November 6, 1954. It’s college football season, and New Haven is roaring. The Yale Bowl is packed with 73,600 fans — over twice the attendance of any home game of the season — as the Bulldogs face off against the Army Cadets.
Towering over the throngs of spectators and sportsmen is the press box filled with journalists. Men in helmets are closely observed by men in fedoras hovering over their typewriters, scribing play-by-plays of the excitement.
This informal fraternity of writers, mostly former war correspondents, have carved out what they consider to be a sacred space for sharp-minded wordsmiths to capture the atmosphere and bask in the microcosmic celebration of masculine vigor.
Meanwhile, fellow sportswriter Faye Loyd is banished to the bleachers. No girls allowed.
Two weeks prior, Faye had made history, becoming the first woman ever to be granted press box access as a sports journalist, in order to cover the SMU/Kansas game at the Cotton Bowl.
A week later, she was the first woman permitted to the press box at Baltimore Memorial Stadium to cover the Notre Dame/Navy rivalry game.
(Original Caption) The feminine touch goes to the press box as United Press woman sports writer Faye Loyd joins her male colleagues in reporting the football game between Navy and Notre Dame. Left to right are: Frank Yuetter, Philadelphia Bulletin; Larry Robinson, (standing) New York World Telegram and Sun; John Carmichael; Chicago Daily News; Miss Loyd; and Dick Hackenberg, Chicago Sun Times.
Now at Yale, she is reduced to the sidelines, having to communicate with the press box by a dangling telephone and sending up her copy through a runner.
While Yale insisted the choice was based on a well-honored male tradition, the decision to ban Miss Loyd from the press box gained national attention, with many angered individuals speaking out. Especially women.
“The only ‘legitimate objection’ to women in press boxes is that male reporters might have trouble keeping their minds on the game…I felt I was tearing down some sacred male tradition.”
Faye Loyd speaking on her Yale press box ban at Wabash College
It didn’t help that a photograph of Loyd reapplying her lipstick in the press box during the Navy/Notre Dame game was taken. The implication was obvious. How can a lady expected to be a serious journalist if she’s focusing on her makeup while sportsball is going on??
So, who was Faye Loyd?
Born in 1928, Loyd grew up in Gilmer, TX. She majored in journalism at the University of Texas and was a member of Gamma Phi Beta and Theta Sigma Phi. She was the associate sports editor for the Daily Texan and became the second-ever female editor-in-chief in 1946.
After graduating UT, she worked at the Houston Post for two years before returning for a year of law school. She was the legislative correspondent in Beaumont before beginning her career at United Press in 1951.
After a couple of years of being relegated to the “women’s pages” and local puff pieces, Loyd worked her way back up to her sportswriting wheelhouse in 1954.
A 1954 article discussing the possibility of Dallas getting a professional baseball team. I wonder how that worked out.
Early article by Loyd credited as a United Press Sports Writer weeks before she gained national attention.
Amidst the hoopla surrounding Yale’s controversial decision, other universities and organizations were quick to show their support or try to make the situation right. Loyd was asked to cover more sporting events and to speak at several press events to discuss strides needed to accept women in sports journalism, including an event hosted by Yale alumni.
Loyd even received a humorous yet warm reception from the Bonehead Club begging her to cover the Cotton Bowl instead of flying off to California to cover the Rose Bowl!
“I have been humbled and honored by those who have come to the defense, voluntarily, of a Texas country girl.”
Faye Loyd, speaking at the Texas Press Association meeting
In November 1955, barely over a year after she became a household name, Faye Loyd announced her retirement from journalism. She married Time journalist Harrison ‘Red’ Lilly, had two children, and passed away in 1987.
What makes the Faye Loyd story worth remembering is not just the wave of support a quiet trailblazer received in the face of casual sexism posturing as tradition. It was the inspiration she gave to other inspiring female journalists.
Faye Loyd’s career may have been brief, but impactful. While writing newspaper articles about college football games doesn’t sound like the grandest hill to die on, the fact that it was even a battle speaks volumes about the strides needed for equality.
“Who knows? Move over, Faye Loyd, you may have company in a few years.”
Shirley Burgess, sportswriter
Cut forward and we have gone from one woman sportswriter to 1 in 5 sports journalists being female. It’s these little victories we can be proud to celebrate. Even if it is from the sidelines.
Learn more from The Portal to Texas History!
Special thanks to the Daily Texan repository and the Yale Daily News Historical Archive, as well as this blog post.
