Drexel’s Annie Oakleys: The History of a Pioneering Women’s Rifle Team
- Daniel Holland
- Oct 2
- 6 min read
In the first half of the 20th century, Drexel Institute in Philadelphia (today Drexel University) maintained one of the earliest and most consistently successful women’s collegiate rifle teams in the United States. Over a period of more than four decades, Drexel’s women competed nationally, placed highly in their leagues, and often outscored the men on their own campus.
The story of the team is not just one of competition, but also a reflection of its time. These young women learned a skill that was tied to military training, gained national recognition, yet were frequently described in ways that emphasised their appearance rather than their ability. What remains is a valuable glimpse into both the achievements of a forgotten group of athletes and the cultural assumptions that surrounded them.
From ROTC Training to Women’s Teams
The origins of the Drexel rifle programme lie in the years immediately following the First World War. In 1916, Congress had established the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), designed to prepare college students for military service. After the war ended, many universities saw rifle training as a way of maintaining a basic level of military readiness among young men.
At Drexel, rifle practice was introduced in 1919 for male ROTC students, held in a basement range in the Main Building. Initially, there was no thought of including women. ROTC was for men, and the assumption was that firearms training was part of male civic duty.
But interest among women students was strong enough that Drexel created a separate programme for them soon afterwards. The women trained under ROTC officers, using the same techniques, though in a more limited setting. Many of the women had never handled a firearm before, but with practice they proved adept. By 1922, Captain J.P. Lyons, one of their instructors, told The New York Times:
“I would like to match the girls against any boys’ rifle team in the country.”
His confidence wasn’t misplaced. The women quickly became more than a novelty and soon built a reputation for accuracy and composure.
Competitions and Rankings
The women’s rifle team entered regular competition in the early 1920s, maintaining both varsity and junior varsity squads. Their primary rivals were the University of Pennsylvania, George Washington University, and Beaver College (now Arcadia University).
The competitions were usually arranged through the National Rifle Association (NRA) collegiate leagues, which at the time supported both men’s and women’s divisions. From the 1930s to the late 1950s, Drexel’s women consistently placed among the top five teams in the National Women’s Rifle Championships, an achievement that gave the school a steady reputation in the sport.
Unlike sports such as basketball or track, rifle competitions often did not require teams to meet in person. Because of the costs of travel and the limited budgets available, most matches were conducted by the so-called “postal” method: teams shot on their own campus ranges, then mailed their score sheets to a central body for comparison. This allowed teams like Drexel, which had limited funds for women’s travel, to remain active on the national stage.
Local matches, however, were played in person. Perhaps the most spirited contests were those between Drexel’s women and men. At first, these were held in the basement range, but in 1928 the programme moved to a purpose-built range on the fourth floor of Curtis Hall.
The matches against the men became campus traditions. The losing side was obliged to buy the winners a steak dinner, and The Triangle, Drexel’s student newspaper, regularly reported on the outcomes. More often than not, the women came out on top, something that both amused and unsettled male students.
Coverage in The Triangle
The student press provides a revealing record of how the women’s team was perceived. While The Triangle gave frequent coverage to their matches and achievements, the tone was rarely neutral.
When the women defeated the men, the articles often explained the result away, the men had not used their best shooters, or they had deliberately given the women an advantage. When the women won national championships, their accomplishments were described in modest or patronising terms.
For example, in 1954, when Drexel’s women won their fifth national championship in eight years, The Triangle wrote that they did so “while going about in their quiet and unassuming manner.”
Attention was also repeatedly drawn to their appearance. A 1938 report described them as “some of the prettiest lassies” on campus. In 1952, the varsity squad was described as “without exception, all attractive.” Their shooting ability was frequently mixed with puns: they were “pretty” good shots or “hot shots.”
Such language reflects the attitudes of the time. Women could succeed in competition, but they were still expected to conform to cultural standards of appearance and behaviour. Their sporting ability was rarely allowed to stand on its own.
“Drexel’s Annie Oakleys”
The team was often referred to as “Drexel’s Annie Oakleys,” after the 19th-century sharpshooter who had become a household name through Buffalo Bill’s Wild West shows. Oakley had been a performer rather than a competitor, but she demonstrated that women could be as capable with firearms as men.
The comparison was flattering but also limiting. No one thought to call the men’s team “Drexel’s Daniel Boones,” but the women were continually framed through the lens of Oakley’s celebrity.
Remarkably, Annie Oakley herself knew of the team. In 1923, while performing at a Philadelphia Phillies game, she was told about Drexel’s women. Having already seen photographs, Oakley commented:
“I only wish I had the opportunity to give them a little instruction. I can tell by the photographs … that they do not hold their rifles quite right. I could rectify that easily and make them better than they are, even if they have never been beaten.”
Oakley’s words suggest that she regarded them as talented but in need of refinement. Although she never coached them, the fact that she was aware of the team gave them a certain standing in the wider shooting community.
Women and Shooting Sports in America
The Drexel women’s rifle team was part of a broader, though often overlooked, history of women and shooting sports in the United States.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, recreational shooting had been promoted for women as a leisure pursuit that demonstrated control and discipline. Clubs occasionally admitted women members, and shooting ranges sometimes offered women’s days.
However, competitive shooting remained dominated by men. Collegiate rifle teams were almost always tied to ROTC units, which were male-only. Women’s rifle programmes at universities were rare, and those that did exist often lacked funding or recognition.
Drexel’s women were unusual in that they not only competed but did so at a consistently high level for decades. Their record of national rankings stands out when compared with the limited opportunities elsewhere.
The Impact of Title IX
The 1960s brought change. ROTC was no longer mandatory at Drexel, which weakened the institutional link that had supported the rifle teams. The women’s and men’s teams were merged into a coed squad. Although women were not excluded, their numbers dwindled.
This was the period leading up to the introduction of Title IX in 1972, a federal law that prohibited sex-based discrimination in education, including athletics. Title IX transformed women’s collegiate sports, leading to far greater funding, facilities, and opportunities across the board.
Ironically, Drexel’s women’s rifle team pre-dated Title IX by half a century. At a time when women were often limited to sports like tennis, swimming, or field hockey, Drexel’s women had been competing nationally with rifles. Yet by the time Title IX expanded opportunities for women, Drexel’s rifle programme had already lost much of its momentum.
Decline and Closure
By the 1980s and 1990s, Drexel’s rifle team existed only as a club sport, with a small roster that included just a few women. The Curtis Hall range, built in 1928, was still in use, but it had become outdated.
In 2003, the administration shut down the rifle programme altogether. The reasons cited included public safety concerns, the lack of dedicated leadership, and the high cost of modernising the facility. After 84 years, Drexel’s rifle tradition came to an end.
By then, the all-men’s roster bore little resemblance to the once-dominant women’s team of the mid-20th century.
A Balanced Legacy
The history of Drexel’s women’s rifle team illustrates both achievement and constraint. Their record in national competition was strong, and their ability to outscore the men was frequently proven. Yet the way they were described in print, and the limits placed on their funding and recognition, reflect the gender expectations of the time.
They were compared to Annie Oakley, praised for being “quiet and unassuming,” and noted for their appearance as much as their skill. Nonetheless, they created a record of consistent performance that deserves recognition in the history of collegiate sport.
Today, their story is a reminder that women’s participation in competitive athletics, even in unexpected areas like rifle shooting, has a longer history than is often assumed. Drexel’s women were not simply “Annie Oakleys.” They were students, athletes, and competitors in their own right.
Sources
Drexel University Archives, Drexel Women’s Rifle Team Collection
The Triangle (Drexel student newspaper), 1930s–1950s issues
The New York Times, “Women’s Rifle Team at Drexel Praised by Instructor,” 1922
Arcadia University Archives, Beaver College sports history
“Drexel Rifle Team Ends After 84 Years,” The Triangle, 2003
Kasson, John F., Buffalo Bill’s Wild West: Celebrity, Memory, and Popular History, 2000
Heggie, Vanessa, A History of Women in Sport in the United States, 1900–1945, Routledge
Comments