Cheerleaders would be selected for professional cheer squads on two main factors — their appearance and their dancing ability. During the 1950s, cheerleaders were only there to bring in male viewers and supporters to games. However, this took a while to catch on with other teams.
It’s hard to deny that cheerleaders have had a major impact on pop culture as we know it. Cheerleaders, especially the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, have gone on to become household names. Plenty of them are featured on a deck of playing cards, and some have even inspired characters in movies and television shows.
Some cheerleaders were even invited onto movie sets themselves to make cameo appearances in films like The Love Boat and Family Feud. The US government also saw how talented these cheerleaders were and recruited some for the USO tours at the request of the Defense Department.
Jumping for Joy
Whilst cheerleading hasn’t really caught on with countries outside of North America, that isn’t to say that there haven’t been cheerleaders in other countries. This photo was taken at the United States Air Forces in Europe Championships in Wembley, London back in 1952.
The 1950s saw a surge in people wanting to become cheerleaders — so much so that former cheerleader Lawrence Herkimer opened a cheerleading education school in Texas in the 1950s. In her first year, she had 52 girls sign up, with another 350 later attending.
Down in Syracuse
If you guessed if this photo was taken in the 1950s, you would be right. This photo depicts cheerleaders in their alternating white and red sweatshirts and long, white skirts during a game against West Virginia in 1959. Despite the fact that this picture is over 60 years old, the quality is stunning.
As most photos from back in the day are in black and white, to see the colors of the uniforms is amazing. It also makes this photo look like it was taken just last year rather than over 60 years ago.
Leader of the Pack
The role of a captain within the cheer squad is very important. Not only will you be held accountable for the mistakes your fellow colleagues make, but all eyes will be on you during the performance. No pressure or anything, though, by the way!
Captains in cheer squads are usually easy to spot due to either a button, sash, or different component that’s attached to their uniform. Incredibly, this photo is actually from 1945 and shows USC cheerleader Betty Brown in her stars and stripes uniform.
Unusual Uniform Additions
We think of cheerleading as a high-intensity and quite a dangerous sport. While girls are being flung into the air and expected to effortlessly land all types of twirls and flips, we expect there to be no danger to them, especially in the case of their uniforms.
This photo was taken of a St. Louis Cardinals cheerleader at Busch Stadium on October 31st, 1976. However, an unusual addition to this uniform is the neck scarf. While gymnastics wouldn’t be introduced into cheerleading until the 1980s, this could be a serious cause for concern due to choking.
Ready to Go
From the 1970s, it was well known that being a cheerleader was a great route to becoming one of the most popular girls at school. This period of time really shaped the stereotype of a cheerleader with the theatrics and the miniskirts.
It was also the 1970s that makeup had taken on a prominent role and was being applied more heavily, which we can see in this photo. While their uniform might be a plain black and white one with matching pom-poms, the makeup is a different story, with heavy blush and eye makeup.
Face of a Brand
Many cheerleaders of the past ended up doing brand deals with a number of different companies. However, the sad truth behind this story is the fact that cheerleaders were often better paid by brands than they were by the teams they worked for.
Cheerleaders back in the day would only end up getting $100 per season, despite being the ones who were drawing in the crowds. Their male counterparts who were playing would get bonuses at the end of each season — and if they won the Superbowl, each got a $10,000 ring.
Mixed Cheerleading Squads
Despite once being a male-dominated, and male-only sport, cheerleading over the years has become seen as a more feminine activity to do. While the cheer squads we see in colleges and high schools may be more diverse, this photo showed some of the only mixed-gender cheer squads in the country.
This image was captured at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas shows the importance of the men on the cheer squad. These members obviously worked on their heavy lifting abilities to be able to throw these cheerleaders into the air.
Time to Celebrate
Sisterhood was incredibly important to a lot of professional cheerleaders back in the day because of all of the horrible inequalities they were facing surrounding their pay and their uniforms. Many were friends with each other outside of work too.
Dana Presley Killmer, a former Dalla Cowboys cheerleader, said that she would be happy to do it again as it was one of the best experiences of her life. Even after all the trouble she went through in the job, it was the sisterhood that made it all worth it.
Lots of Body Shaming
As you may expect from a job that puts a lot of focus and pressure on appearance, a lot of cheerleaders from back in the day talk about how they were body-shamed by coaches, owners, and fans. Killmer, who joined the Cowboys in the 1980s, said she was on a list called ‘thighs.’
All cheerleaders were permitted to be weighed and measured before each practice, and if the desired number didn’t show up, you were sent home. There were other lists for girls who needed to lose five or ten pounds.
Just the Two of Us
This picture taken back in 1955 shows a relatively plained clothed pair of cheerleaders, however, we suspect that if the pictures were in color, you would be able to see just how fantastic and colorful their cheerleading uniforms are.
While women are mainly seen to be the most flexible, men play a vital role in the cheerleading squad too. Because they are able to gain muscles quickly, they have the ability to throw girls high in the air so that they can perform tricks and flips to impress the audience.
The Dallas Superstars
The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders are some of the most iconic cheerleaders in history given their sudden and unexpected rebranding in the 1970s. After the debacle at the Super Bowl, their new head, Suzanne Mitchell, made the decision to make their uniforms smaller.
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders would be dressed in short shorts with front-tie shirts and, of course, a white vest with cowboy boots to tie their look together. Cheerleaders would regularly be weighed and measured, and even today, the uniform hasn’t changed.
A Form of Protest
You wouldn’t think that cheerleaders could be radical — but in fact, back in the day, they were. While this may look like it’s edited, or even a still from a movie set in high school, we promise that this is very real.
These students from Virginia were putting on a performance for a Life magazine article as a protest against their school being one of the schools in the south closed by state officials while they tried to block court integration orders. We think they did a killer job!
Dirty Dancing in Real Life
As cheerleading routines in the 1980s became more dance and gymnastics focused, it’s no wonder that over the years, many cheerleading squads have tried to incorporate the iconic lift scene from one of the most popular movies of all time.
While it looks like this shot is taken of a pair creating reenacting the iconic lift scene in Dirty Dancing between Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, this shot was actually taken at the NCAA finals in 1976 — 11 years before Dirty Dancing was released. Who did it better?
Full of Pep
This next vintage picture was taken of an Auburn cheerleader during a game against Alabama in Birmingham in 1971 — 50 years ago this year. If girls ever wanted to get noticed by potential teams to go professional, it was important for them to be full of pep.
However, it was also important that each cheerleader had their own distinct look so that they could be easily identified. These attributes would also be important for the girls that got picked, as two girls with the same identity on the team just wouldn’t work.
Double Standards
As with most things, there are double standards within cheerleading that many former cheerleaders spoke about during their time. They mentioned relationships with footballers in particular. Cheerleaders would often be banned from interacting with players before, during, and after games.
This was often due to the rumors around infidelity. Debbie Kepley, a former Dallas Cowboy cheerleader, stated that many of the players were cheating on their partners with cheerleaders. However, if they were found out, the cheerleader took the blame instead of the player.
How High Can You Go?
This photo really shows the determination and the strength that some cheerleaders had back in the day. Having the ability to hold a whole other person on top of your shoulders without holding onto them is a massive achievement for both cheerleaders in this situation.
These cheerleaders are part of the University of Georgia Bulldogs, and while we can’t see the colors due to the black and white picture, most cheerleading uniforms focused on white and another bright color for the female cheerleaders, and one color for the males.
Absolutely Flawless!
This picture is of a Denver Broncos cheerleader. It’s quite obvious how the radical overhaul of the Dallas Cowboys uniform had an impact on every other cheer squad. After all, the uniform is part of what draws audiences in.
This cheerleader has the same cropped waistcoat that can be seen on the Dallas Cowboys, along with tassels and sequins. This uniform also comes with tasseled cuffs and voluminous red pompoms. While it may not be as racy, it’s still a fantastic uniform!
A New Era
Looking at the New Utrecht High School cheerleader uniforms today, you would never believe that their vintage counterparts would be so similar. This photo was taken in 1957 and while miniskirts were frowned upon in those times, these girls still rocked them!
They have paired the signature loose jumper, however instead of a long, mid-length pleated skirt, this uniform features a light-colored miniskirt. This set the way for the new style of uniforms in later decades so that cheerleaders felt more comfortable in them.
Excited Team Member
While cheerleaders weren’t allowed to interact with players in case of infidelity rumors, that doesn’t mean they can’t get excited and show their support from the sidelines. This photo of a Louisiana State cheerleader from 1958 getting excited during a game against Mississippi proves just that.
While looking through old, vintage photos of cheerleaders, it isn’t uncommon to find pictures of cheerleaders either overjoyed at their team winning, or looking on through teary eyes as they suffer a loss. They could be worrying about the future of their work, too!
Ready to Rock
This photo is evidently from the 1980s. You cannot look at the hairstyle like that and not automatically think of the ’80s! This photo of the Los Angeles Rams cheerleader was taken in 1987 and shows the natural beauty that cheerleaders usually embody.
While cheerleaders in the 1950s were meant to look innocent, by the time the 1990s came around, cheerleaders were expected to apply a full face of makeup for their performances. As this picture was taken just before the ’90s, this cheerleader opted for a natural, subtle look.
A Group Effort
After it was decided in 1974 that cheerleading was, in fact, not a sport, Jeff Webb established the Universal Cheerleaders Association. It aimed to make cheerleading more stunt-based and athletic. It was also to deter girls from flocking to other sports.
Back when this picture was taken in 1958, cheerleading wasn’t classed as a sport. However, by 1975, over 500,000 people would be cheerleading. Most of these would mostly be women as the sport became more directed at enticing male audiences to games.
A Dangerous Sport
Due to the activities we see modern cheerleaders do, such as flips and acrobatics, it’s not wild to assume that cheerleading is actually quite a dangerous sport. Sometimes the stunts that some cheerleaders pull can be absolutely brutal.
In 2006, a cheerleader fell from the top of the pyramid at Southern Illinois University and ended up breaking her vertebrae, bruising her lung, and suffered a concussion. However, she still carried on performing while being carried away in a stretcher. What a team player!
School Spirit
These are some of the most amazing cheerleading uniforms that we’ve ever seen! This photo of the Louisiana State University tiger and cheerleaders was taken in 1959 after their victory over Rice University. And while that’s an exciting feat, we just can’t stop looking at those uniforms.
Not only were these outfits so ahead of their time by featuring a miniskirt, but they were also made from a gold material and featured a cape. These cheerleaders must have really felt like superheroes whilst showing off their practiced routines.
Lots of Training
It looks like training to become a cheerleader was not for the faint-hearted. This picture from the 1960s shows squad training under Bill Horan, who was an infamous cheerleading coach and also ran the American Cheerleaders Association.
These legendary sessions taught by Horan had the girls acting like soldiers in a marine boot camp. He would keep them under strict control and lead with an iron fist. Horan once said they keep the girls off balance so they’re always on their toes with him.
Leading Double Lives
Many of those who used to cheer in the 1980s and 1990s have spoken about the weird rules they had to live by. While they may have been forced to dress provocatively during their performances, they were expected to act prude in their personal lives.
This was because managers wanted to make the cheerleaders seem unattainable. Some of these wacky rules included not being allowed to chew gum, they weren’t allowed to wear blue jeans, or even drink in public. These days, this would definitely be going to court.
Getting More Modern
This photo looks like it could have been taken yesterday. Instead, this photo is actually taken in 1988. It shows cheerleaders for the Los Angeles Lakers doing their routine during a game versus the Denver Nuggets in Los Angeles.
As these are basketball cheerleaders rather than football cheerleaders, the uniforms will vary drastically. Instead of wearing revealing clothes in an attempt to entice male audiences, these women are wearing loose-fitting t-shirts and athletic shorts, which are perfect for their intended use.
A Real Beauty
Above all, while cheerleaders did endure tough conditions back in the day, their actions helped to pave a fairer and more balanced life for professional cheerleaders today. Cheerleaders nowadays won’t have to pay for their own uniform or travel like they used to.
While it may not be an easy job, it’s definitely one that many people love and will have fond memories of. These vintage photos have shown us how different trends during the decades inspired how the uniforms looked, and have made us all quite nostalgic!
