Where Did Cheerleading Come From?

Where Did Cheerleading Come From? 

We see cheerleaders everywhere; cheerleaders exist in junior high, high school, college, and even professional sports. But when did cheerleading start? Where did it start? While it is not as popular of a sport as something like basketball or football, it is certainly entertaining and one that requires skill and technique. But to be able to appreciate the sport it is today, we have to know where it all started. 

Well, it all began back in 1869 at Princeton when the school formed an all-male pep club to boost spirits around the campus. When one of those men, Thomas Peebles moved to the University of Minnesota. While at the University of Minnesota in 1898, Thomas decided to form some fight songs while the U of M football team was experiencing a losing streak. While in that time, a medical student named Johnny Campbell decided to assemble a group of guys to get the crowd excited and into the game; to do this, he picked up a megaphone and the group chanted a few cheers. Funny enough, the team broke their losing streak with that very game.

 As cheerleading grew over time, it was 1923 when women were allowed to be cheerleaders as well; however, it was not until the 1940s when women started joining in large numbers. This was a milestone for the sport because, well, men just cannot wear the current <a rel="nofollow" onclick="javascript:ga('send', 'pageview', '/outgoing/article_exit_link/6749568');" href="http://www.gear4cheer.com/apparel-c-133.html"> cheerleading uniforms </a>  as well as women can, just sayin'. It was from there that cheerleading actually started to become a sport and entertain more than just cheers but also use things like tumbling and stunts to wow the crowd as well as flashcards.

Things progressed even more when Lawrence Herkimer of Southern Methodist University created the cheerleading clinic in 1948. It was this man who created the spirit stick and the pom pom. A man who decided that cheerleading needed a little bit more pizzazz created a major staple in the cheerleading world. Of course, he did not stop there, he created the National Cheerleaders Association.

 By the mid-1950s, especially the 1960s, cheerleading had made its way into the hearts of Americans and educational institutions everywhere. Over the course of the 1970s and 1980s, various companies were formed for the benefit of cheerleading. By the 80s, cheerleading competitions had become popular and cheerleading was on its way to be a recognized and official sport.