Lily Parr
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lilian Parr | ||
| Date of birth | 26 April 1905 | ||
| Place of birth | St Helens, Lancashire, England | ||
| Date of death | 22 May 1978 (aged 73) | ||
| Place of death | Goosnargh, Preston, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Playing position | Outside left | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1919 | St Helen's Ladies | ||
| 1920– | Dick, Kerr's Ladies | ||
| –1951 | Preston Ladies | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Lilian "Lily" 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, Lancashire.
In 2002 she was the only woman to be made an inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame at the National Football Museum.
Parr was born in a rented house in Union Street, Gerrard's Bridge, St. Helens; the fourth of seven children born to George and Sarah Parr. Her father was a labourer at the local glass factory and the family rented out space in the yard and rooms at their house for extra income.
As a girl Parr displayed little enthusiasm for traditional pursuits such as sewing and cookery. Instead her fearless streak and robust frame allowed her to compete alongside boys in both football and rugby. Under the tutelage of her elder brothers she became proficient in both sports.
During the First World War in England there was a growing interest in women's football and Dick, Kerr & Co. was the name of the Preston munitions factory where most of the women on the team worked. The Dick, Kerr's Ladies team regularly drew large crowds including a famous event on 26 December 1920 at Goodison Park that drew more than 53,000 spectators.
During her time working for Dick, Kerr & Co she lodged in Preston with one of her team mates, Alice Norris. She was good friends with her team-mate Alice Woods, who was also from St Helens. While playing for the Dick, Kerr's Ladies she was noted for her large appetite and almost constant smoking of Woodbine cigarettes.
Unlike women's teams today, Parr played against both male and female teams and she reputedly had a harder shot than any male player. She had started life playing football with her brothers on waste ground in St Helens, before playing for the St Helen's Ladies team. There she was spotted and recruited into the Dick, Kerr's Ladies and a job in the Dick, Kerr & Co. factory in Preston, with 10 shillings in expenses per game.
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