Cheerleading is a popular American sport that boasts over four million cheerleaders across the nation. But have you ever wondered about the dynamic history of this popular sport? Here is everything you need to know about the history of cheerleading.
Cheerleading first started as a male sport.
Funny to think, but those cheer poms that came to be nowadays are because of college football. The first intercollegiate football game happened in 1869, and by the late 1880s, Princeton University had formed an all male pep club. The goal of this pep club was to energize the crowd and to root on the team, and the first organized cheer was invented by medical student Johnny Campbell.
Texas is known as the home of cheerleading.
Even though the first official pep team was in Minnesota, Texas AandM university founded “The Cheerleading State” which was also a group of males who led the crowd in cheering both football and basketball games. The sport has grown from its humble roots and is now known as the home of cheerleading.
Women came during the war.
Women were slowly being given plastic megaphones and joining teams in the 1920s, but soon dominated the sport during World War II. This was because the men were off fighting in the war, and the men that were left in the states were put on the sports teams. Once the women had their own plastic pom poms in their hands, they began to incorporate tumbling and stunts into their performances. But the similarities ended there, as their uniforms were ankle-length skirts and varsity sweaters.
Cheerleading becomes official.
Naturally, the sport of cheerleading began to evolve and more and more girls signed up for the sport. Seeing a rise in interest, Lawrence ?Herkie? Herkimer, a former cheerleader himself, formed the National Cheerleading Association in 1948. Known as the grandfather of cheerleading, Herkie was able to popularize the sport and gave custom pom poms to girls nationwide.
Cheerleading grew around the girl.
With the successes of the NCA, cheer poms found themselves in Britian, Asia, and Europe. As of right now, there are an established 79 countries full with cheerleader pom poms globally.
Not only is cheerleading a dynamic sport, it has an interesting history. So grab your cheer poms and join a squad today!