History of

Cheerleading
 What is Cheerleading?

• Cheerleading, team activity in which elements of dance and acrobatics are

combined with shouted slogans in order to entertain spectators at sporting
events and to encourage louder and more enthusiastic cheering.

• The performers of these one to three minute routines are called

“Cheerleaders”.

• Cheerleading originated in Britain and spread to the United States where

it remains most common, but has also become more popular in other parts
of the world.
How much do you know about
cheer’s history?

• Cheerleading is more than 100 years old. In the beginning, all the cheerleaders
were men.

• The first cheerleaders in the United States were organized by a Princeton graduate
named Thomas Peebles who had been a “yell leader” there as a part of the pep
squad. It’s said that he moved to Minnesota and there he spurred the idea of
organized cheers to support the University of Minnesota football team, who were
undergoing a losing streak.

• In the November 2, 1898, football game between Princeton and the University of
Minnesota, six male cheerleaders entertained the crowd for the first time. They
were led by Johnny Campbell, and this date is considered the birth of
cheerleading.
How much do you know about
cheer’s history?

• It’s reported that Campbell’s first cheer was, “Rah, Rah, Rah! Ski-u-mah, Hoo-
Rah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Varsity! Varsity! Minn-e-Soh-Tah!” This apparently led
to the popular “sis boom bah” cheer.

• In 1903, the Gamma Sigma fraternity was founded as the first for “cheer
leaders”.

• Women joined cheerleading squads in 1923. During World War II, the shift to
mostly female cheer squads began.

• Pom-poms were invented in the 1930s and were originally called pompons.
How much do you know about
cheer’s history?

• In 1948 Lawrence Herkimer founded the National Cheerleaders Association

(NCA) which began to hold cheer workshops.

• By the 1960s just about every high schools and college in the country had
cheerleaders.

• Cheerleading organizations had begun to regulate moves and emphasize safety. In

2003 , a national council was formed to offer safety workshops to cheerleading
squads and their coaches, and today the National Collegiate Athletic Association
mandates that college cheer coaches complete official safety courses.

• The sport of cheerleading has gone from one enthusiastic guy to a crowd of
hopeful spectators to a prestigious athletic activity showcasting the talents of both
and females alike.