Dick, Kerr's Ladies
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Dick, Kerr's Ladies is the most famous early women's football team. The team was founded in Preston, Lancashire, England as a works' team for a company, Dick, Kerr & Co., owned by two Scots: W.B. Dick and John Kerr. The women joined the company in 1914 to help produce ammunition for the First World War.
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[edit] The Beginning
Although women had been discouraged from playing football, it was believed that such organised sporting activity would be good for morale in wartime factories and would aid production, so competitive sport was encouraged. After beating the men of the factory in an informal game, the women of Dick, Kerr's formed a team, under the management of office worker Alfred Frankland.
The team drew strong crowds, playing in charity fixtures against similar teams around the country and they raised money for many injured servicemen during and after the war. It also helped promote women's football around the country. The women were paid 10 shillings a game by Dick, Kerr & Co. to cover their expenses.
[edit] 1920
The team played the first women's international in 1920, against France. The French team were from Paris and were lead by the great patron of Women's sport in France, Alice Milliat(1884-1957). There were a total of 4 games played in the UK, the first at Deepdale, where the Dick, Kerr's Ladies won 2-0, the second match at Stockport was won by the Dick, Kerr's Laides 5-2, the third game in Manchester drew 1-1 and the final was won by the French at Stamford Bridge in London with a score of 2-1.
After the UK tour by the French, the Dick, Kerr Ladies went on to tour in France where they played in Paris, Roubaix, Havre and finally Rouen, drawing on three and winning the final game.
The French tour generated tremendous publicity for the team and on Boxing Day of 1920 they managed to draw a crowd of 53,000 spectators to watch a match at Goodison Park, Liverpool in a game against St. Helen's Ladies. The team were featured regularly in the Pathe newsreels of the day and players like Lily Parr and Alice Woods became an appealing draw at British football grounds.
[edit] Uniform
Their club colours were black and white jerseys and blue shorts and their England colours were white jerseys and blue shorts. The women also wore striped hats to cover their hair.
[edit] FA Ban
The popularity of the team led The Football Association to ban women's football at its members grounds on 5 December 1921. Ostensibly this was due of concerns that women were not physically able to play football, but there was a belief that the popularity of the team made some in the men's game feel threatened.
[edit] USA Tour
Despite the ban, the team continued to play on non-FA grounds. In late 1922 the team went on a tour of Canada and the U.S.A. On their arrival in Canada, they were told that they couldn't play, so they crossed the border into the USA.
Once in the USA, they discovered they were due to be playing against men's teams, some of which included immigrants who had previously played in the British football league, plus at least one American who would go on to represent the US at the 1930 World Cup finals. Dick, Kerr's Ladies acquitted themselves well, winning three games, drawing three, and losing three. They proved tough opponents.
“I played against them in 1922,” recalled Paterson ’keeper Pete Renzullli. “We were national champions and we had a hell of a job beating them.”[1]
[edit] Later History
During its history the team played 828 games, winning 758, drawing 46, and losing 24.
The teams' name changed to Preston Ladies F.C. in the latter part of the 1920s but carried on playing until 1965.
The FA finally recognised women's football in 1971, 50 years after they had banned the game.
A Preston North End L.F.C. exists today (and is playing in the Women's Northern Championship), but is unrelated to this team.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Hunt, Chris: "The Belles Of The Ball", FourFourTwo magazine, August 2005.
[edit] External links
- The Belles Of The Ball The story of Dick, Kerr's Ladies, by Chris Hunt, published in FourFourTwo magazine, August 2005
- The Dick, Kerr Ladies Soccer Tour, 1922 (USA Soccer Archives)
- Trail-blazers who pioneered women's football (BBC)
- About Alice Milliat(in French)
- A good description of the international matches
- Where soccer legends live - Colin Jose
- North West Film Archive Footage of Dick Kerr's ladies football team playing several matches, plus footage of the team members being shown around Salford (?). There are also scenes of T.A. volunteers at the Cross Lane barracks of the Lancashire Fusiliers in Salford.
- Nation on Film - Women's Football (Open University)
[edit] Books
- The Dick Kerr's Ladies by Barbara Jacobs (Constable and Robinson - Jul 2004) ISBN 1841198285
