From Canton to Helsinki, Made in Ada footballs appeared in women’s games
This summer, the Pro Football Hall of Fame created a “Women’s Impact on Football” exhibit. The Icon asked Russ Crawford, a professor of history at Ohio Northern University and an expert on women’s soccer, for background. Ada will host on August 27th Produced at the Ada Wilson Football Festival including a Hall of Fame touring exhibit.
Author: Russ Crawford
One usually thinks of men who play NFL or college football as the bearers of footballs made in Ada. However, this summer, women were playing Wilson footballs across the country and internationally.
Domestic leagues
At the end of June, both the Women’s Football Alliance (WFA) and the Women’s National Football Conference (WNFC) held their regular seasons from April to July. The WFA featured 61 teams this year, spread from Miami to Portland, and included the Columbus Chaos and Cincinnati Sizzle from Ohio. The WNFC had sixteen teams, mostly in the West and Southwest. Both leagues use the Wilson ball.
The WFA held its championship weekend at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium across from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Boston Renegades won their fourth straight Pro Division title by defeating the Minnesota Vixen 32-12. Mile High Blaze beat division leaders Derby City Dynamite 21-20. The Oklahoma City Lady Force beat the Capital City (Lansing) Savages 25-0.
The Texas Elite Spartans won their third straight WNFC crown with a 48-12 victory over the Utah Falcons at the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas, just north of Dallas.
World Championships
10.–14. In July, women from eight countries – Mexico, Austria, Brazil, Panama, Japan, France, Italy and defending world champion USA – played flag football for the first time at the World Cup held at Birmingham’s Legion Field. , AL. The NFL helped sponsor the ticket portion of the games, so all teams used the Wilson ball.
While Team USA was the favorite to win the first World Games ticket soccer championship, Team Mexico had other ideas. The Mexicans shocked the flag football world by dominating the Americans 39-6.
International American Football Women’s World Cup
In late July and early August, eight of the best women’s tackle football teams traveled to Vantaa – just outside of Helsinki – to compete for the world championship. Having won all three previous IFAF tournaments, Team USA once again won against teams from Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Mexico and Sweden.
This time the Americans did not disappoint. They defeated the UK team 42-14 behind a victory over Brittany Bushman (Texas Elite Spartans WNFC) and DAjah Scott (DC Divas WFA).
In this world championship, it was the Canadians who were on the wrong end of a surprising upset. The British upset the team that finished second in the previous World Cup by scoring in both halves as time expired and won 20-13.
Canada dropped to fourth, as Finland grabbed the bronze medal with a rushing attack led by Tytti Kuusinen (Boston Renegades WFA) and Mari Jääskelä (Helsinki Wolverines) with Wilson’s combined 205 yards to win 19-17.
Team Mexico and Team Germany finished 5th and 6th respectively. Mexico had won the bronze medal in 2017, but travel delays prevented them from playing their first match, so they finished in the top four. The Mexicans beat the Australians 34-6 and the Germans 28-0 to salvage their chances.
The tournament ended with Team Australia winning their first international match by defeating Team Sweden 7-0.
If you are interested in reading game stories for the WFA Championship and IFAF WWC, you can find my game stories for American Football International. HERE. The University of Nebraska Press is publishing my new book Women’s American Football: Breaking Barriers On and Off the Field in November.