1884 Princeton: Thomas Peebles carried a yell of "Sis Boom Rah."
1889 U of Minnesota: Johnny Campbell was the first cheerleader. It was the last football game of the season, Gophers against Northwestern. Johnny got up and yelled with a megaphone "Rah, Rah, Rah! Ski-u-Mah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Minn-e-so-tah! After that people called him a yell leader and yell marshal.
1899 U of Minnesota: Johnny and five friends organized cheers, fight songs and raised school pride. This was the first cheerleading squad made up of ALLguys.
1903 Gamma Sigma was named the first cheerleading fraternity.
1905 Texas A&M: Bring Texas "the cheerleading state" into the sport with their still male only yell leaders.
1910 U of Illinois: Held the first Homecoming week.
1923 U of Minnesota: Female students are allowed to cheer. They bring gymnastics and tumbling to the routines.
1925 Oregon State: Lindley Boltwell makes the first flash cards.
1927 Wills Busbee writes the first book of cheers called "Just Yell."
1940 WW2 allows more females to join cheerleading squads.
1948 Sam Houston State: Lawrence Herkimer gathers 52 students to have a summer cheerleading clinic.
1949 Dallas: Herkimer has the first workshop under the NCA name.
1950 Santa Cruz, Ca: The 49ers cheer squad (who were high school cheerleaders) go to summer camp. Herkimer develops the Herkie jump and NCA is incorporated. 1956 Herkimer invents the Pom pon.
1957 NCA creates the first spirit stick.
1957 Baltimore: The Colts add the first professional cheer squad in history.
1964 U of Kansas: Randy Neil founds ICF
1967 Pop Warner cheerleaders are added to pee wee football.
1968 Fred Gasthoff makes the first vinyl pompom.
1971 ICF invents the "Cheerleader All American Award" for outstanding sportsmanship in cheerleading.
1972 Title IX was founded as was Varsity and the famous Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders.
1973 Cheerleaders start cheering at Womens events.
1974 Jeff Webb quits his VP/General Manager job with NCA to start up UCA.
