Alice Stanley (née Woods; 20 March 1899 – 1991) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

. She played for Dick, Kerr Ladies, one of the earliest women's association football teams. She was a sprinter and one of the first women to race under Amateur Athletic Association of England (AAA) laws.

Early life

Born in

Sutton, St Helens Sutton is an area of St Helens, Merseyside, and Ward of the metropolitan borough of the same name. The population of the ward taken at the 2011 census was 12,003. Historically within Lancashire, it is one of the four townships along with Ecc ...

, Woods started playing football when she was working at a munitions factory in the town and her brother taught her how to play. Before she took up football, she was already a top class sprinter and could run a hundred yards in twelve seconds. She became the first woman to win a race held under Amateur Athletic Association of England (AAA) laws. This historic meet was the first in England to allow women runners and it took place at Blackpool in 1918, when thirteen female athletes ran the race over 80 yards. Woods developed a rivalry with Elaine Burton.

Club career

Woods began playing for the Dick, Kerr Ladies in 1920. She came to the team after scoring against them for Liverpool Ladies in a 1–0 victory for the Merseyside team in a match played at Wigan. She scored her first goal for the Dick, Kerr Ladies against the French team on 1 May 1920. She travelled to France with the team in 1920 and also played in the Boxing Day match at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a association football, football stadium in the Walton, Liverpool, Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area ...

in 1920. According to verbal evidence from Alice Norris, it was Woods who suggested to team manager Alfred Frankland that

Lily Parr Lilian Parr (26 April 1905 – 24 May 1978) was an English professional women's association football player who played as a winger. She is best known for playing for the Dick, Kerr's Ladies team, which was founded in 1917 and based in Preston, ...

would be a good addition to the club. Woods also went on tour to the United States in 1922 and finished playing football in 1928 when she married Herbert Stanley. She died peacefully at her home in Manchester in 1991. She was 92 years old.

Personal life

Woods's

brother A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

played football for Stalybridge Celtic and

Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in and play at the Shay. They replaced Halifax Town A.F.C., which went into administration in the 2007–08 season. ...

. The swimmer

Gaynor Stanley Gaynor Clare Stanley (born 3 January 1966) is a retired British swimmer. Stanley competed in three events at the 1984 Summer Olympics. She represented England in the 200 metres breaststroke, at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Queensl ...

is Woods's granddaughter.

References

1899 births 1991 deaths Dick, Kerr's Ladies F.C. players English female sprinters English women's footballers Footballers from Merseyside Footballers from St Helens, Merseyside Lesbian sportswomen LGBT association football players English LGBT sportspeople Women's association football midfielders 20th-century LGBT people {{England-women-footy-bio-stub