Former Pittsburgh Passion quarterback Lisa Horton will be inducted into the Women’s Football Hall of Fame later this year. Horton played for the local franchise for 15 seasons before retiring last year and currently serves as the team’s offensive coordinator. She joins 19 other women in the 2019 Hall of Fame class.
“It’s obviously an honor,” Horton said. “I’ve played the sport and the sport’s been good to me all these years.”
Horton, who grew up in Ohio, is a lifelong athlete who remembers playing full-contact football with her family and neighborhood kids as a child. In college, she played softball and volleyball. She said she learned about the Passion when her graduate school roommate asked if she’d accompany her to tryouts.
“I remember being super nervous and trying out and the rest is history,” Horton said.
During her time with the Passion, Horton led the team to three Women’s Football Alliance championships, winning the title of MVP three times and throwing more than 18,000 career yards. She said she thinks women’s football is growing in popularity, especially locally.
“It’s basically a lot of women playing are following their dream of playing full-contact football,” Horton said.
The WFA oversees 62 teams. The Passion is owned by coach Teresa Conn, health care executive Anthony Misitano and former Pittsburgh Steeler Franco Harris.
Horton said she thinks people are drawn to the sport and to the Passion specifically because of the high-level of play on the field.
“Our playbook’s pretty sophisticated and we have fun with it,” Horton said. “I think a lot of people that go [to games] are impressed.”
The Women’s Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place in December in Las Vegas.
