Cheerleading is much different now from what it was back in the day. We have gathered some vintage photos of cheerleaders from yesteryear that will make you wish you were born in another generation!
A Tough Job
Cheerleaders put copious amounts of hours into training to make sure that their routines are perfect. Not only is a lot of training required, but keeping fit and healthy is also another requirement that comes with being a cheerleader. Most coaches back in the day would have their cheer squad on strict diets so they had enough energy for the games!
Bring it Home!
While most modern cheerleading uniforms are skin-tight and made with a certain material to allow cheerleaders to move about freely, this was not always the case. This is perfectly demonstrated by this next vintage photo from an Iowa State cheerleader.
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Iowa is a midwest state and thus would get extremely cold during the winter. This would probably explain the thick, woolen Iowa sweater this cheerleader is adorning. If these girls are cheerleading during the summer, they may have to look for an alternative!
Poms Poms Up
You may not recognize her here, but this is actually a still from the 1960 movie Tall Story, with Jane Fonda in her first-ever on-screen role. Fonda plays June Ryder who goes to university to not only study home economics, but to find a husband.
As shown in these photos, the 1960s were a new era for cheerleading uniforms compared to Sandy’s cheerleading uniform in Grease. The inclusion of the miniskirt in these uniforms allowed cheerleaders to move freely and perform a number of difficult tricks.
Truly All American
While cheerleading is starting to become a popular hobby and profession around the world, its importance and prevalence in American culture cannot be understated. There are cheerleaders at a high school or college level, and beyond that, people can become professional cheerleaders.
However, people really underestimate cheerleaders. They might think these ladies are dumb just because they’re cheerleaders, however, that’s certainly not true. Many cheerleaders at a professional level actually have college diplomas and are very skilled in their field.
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.
