Lisa Horton has been a mainstay for the Pittsburgh Passion, the city’s women’s football league, but she’s more to the region than just a powerful arm.
On Thursday, Horton, along with 12 other women, was inducted into the PNC Legacy Project in Pittsburgh.
“The PNC Legacy Project is honoring some of our region’s most remarkable women,” the group’s website said. “All are a potent force for bettering their communities and a testament to living fearlessly and without apology.”
Horton became the first woman in the history of women’s football to throw for 10,000 career yards as a quarterback while she led the Passion to an IWFL championship.
On the website, Horton told her story of how she came to love the game and what she plans to do after this season, saying it would be her final as a pro football player.
“I’ve loved football from the very beginning. I think I started playing at 6 years of age. (I was) 6 or 7 in flag league, and that’s where I got my first jersey, that’s where I got my first number,” Horton recalled. “I’ve kept that number ever since. Otto Graham wore the same number — No. 14 — for the Browns. Those are little things you remember.”
Horton said that anyone who knows her can tell that she “truly” has a “passion” for the game. That’s something she wants to give back once she steps away from the playing field as a player.
“I want to be able to give that back to a young quarterback. They’re few and far between. Teaching them from the ground up and embracing that process and having them embrace that process, that’s the power of the game,” she said. “This will be my last season, but I will always give back to football. My next step is coaching and someday coaching at a high level.”
Horton’s magnificent run has lasted just a little over a decade in Pittsburgh after growing up a passionate football fan in Cleveland. Already working as the team’s strength and conditioning coach, Horton knows that football will always hold a special place for her.
“I feel like I’ve had a very good run,” she concluded on the website’s oral history. “I’m very fortunate and blessed for the years that I’ve had in football and what it’s given back to me as far as friendships and teammates and even leadership skills that I wouldn’t have had if I didn’t play football.”
The Passion are currently 4-0 this season as they’ve began defending their league title.
Photo Credit: Pittsburgh Passion
