50th anniversary of National Women’s Football League sees International Women’s Day shirt collection launched with HOMAGE

While women’s sports are certainly having a moment right now in terms of viewership and national discussion, it’s worth keeping in mind that there’s an extensive history of those sports that’s often overlooked. Apparel company HOMAGE has a new project to recognize that. On Friday, International Women’s Day, they launched a collection of National Women’s Football League t-shirts.

That collection is in partnership with surviving players from that league. It’s also in partnership with authors Frankie de la Cretaz and Lyndsey D’Arcangelo, who co-wrote the 2021 book Hail Mary: The Rise and Fall of the National Women’s Football League.

And this collection will benefit the Grrridiron Girls, an organization launched by Dr. Jen Welter (who became the NFL’s first female coach in 2015 thanks to a coaching internship with the Arizona Cardinals). That organization “aims to shift the culture of what girls can do and runs a series of football camps for girls, telling girls, ‘There is no game you cannot play and no field you do not belong in or on.'” Here’s more on the collection from a release:

The National Women’s Football League (NWFL) celebrates its 50th anniversary this year with the launch of the first-ever apparel collection celebrating 13 of the NWFL teams that took the sports world by storm in the 1970s and ‘80s. The collection is the result of a partnership between fan favorite apparel brand HOMAGE and surviving NWFL members, including football’s GOAT Linda Jefferson and the winningest team in pro football’s history The Toledo Troopers, as well as Frankie de la Cretaz and Lyndsey D’Arcangelo who co-authored Hail Mary: The Rise and Fall of the National Women’s Football League. The HOMAGE x NWFL collection debuts March 8 exclusively on HOMAGE.com.

“We didn’t break the glass ceiling 50 years ago, we just cracked it. All I did was get the young girls of today closer to that ceiling. I tell girls, ‘Don’t let anyone tell you what to do. Do what you want. If you want to be a football player, be a football player. If you can believe it, you can achieve it,’” said Jefferson. “I’ve got my memories of playing in the NWFL and nobody can take those away from me, and I’m glad HOMAGE is putting the story of women’s football back in the spotlight with this collection so people realize that not only did women play football 50 years ago, but we were the best of the best.”

….“The sport of football as we know it today wouldn’t exist without the NWFL. Not only was it the first—and so far only—pro women’s football league in U.S. history, but it also boasted the first Black and the first female coaches in pro football. I hope this collocation can be yet another step towards ensuring its legacy is remembered and celebrated,” said Frankie de la Cretaz, co-author of Hail Mary: The Rise and Fall of the National Women’s Football League.

…”Football is often hailed as the final frontier for women in sports. Each woman who steps onto the field sees it as a challenge — a chance not just to change the game, but to shift culture itself. With the historic inclusion of flag football as an Olympic sport in 2028 and its establishment as a college sport within the NAIA and NJCAA, it’s evident that there has never been a more opportune time for women and girls in football. We are not just participants, we are pioneers shaping the future,” said Welter. “Mentorship from past generations plays a pivotal role in this journey. According to Etre, 80% of girls would consider trying a new sport in the off-season, and 70% are less likely to quit sports if they have a mentor. It’s crucial for girls to realize that they’re not entering this arena alone. They’re being uplifted by the enduring legacy of trailblazers like Linda Jefferson and the remarkable women of the NWFL. This is a game where every play is a step on the path laid by the formidable women who preceded them.”

HOMAGE has previously done several notable sports media and sports pop culture shirts, from Tecmo Bowl to “Elevator” Ernie Johnson to the Kelce Bowl to a John Clayton Slayer tribute to a Guy Fieri partnership. It’s notable to see them figuring out a way to pay homage to the 50th anniversary of the NWFL, especially around the current prominence for women’s sports.

And it’s cool to see HOMAGE doing this with a wide range of partners. That includes everyone from legendary players like Jefferson (who ran for more than 1,300 yards and scored 32 touchdowns in her first season with the Toledo Troopers, then averaged 14.4 yards per carry for them over the next four years) to authors like D’Arcangelo and de la Cretaz to figures like Welter looking to boost women’s involvement with modern-day football. That’s a significant range of partners, and it illustrates how many people the NWFL and its history matter to.