Het is vandaag 45 jaar geleden dat Lily Parr is overleden. In 2002 she was the only woman to be made an inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame at the National Football Museum.
Terwijl hun echtgenoten in 1917 aan het front vechten, zoeken de vrouwelijke werknemers van de munitiefabriek Dick, Kerr & Co. in het Engelse Preston wat afleiding op het voetbalveld. De Dick, Kerr’s Ladies worden een sensatie en ze blijven dat ook na de oorlog.
Unlike women’s teams today, Parr played against both male and female teams and she reputedly had a harder shot than any male player. She was noted for her large appetite and almost constant smoking of Woodbine cigarettes. Openly lesbian, she lodged in Preston with one of her team mates, Alice Norris.
Parr played in the first ever recognised women’s international football tournament between England and France in London in 1920. There were four games in total, and a crowd of 25,000 saw the Dick, Kerr’s Ladies — representing England — win 2–0 at Deepdale, home of Preston North End. Following this victory, the Dick, Kerr Ladies went on to tour France, playing against local teams.
In 1919 spelen ze voor 35.000 toeschouwers in St James’ Park (Newcastle United). Voor een wedstrijd in Goodison Park (Everton) komen er zelfs 53.000 opdagen, en buiten staan er nog 10.000 die niet meer aan een ticket geraken.
In 1921 is het uit met de pret, wanneer de Engelse bond vrouwenvoetbal verbiedt wegens ‘ongeschikt voor het zwakke geslacht’, but many women such as Parr continued to play on village greens and other non-associated land. The Dick, Kerr Ladies toured North America in 1922 following the English ban. Banned again on their arrival in Canada, they toured the US and played nine games. They won three, drew three and lost three against the top division men’s teams.[10] Parr continued with the Dick, Kerr’s Ladies even when they lost the support of their factory and were renamed the Preston Ladies.
She died of breast cancer in 1978, aged 73. (Wikipedia & Het Nieuwsblad)
dagelijks iets degelijks 