- Sep 13, 2002
- 97,567
- 203,122
- 113
Kind of interesting that it was a very male-dominated endeavor until into the 1950s. Some of the early pioneers, it appears, were quite the fancyboys!
Thomas Peebles taught philosophy at the University of Minnesota. Johnny Campbell became a medical doctor. Lawrence Herkimer quit teaching to devote time to a business he created. Peebles, Campbell, and Herkimer are not exactly household names. Nevertheless, they gave rise to an iconic U.S. activity, which recently became its own freestanding competitive sport.
These men are all variously referred to as the “father” (sometimes the grandfather) of cheerleading.
Brief sketches of these characters, Peebles first: Cheerleading’s roots are tied to American football. In 1869, the first intercollegiate game is played, Princeton versus Rutgers; by the 1880s, Princeton has an all-male pep club (Princeton isn’t co-educational until 1969). In 1884, a Princeton graduate, Thomas Peebles, who emigrated from Ireland at age 13, brings pep-club spirit to the University of Minnesota, where he’s named the University’s first football coach, a position without pay. A description of Peebles: “a twinkling eye, a moustache, winged collars, and the bearing of a scholar.”
At practices, Peebles divides the team in half, coaching one of these two teams in a scrimmage. When Peebles' team scores, he shouts “Sis-Boom-Ah, Princeton!” Eventually, the opposing team responds with their own yell, “Rah-Rah-Rah, Ski-U-Mah!” Minnesota’s first-year record is 1 – 2, the only season Peebles coached. Throughout these games, simple cheers emanate spontaneously from the stands, rarely in unison, with some groups seeking to out-yell others. It’s a rather humble start.
Second character: Fourteen years later, Johnny Campbell wanders into history. In 1898, the University of Minnesota football team endures a three-game losing streak and a campus meeting is convened to discuss how students can support the team. Campbell suggests that someone should lead “yells and songs” to engage the crowd and ignite the team. Attendees agree and appoint Campbell to lead this charge. So, on November 2, 1898, in a game against Northwestern, Johnny Campbell runs onto the field, standing before the crowd, shouting, “Rah, Rah, Rah! Ski-U-Mah! Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Varsity! Minn-e-SO-tah!”
Minnesota’s 17-6 win is at least partially credited to Campbell’s cheer. It might not sound like much today, but it was an epic moment, commonly called the birth of modern cheerleading. Soon, every campus has “yell leaders” and “rooter clubs”.
Two other notable chapters. In 1911, Harvard President Lowell calls cheerleading “the worst means of expressing emotion ever invented.” The Nation magazine responds: “The reputation of having been a valiant ‘cheer-leader’ is one of the most valuable things a boy can take away from college. As a title to promotion in professional or public life, it ranks hardly second to that of being a quarterback.”* Then, a century ago, in 1924, Stanford University formally adds cheerleading to its curriculum. According to the New York Times, “Stanford takes a notable step toward attainment of the dream which has always hovered before the eyes of educators – the harmonious and simultaneous training of mind and body. … Just a single doubt arises. How is cheer-leading in the curriculum to be correlated with Life? What does a course in cheer-leading specifically prepare (students) for?”
Third character: In the late 1940s, a former Southern Methodist University cheerleader, Lawrence Herkimer, launches the first cheerleading camp. He also creates and popularizes the “herkie,” a specific cheer jump… one arm up, one hand on hip; one leg straight out, the other bent back. In 1952, he borrows $200 to make crepe-paper pompoms in his garage. Herkimer receives a patent for his invention in 1971… and in 1986 sells his cheerleading empire (camps, clinics, and supplies) for $20 million. The next year, he mentions taking cheerleading “from the raccoon coat and pennant to greater heights.”
Lawrence Herkimer, demonstrating the “herkie”
Indeed, he did – with even greater heights seemingly within reach. Now, cheer is its own competitive sport in addition to a support activity. It won’t be at the 2028 Olympics, but possibly in 2032. Cheerleading has made incredible strides since the days of Peebles, Campbell, and Herkimer, while moving rapidly into an equally exciting future.
I salute these three trailblazers here, singing as they do at the University of Minnesota, the self-described “Birthplace of Cheerleading”… “Hats off to thee!”
Upgrade to paid
* In support of this point, four of our Presidents were college cheerleaders: Franklin Roosevelt at Harvard, Dwight Eisenhower at West Point, Ronald Reagan at Eureka College (Illinois), and George W. Bush at Yale.
These men are all variously referred to as the “father” (sometimes the grandfather) of cheerleading.
Brief sketches of these characters, Peebles first: Cheerleading’s roots are tied to American football. In 1869, the first intercollegiate game is played, Princeton versus Rutgers; by the 1880s, Princeton has an all-male pep club (Princeton isn’t co-educational until 1969). In 1884, a Princeton graduate, Thomas Peebles, who emigrated from Ireland at age 13, brings pep-club spirit to the University of Minnesota, where he’s named the University’s first football coach, a position without pay. A description of Peebles: “a twinkling eye, a moustache, winged collars, and the bearing of a scholar.”
At practices, Peebles divides the team in half, coaching one of these two teams in a scrimmage. When Peebles' team scores, he shouts “Sis-Boom-Ah, Princeton!” Eventually, the opposing team responds with their own yell, “Rah-Rah-Rah, Ski-U-Mah!” Minnesota’s first-year record is 1 – 2, the only season Peebles coached. Throughout these games, simple cheers emanate spontaneously from the stands, rarely in unison, with some groups seeking to out-yell others. It’s a rather humble start.
Second character: Fourteen years later, Johnny Campbell wanders into history. In 1898, the University of Minnesota football team endures a three-game losing streak and a campus meeting is convened to discuss how students can support the team. Campbell suggests that someone should lead “yells and songs” to engage the crowd and ignite the team. Attendees agree and appoint Campbell to lead this charge. So, on November 2, 1898, in a game against Northwestern, Johnny Campbell runs onto the field, standing before the crowd, shouting, “Rah, Rah, Rah! Ski-U-Mah! Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Varsity! Minn-e-SO-tah!”
Minnesota’s 17-6 win is at least partially credited to Campbell’s cheer. It might not sound like much today, but it was an epic moment, commonly called the birth of modern cheerleading. Soon, every campus has “yell leaders” and “rooter clubs”.
Two other notable chapters. In 1911, Harvard President Lowell calls cheerleading “the worst means of expressing emotion ever invented.” The Nation magazine responds: “The reputation of having been a valiant ‘cheer-leader’ is one of the most valuable things a boy can take away from college. As a title to promotion in professional or public life, it ranks hardly second to that of being a quarterback.”* Then, a century ago, in 1924, Stanford University formally adds cheerleading to its curriculum. According to the New York Times, “Stanford takes a notable step toward attainment of the dream which has always hovered before the eyes of educators – the harmonious and simultaneous training of mind and body. … Just a single doubt arises. How is cheer-leading in the curriculum to be correlated with Life? What does a course in cheer-leading specifically prepare (students) for?”
Third character: In the late 1940s, a former Southern Methodist University cheerleader, Lawrence Herkimer, launches the first cheerleading camp. He also creates and popularizes the “herkie,” a specific cheer jump… one arm up, one hand on hip; one leg straight out, the other bent back. In 1952, he borrows $200 to make crepe-paper pompoms in his garage. Herkimer receives a patent for his invention in 1971… and in 1986 sells his cheerleading empire (camps, clinics, and supplies) for $20 million. The next year, he mentions taking cheerleading “from the raccoon coat and pennant to greater heights.”
 |
Indeed, he did – with even greater heights seemingly within reach. Now, cheer is its own competitive sport in addition to a support activity. It won’t be at the 2028 Olympics, but possibly in 2032. Cheerleading has made incredible strides since the days of Peebles, Campbell, and Herkimer, while moving rapidly into an equally exciting future.
I salute these three trailblazers here, singing as they do at the University of Minnesota, the self-described “Birthplace of Cheerleading”… “Hats off to thee!”
Upgrade to paid
* In support of this point, four of our Presidents were college cheerleaders: Franklin Roosevelt at Harvard, Dwight Eisenhower at West Point, Ronald Reagan at Eureka College (Illinois), and George W. Bush at Yale.
