The Powderkegs | November 2022

The Women’s Professional Football League started in Cleveland in the late ‘60s with only a handful of teams: the Cleveland Daredevils, Pittsburgh All-Stars, Canadian Belles of Toronto, and the Detroit Petticoats. The All-Stars were also known as the Hurricanes, but eventually were embraced as the Pittsburgh Powderkegs for their explosive playing.As the league became more popular, more teams joined and a western division was added to include clubs from Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The Powderkegs were coached by former Steelers running back, Charley Scales, and played at the South Side Stadium, charging as little as $1.50 for attendance. Players were paid $20 per game to compete against their regional rivals from Buffalo and Cleveland. 

Linda Rae Hodge was a standout player for the Powderkegs, the team’s captain in 1971 and one of the first women to be inducted into the Semi-Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. At 5’6” and 108 pounds, Hodge didn’t look like your typical fullback, but when she suited up she fondly recalls that she “felt invincible. It was just a wonderful feeling – to go all out, throwing yourself around.” As kicker, wide receiver, and second-string quarterback, Hodge was a utility player and natural leader, becoming the most popular player on the team. She went on to become the first woman to do explosive welding in nuclear power plants before leaving Westinghouse in the early ‘90s to attend the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary where she was ordained a minister in 1995.

From the Powderkegs to Westinghouse and beyond, Hodge proves that Pittsburghers don’t settle for the ordinary – they break barriers and leave legacies