"RAY, RAY, RAY!
TIGER, TIGER, TIGER!
SIS, SIS, SIS!
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!
Aaaaah! PRINCETON, PRINCETON, PRINCETON!"
You may not hear the Princeton University cheerleaders shouting that chant today, but you would have heard it had you been a football fan at Princeton in the 1880's. That's when this cheer, the first of its kind, was created. Fans at the time may not have realized the historical significance of these words but the millions of cheerleaders today sure do! Of course, cheerleading did not immediately spread to thousands of schools and organizations. It took many years and several pioneers to get to the organized and competitive cheerleading of the 1990's.
It was in the mid-1890's, at the University of Minnesota, where cheerleading took its next big step. Fans were discouraged by a lousy football team and realized that something had to be done. According to The Ariel, the university's student newspaper: "Yelling captains have been elected to take charge of the rooting and conduct it in a systematic and effective manner" [The "Northwestern game today." Ariel XXII (1898): 127.] Megaphones like the ones used today were part of that cheer. Eventually, drums and other noisemakers enhanced the cheers.
This type of organized spirit club became popular at many colleges. In the 1920's cheerleaders began to incorporate gymnastics and tumbling into their cheers. Also, at this time, the first flash cards were used to encourage crowd participation at Oregon State University.
While young women began participating in pep groups in the 1920's, it took World War II to secure the place of females in the history of cheerleading. When the men went off to war women filled many jobs and roles traditionally dominated by the men. This included cheerleading, which was a necessary spirit boost for everyone during the tough years of the war. Of course, when the men came back women may have gone back into the home, but they refused to leave the playing field.
In 1948 Lawrence "Herkie" Herkimer formed the National Cheerleading Association to teach cheerleading. Herkimer's accomplishments include holding the first cheerleading camp, inventing the 'herkie' jump and promoting the use of pompons. The first camp was at Sam Houston College and only 52 girls attended. The first pompons were actually made of paper. Not very sturdy at a rainy football game so they were replaced by vinyl in the 1960's.
In 1978 cheerleading entered the homes of America with a nationwide broadcast of the Collegiate Cheerleading Championships on CBS-TV. The 1970's was a great decade for the growth of female athletics as Title IX set the stage for equal treatment of women in college athletics.
The 1980's were a time for developing cheerleading skills and routines. Coed cheerleading grew in popularity as stunts and pyramids grew in size and difficulty. An emphasis on coaching skills and safety guidelines was the result. Today many organizations exist solely to promote principles of safety. Also during the decade the number and size of competitions increased dramatically.
Cheerleading has continued to grow and develop in the 1990's as well. The difficulty has never been greater as squads and individuals constantly strive to be the best. The enthusiasm for the sport has spread around the world to Europe, Japan, Canada and many other countries. An offshoot of cheerleading, the dance squad, has also seen unprecedented popularity at high schools and colleges.
While cheerleading has seen many changes over its more than one hundred-year history, it is clear that the spirit and the sport are stronger than ever. And the future looks bright as reflected in the smiles of millions of young cheerleaders throughout the world.
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