Patricia Palinkas becomes the first woman to play professionally in an American football game.
Patricia Palinkas (née Barczi, born 1943) is credited as the first woman to play American football professionally in a league made predominately of men. She was a holder for her husband Stephen Palinkas for the Orlando Panthers of the minor league Atlantic Coast Football League. Palinkas was the only woman to attain this distinction until Katie Hnida signed with the Fort Wayne Firehawks in 2010.