be accessible to play a game of football. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, women were even forbidden to attend college. All these institutions never created a football program for the women, and throughout all of history, women have had to fight with every inch of themselves to advance in any type of athletic interest. You can imagine how these women felt. Why not me???

At one point in time in history, men believed that the bodies of these women we not suited for running and tackling. Rare instances of football started popping up around the nation, but they were quickly squashed out of all existence.

That leads us to the ever-going fight for women’s rights, and playing football is a way to fight back. Players are motivated by their love of the game, and not be hindered by their sexual orientation, race, religion or any other social identifier. When lesbians were being harassed by police, black women were just beginning to grace the covers of fashion magazines, at the same time Billie Jean King became a champion with the “Battle of the Sexes”. This brought women together across the nation for one simple reason…to play the game of football! Some being lifelong athletes, some grew up as football fans, and some showed up out of curiosity to tryout.

All races, from Asian to Latina, from black to white, have come together as a family in this great sport. It has also appreciated the big women who are often not treated with the same respect in society. While media outlets apathetically commented on the appearance and weight of some of these football players, the women themselves felt as though their bodies were appreciated for their strength and endurance, rather than being rejected for their failure to uphold to a societal ideal of thinness. You must have every body type when playing football. It’s essential to the game.

Football allows women to be themselves, and the game brings out the aggression, power, ambition, and unbreakable bonds. It brings out the best of them.

The separation in men’s and women’s teams is that wealthy owners continue to pour money into men’s franchises and helping them to grow and prosper. 90% of early NFL teams failed as well. The 10% that survived had people who were willing to invest in them. If someone buys a team, no one wants to watch, but growing a franchise and it’s fanbase is what makes a winning investment.

Fighting for women’s football have been an extremely long process which has been pushed by women’s rights movement and winning the fight for women’s football may just be the final revolution for women’s sports. America is changing and it is accepting that the truth is – women love football!

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