Bernadette Noonan wanted women’s soccer in the Olympics. In the 1980s, when this feisty Irish immigrant was finally invited to an official meeting to discuss such a team, the men at the table declined to offer her a chair.
So she stood.
If they didn’t think she’d be staying long, they were in for a rude awakening.
While she didn’t start playing soccer until she was 40, Bernadette became a central figure in the game’s early growth—and the breakout star of our seven-part audio documentary podcast on the 1985 U.S. Women’s National Team, The 85ers. She helped build a vibrant soccer community in the Seattle area and carried with her both the receipts and the stories, including one referee who said he wanted to work women’s games because he liked to watch “the boobs bounce.”
On May 26, Bernadette passed away at the age of 96. She is remembered with admiration and love by her family—and by the hundreds of players she mentored, supported, and advocated for.
“I have this picture of her stuck in my memory,” said Sharon McMurtry, one of the 85ers who grew up in Seattle. “She is tiny, with Irish red hair, a smile, and a sparkle in her eyes. I saw her at so many games throughout the ’80s. She had a feisty spirit, always bubbling with enthusiasm, and her love of the game was contagious.”
That love powered her life.
There are people who are given an easier path. Bernadette was not one of them. Beginning in 1974, she fought relentlessly to recruit women for an adult league in Seattle and to secure access to the fields they needed to play. She was so effective that she soon became president of the Washington State Women’s Soccer Association.
Why did she want the job?
“Oh, I didn’t,” she told us, without hesitation. “We met at 8 in the morning and I normally get up at noon. That was the biggest sacrifice.”
Her humor and steely determination endeared her to the 85ers. The strong foundation for women’s soccer in Seattle became part of the groundwork for the national team, which finally came to fruition after years of effort from advocates like Bernadette.
“I am so thankful to have met Bernadette and to see the beautiful human being she was,” Lori Sweeney said. “Her efforts to support women and their desire to follow their dreams to play soccer show her selflessness and determination. She learned the game, and she knew how to create opportunities for those who followed. I loved her demeanor and her sense of humor.”
“We definitely want everyone to know that the 85ers love Bernadette,” said Denise Boyer, who preserved a trove of photos from the team’s reunion and earlier years.
There was no glory in the work when Bernadette got started. She may have been denied a seat, but she kept showing up, again and again. Asking for more. Making the case. And when the moment came, she pushed.
Her daughter Deirdre said this last year had been one of her happiest, as she was celebrated by the 85ers and her story was woven into the tapestry of their own.
“She was more involved than I realized at the time,” McMurtry said. “She’s an important thread in the fabric of Washington’s soccer community. She fought for opportunities and changed stubborn minds so that we all could take our dreams higher. I am so grateful for Bernadette and will always remember her.”
Bernadette’s spirit was a gift to us as we told the story of the 85ers and Seattle’s place in that history. She was a joyful warrior, someone who believed in the right to play long before women were widely recognized as athletes.
“I’ll die with my foot on a soccer ball,” Bernadette said as she ended her interview with Erin Foley.
As she got close to the end, her family remembered those words. On her last day, her daughter Deirdre made sure a soccer ball was at the foot of the bed.
May the wind be at your back, a green field underneath your cleats, and Olympic women’s soccer on replay, Bernadette.
