Huddersfield Atalanta Ladies F.C.

Huddersfield Atalanta Ladies Football Club was a women's football club in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, from 1920 to about 1925.^[1][2][3][4] It took its name from Atalanta, the fierce huntress of Greek mythology.^[5]

Official programme from a game against Dick, Kerr Ladies F.C. at Hillsborough, Sheffield, on 6 May 1921

Players

Constance Waller was a founder member and secretary of the club, as well as the first woman reporter on a provincial newspaper, The Examiner of Huddersfield.^[6] Ethel Lee played as a goalkeeper, Lucy Barraclough^[7] as captain and fullback alongside Hilda Clarke with Lily Mitchell as an outside half and Rhoda Wilkinson in outside-right. Miss H Broadhead was a goal scorer in a match against Bath Ladies at Leeds Road on Good Friday, March 25, 1921, in front of a crowd of 15,246 who turned up to see the team win 1–0.^[3]

Commemoration

Its story forms the basis of the play Atalanta Forever by Amanda Whittington, commissioned by the Mikron Theatre Company for its 2020 season, delayed by the COVID-19, and produced in 2021.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Huddersfield Town Women F.C. was formed in 1988 as Huddersfield Town Ladies F.C.^[12]

References

1. Tate, Tim (1 September 2016). Girls with Balls: the Secret History Of Womens Football. Kings Road Publishing. ISBN 9781782196860.
2. "History of Women's Football". Spartacus Educational. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
3. "Huddersfield Town ladies' football club history discovered - including 15,000 fans". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 25 September 2010. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
4. "Huddersfield Atalanta Ladies' FC". www.donmouth.co.uk. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
5. "Playwright revives 1920s football team for dramatic new fixture". BBC News. from the original on 1 May 2023.
6. YorkshireLive (2 October 2011). "Denis: 159 years of the Examiner – and Miss Constance Waller of Birkby, our first woman reporter". YorkshireLive. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
7. Obituary in the Huddersfield Examiner (15/Jan/1958), transcribed on Huddersfield Exposed. Lucy's brother was professional footballer Benny Green.
8. "Shows - Atalanta Forever". Mikron Theatre Company. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
9. Bond, Chris (5 June 2021). "Mikron Theatre brings the story of a women's football team from Huddersfield a century ago to the stage". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
10. Youngs, Ian (12 June 2021). "Playwright revives 1920s football team for dramatic new fixture". BBC News. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
11. "Atalanta Forever – Halifax Piece Hall". North West End UK. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
12. "HTWFC - History". Huddersfield Town Women FC. Retrieved 13 June 2021.