History of Cheerleading Timeline

~ Late 1880's: Organized Cheerleading started.
~ 1884: First official cheer performed at Princeton University
~ November 2, 1898: Johnny Campbell was the first official cheerleader from the University of Minnesota.
~1903-1923: Men dominated the "Yell Squad" and cheerleading was seen as a mans sport
~1923-1940's: Women began to join cheerleading squads due to men's departure to war. (WWII) At this time they began to incorporate props to cheers such as pom-poms and the megaphone.
~1948: Expansion of cheerleading which included Cheer Camps and Clinics introduced by Lawrence "Herkie" Herkimer.
~1950: Start of High School Cheerleading
~1967: Emergence of Pop Warner cheerleaders at Pee Wee football games.
(Pop Warner = Allowed children to cheer who did not have school affiliation)
First ranked competitions start including "Top Ten Cheerleading Squads" and "Cheerleading All America"
~1972: Title IX passed
First professional cheerleading squads established
~Mid 1970's: Cheerleading transformed from just leading the crowd to a group of athletes with routines and perfected skills
~1976: First official stunt performed was called a "Liberty"
~1980: All-Star teams began
~1987: All-Star division was created. It gave different rules to High School teams compared to All-Star teams.
~Late 1990's: ESPN declares cheerleading a sport, but it was first televised in the late 1970's