26/04/1905

Lily Parr, first woman in English Football Hall of Fame, is born

Above Parr

Today we celebrate the birth of a true sporting icon and footballing legend: Lily Parr, the first woman to be inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame. Born on this day in 1905, Lily was a ferocious winger and soccer prodigy, snapped up by the famed Dick, Kerr's Ladies team at the age of 14, where she scored 43 goals in her first season.

Casting of Lily Parr on the Football Walk of Fame

Lily Parr: 'The most brilliant female footballer in the world'

Known for her strength, aggression and powerful left foot, she played against by male and female teams and was considered to have the heftiest kick on the pitch.Lily played in the first recognised women’s international in 1920, a 2-0 victory over France. An FA ban on ladies teams playing on their pitches saw a decline in the female game at the time, but Lily kept playing, touring abroad extensively with Dick, Kerr’s. Openly gay, she also became a LGBT icon and the Lily Parr Exhibition Trophy tournament celebrates her pioneering spirit to this day.