Women's Professional Football League (1965-1973)
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The Women's Professional Football League (WPFL) was the first American football league for women. It was founded in 1965 by talent agent Sid Friedman, for exhibition games. The WPFL ceased operations in 1973.


History

The WPFL started with four teams: * The Cleveland Daredevils of Cleveland, Ohio, * The Pittsburgh All-Stars of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
, * The Canadian Belles of
Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
* And the Detroit Petticoats of
Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
. The Daredevils, the first women's football team of the era, featured one of the top players, Marcella Sanborn. The All Stars, the second women's team to be established, were later renamed the Hurricanes and then the Powderkegs. Two of the best players played for the Powderkegs, Carole Duffy and Linda Rae Hodge. The WPFL primarily played exhibition and charity games. However, they also played during some halftime shows for NFL and
CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
teams. There were actual games with these generally numbering four or five games a year.


Expansion

By 1971, the WPFL had more teams, and it was divided into an East Division and a West Division.


Eastern Division

The teams in the * Buffalo, * New York, * Cleveland, * Toronto, * Pittsburgh, *
Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. As of the ...
, *
Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...
, *
Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...
*
Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
(the Detroit Cowgirls) * and the New York team, that was originally named New York Fillies but then became the NY Hurricanes.


Eastern Division

The Western Division included the following teams: *
Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...
, *
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...
, *
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
, *
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
* and
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
.


End of the league

By 1973, all WPFL teams had disbanded except for the
Toledo Troopers The Toledo Troopers were a professional women's American football team based in Toledo, Ohio. The Troopers began play in 1971 as a member of the Women's Professional Football League (WPFL), and later played in the National Women's Football Leag ...
of
Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...
. Unbeknownst to Friedman, the Troopers coach, Bill Stout, had trademarked the Troopers name and logo. The Troopers then joined the new
National Women's Football League The National Women's Football League (NWFL) was a women's American football league that operated from 1974 to 1988. Background The first attempts to formalize women's gridiron football came about during the 1960s when Sid Friedman, an entrepren ...
(NWFL).


Women's Professional Football League (1999 - 2007)

Women's Professional Football League WPFL operated again between 1999 and 2007 as a fall league and not a spring league.text was copied from Women's Professional Football League(1965–1973) and
Women's Professional Football League The Women's Professional American Football League (WPFL) was a women's professional American football league in the United States. With teams across the United States, the WPFL had its first game in 1999 with just two original teams: the Lake Mic ...
on January 29, 2023 – see those pages' histories for attribution


See also

*
American football in the United States American football is the most popular sport in the United States. The National Football League has the highest revenue and average attendance of any sports league in the world. In the United States the game is most often referred to as simply " ...
*
List of female American football players Women's gridiron football (including American football and Canadian football) is a form of the sport played by women. Most leagues in the United States, such as the Women's Football Alliance, play by rules similar to men's tackle football. Alt ...
*
List of American and Canadian football leagues This is a list of current and defunct leagues of American football and Canadian football. Leagues in North America Current professional leagues in North America Professional outdoor leagues ''Major'' * National Football League (NFL), 192 ...


References

{{Reflist Women's American football leagues Sports leagues established in 1965 Sports leagues disestablished in 1973 1965 establishments in the United States 1973 disestablishments in the United States