Remembering New York State’s First Women’s Professional Soccer Team

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo loves its sports, especially football, but it’s not just the Buffalo Bills who have left their mark on the area.

Another football team, the Buffalo All-Stars, changed the game.

“It was an opportunity to do something I would love,” Sherrill Cooper said.

The thrill of the grill is no stranger to him.

“They came from all walks of life,” she said.

Cooper was one of 25 women who formed the Buffalo All-Stars, New York’s first professional women’s soccer team, one of four founded by Sid Friedman. One of her teammates, Dee Dee DeBone, helped coordinate the team.

Cooper was a halfback.

“He founded Buffalo in 1970, making it a four-team league,” says sports historian Greg Tranter.

The Women’s Professional Football League is coming at the right time.

“Football was becoming more and more popular and by 1972 it became the most popular sport in the United States, of course surpassing baseball in 1970,” Tranter said.

For Cooper, it was all about the love of the game.

“I don’t think I’ve ever thought about that and said, ‘Wow. It’s amazing that women can play football,” she recalls. “It was more like, ‘Wow, just the idea of ​​being able to do it.’

Coming from a sports family, including a father who played for the Buffalo Bisons hockey team, she hid this from them for a while, even after breaking her leg during practice.

“I’m in a full body cast and on crutches,” she said. “My brother was sitting at the table, looking at the Courier Express on the sports page and saying, ‘Dad, there’s an article…And it looks like… Wow, that looks like Sherrill,'” recalls Cooper.

It was a pseudonym given to the newspaper which would hide his identity for the time being.

“I said, ‘Wow. She looks like me. What’s her name? Leslie Lynn,'” Cooper said. “So my family didn’t know for weeks and weeks that I was playing.”

Although this limited his playing time, it did not limit his experience.

“What that league was and what it meant to women at that time has more meaning today than it did years ago,” she said.

They lost their first game 40-0, but when it came time to play at home at All-High Stadium on December 5, 1970, they emerged victorious.

“It brings tears to my eyes,” Cooper said.

This match is now immortalized on a plaque at the stadium.

“If this affects a few young girls and gets them into sports or playing soccer, that would be great,” Tranter said.

Although their team only lasted four years, it paved the way for today’s Women’s Football Alliance.

“I believe it started in 2009, and there are 59 teams at three levels playing,” Tranter said.

“It’s raining, it’s cloudy. However, I have to say, if we were playing football, we would still be on the field in this weather,” Cooper said as he walked the All-High field.

She hopes women’s soccer continues to grow, especially with a potential new WFA team recruiting women in Western New York: the Buffalo Yeti’s.

“Wow. Oh my God. I’m probably too old to try, dammit,” Cooper laughed.

For anyone considering getting involved in a sport they love, she has this advice.

“You have to listen to what you want and not let anyone else make that decision for you,” Cooper said. “If you want to try something or be a part of something, go for it!”

In 1970, in the United States, there were only about 300,000 girls playing high school sports. These were mainly sports like swimming or volleyball.

In the 2022-2023 school year, this number exceeded 3.3 million across all types of sports, and this growth continues in professional sports as well.