Getting to know the history of powderpuff football

With Cheney High School’s annual powderpuff football game drawing near, it makes you wonder — how did this become a thing? Who had the idea to give the women the pigskin and shoulder pads and make the men shake the pom-poms?

The game is a custom all its own, with unique historical roots that can be traced back nearly a century.

“Powderpuff football” is a long-standing fall tradition at high schools all over the nation, and is traditionally a touch- or flag-football game played by teenaged girls, often while boys dress up as cheerleaders to encourage them from the sidelines. Occasionally school...