Jun 27, 2025

NO HISTORY OF CHEERLEADING WITHOUT MENTIONING ITS MODERN FOUNDER LAWRENCE HERKIMER...

Lawrence Herkimer (October 14, 1925 - July 1, 2015) contributed more than anyone to elevating cheerleading into an art, a science, an Olympic sport, and a multi-million dollar industry.


Lawrence Herkimer passed away a decade ago in Dallas due to heart failure at the age of 89. His passing served as a poignant reminder of the profound legacy he left in shaping American culture.

If a mural were to be created for the United States of America, it could include a small section depicting a cheerleader performing the iconic "herkie jump," a move invented by Lawrence Herkimer.  It would serve as an emblem embodying the American spirit, defined by leadership, strength of character, youthful enthusiasm, beauty, discipline, cooperation, and sportsmanship.

Herkimer has justifiably earned the nickname "Mr. Cheerleader," as he is widely acknowledged as the father of modern cheerleading.  He elevated the standard, transforming a collegiate pastime into a professional sport and a makeshift operation he began in his garage into a network of companies generating $55 million annually.


A gymnast and cheerleader, Herkimer graduated in 1948 from the University of Illinois, where he earned a master's degree after pursuing studies in physical education at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.  That same year, he founded the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA), with which he served as a teacher.

He went on to establish the first cheerleading camps across the United States and in several other countries. He is credited with training approximately three million cheerleaders.

He and his wife, Dorothy, were remarkable pioneers. In 1951, they established the Cheerleader Supply Company. Initially operating from the Herkimers' Dallas garage, the company rapidly expanded into a thriving retail business specializing in sweaters, skirts, booster ribbons, custom-made shoes, and various cheerleading equipment.


Herkimer patented the spirit stick and introduced a revised version of the pompom, renaming it "pompon" after realizing that "pompom" carried an obscene connotation in certain Asian languages.

The advent of color television prompted Lawrence's innovation of the pompom.  Cheerleaders were gaining increasing camera attention, and Herkimer identified the need to offer vibrant and visually appealing accessories for them. Consequently, he attached paper streamers to a stick to invent the "pom-pom".  

For his subsequent design update, a flameproof Mylar version featuring a hidden handle, Herkimer was awarded U.S. Patent No. 3,560,313 by the Patent Office in 1971. 


It was a frenzy. Pompon sales surged dramatically, as cheerleaders nationwide sought to acquire their own. Herkimer successfully sold millions upon millions of them.  In addition to being an exceptional innovator and an esteemed trainer, he achieved great success as a wealthy entrepreneur— a quintessential example of the true American self-made man.  In 1986, when Herkie sold his training camp business (not his other assets), he pocketed the staggering sum of 20 million dollars.

At the NCA, celebrating both attitude and athletics was integral to Herkimer's philosophy.  «The physical skills we teach the kids are just a part of it,» he said in a 1983 UPI interview.  «We also teach how to build school spirit, we teach crowd control, we teach crowd psychology, we teach them what to do when a crowd boos, we teach how to plan a pep rally.»


Each year, the NCA trains 150,000 cheerleaders in Dallas, and the business established by Herkimer eventually generated annual sales of $50 million. Later, he also founded the larger Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA), headquartered in Memphis.

Although his hometown was the birthplace of the renowned Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, one of the most flamboyant squads in professional sports, Lawrence Herkimer was not an avid admirer.  He stated, around 1972, that "professional cheerleaders are not cheerleaders; they are dancing girls and entertainers."


In 1987, Herkimer stated to the Dallas Morning News that he had elevated cheerleading «from the raccoon coat and megaphone to greater heights."»

When he died, (July 1, 2015), in honor of him, cheerleaders and would-be cheerleaders lighted up social media with photos of themselves doing the "Herkie Jump".
  
«Lawrence Herkimer was a wonderful guy and an SMU legend,» said Brad Cheves, Southern Methodist University vice president for Development and External Affairs.  «He was very proud of his association with his alma mater, and very generous to the University throughout his lifetime in ways that directly impacted students.  We will cherish his memory.»

It is worth noting that, during World War II, he served in the United States Navy aboard the USS Jamestown for two years in the Philippines.  He was awarded the American Campaign Medal, Victory Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Medal, and Philippine Liberation Campaign Ribbon in recognition of his service.

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Cheerleaders worldwide, along with their parents and fans, will always remember Mr. Cheerleader and his enduring legacy to the American people, a true national treasure.

Mar 14, 2025

HISTORY OF THE BIKINI : DIFFICULT TIMES IN THE "FIFTIES"...

The bikini emerged as a cultural icon at the end of the 1960s; however, prior to this period, it was not widely accepted.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the fashion for women's clothing did not evolve significantly. Women's bodies remained concealed from the neck to the ankles. This was also true for swimsuits, which were made of heavy fabrics and were not very comfortable when wet.

After the First World War, in the 1920s, societal morals were liberated. This marked the beginning of women's emancipation, which significantly impacted women's bathing costumes. Gradually, the sleeves became shorter, the legs were exposed, and the neckline began to lower modestly before eventually becoming more revealing.

The fabrics used in the production of one-piece swimsuits have evolved over time. Initially made from wool, which was uncomfortable and impractical, swimsuits began to incorporate synthetic fibers such as rayon in the 1920s. Rayon, a semi-synthetic fiber, is significantly lighter, more breathable, and offers better water resistance compared to wool.


Almost simultaneously, lastex emerged to revolutionize the swimwear worn by women. This elastic synthetic rubber thread enabled the creation of more refined, fitted, tighter, and practical designs in the 1930s. These swimsuits often featured lower necklines and sometimes even belts to accentuate the silhouette.

However, their use remains marginal compared to the woolen uniform, which still largely predominates.

In 1935, the first modern two-piece swimsuit was introduced, featuring a mid-rise top and a high-waisted bottom. This design, considered very daring for its time, marked a significant milestone in the evolution of swimwear and paved the way for the iconic bikini, created in France by Louis Réard in 1946.


The first bikini is a bold and revolutionary two-piece swimsuit that forever changed the landscape of swimwear design. Its minimalist design represented a radical departure from the modesty and conservatism of the time. Consisting of a bra-like top and panties, the bikini was designed to be form-fitting and liberating, accentuating the natural contours of the female body.

On July 5, 1946, at the Molitor swimming pool in Paris, Réard could not find any model willing to present his new invention to the public. Only the famous nude dancer, Micheline Bernardini, volunteered to dare to wear this revolutionary two-piece that was too avant-garde for the morality of the time.

Réard's presentation went largely unnoticed, except by the Vatican's religious authorities in Rome, who condemned and banned the bikini in 1947.


Indeed, the bikini is considered scandalous, and wearing it is perceived as immoral, indecent, and vulgar.

Subsequently, throughout the 1950s, the bikini became a more acceptable garment, especially due to star actresses such as Brigitte Bardot, Jayne Mansfield (photo), Marilyn Monroe, and Diana Dors, who wore it in films or at film festivals in Cannes or Venice. Even British Princess Margaret, photographed on a yacht in 1950 on the outskirts of the Costa del Sol, helped to make the bikini better known.

During the 1950s, swimwear models became more varied, featuring high-waisted bottoms and different styles of tops, such as halter tops and bandeaux. However, the one-piece swimsuit remained far more popular and best-selling, with more flattering cuts. The use of stretchy and elastic materials like lycra and nylon became more common, improving fit and comfort.


However, the wearing of bikinis on public beaches remained forbidden during those years, with the exception of the Mediterranean beaches in the south of France, and in Spain where, In order not to harm tourism, Franco's (photo) fascist regime surprisingly allowed women to wear the two small triangles of fabric that make up this kind of swimsuit.

The bikini was banned in Germany until 1970. However, in other regions, particularly in America, the rise of private swimming pools in the 1960s provided many women with the opportunity to wear this type of swimsuit without the scrutiny of onlookers.

Other reasons delayed the popular adoption of this piece of clothing. In politics, in France, communist thought "embarks" the bikini in the class struggle, due to its very high price, making it accessible only to the wealthy upper bourgeois class.


Feminists, on the other hand, oppose the bikini because, according to them, it reduces those who wear it to the status of an object, or objects of sexual desire.

Fashion magazines such as "Elle," Marie Claire, and Vogue were not particularly enamored with the bikini at this time, until the latter magazine declared it the "garment of the season" in 1959, having scorned it eight years earlier.

There was also a form of self-censorship in the sense that bikinis were deemed appropriate only for young women or teenage girls who conformed to beauty standards, namely: slim, without physical defects, and especially "without a big belly".


It referred to a kind of stereotype, a form of discrimination against imperfect, even unsightly bodies. Perhaps a legacy of the pin-up girls and the beautiful movie stars who made the bikini famous in the 1950s.

It was not until the women's liberation movements and the sexual revolution of the 1960s that the bikini became a staple of popular fashion and conquered beaches worldwide.

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Apr 12, 2024


THE  STORY  OF  THE  STEELERETTES,  THE  FIRST  CHEERLEADING  SQUAD  IN  THE  NATIONAL  FOOTBALL  LEAGUE.

For over a hundred years, American football has been associated with cheerleading.  First in schools, whether at the high school, college or university level.  Most fairly large educational institutions with a student football club had, and still have, a group of cheerleaders to support them.

National Football League (NFL) clubs were exceptions to this rule, until 1961, when the Pittsburgh Steelers, in conjunction with Robert Morris Junior College, decided to form a women's cheerleading team to cheer on the local club's players and spectators, also in hopes of improving ticket sales to Steelers games.  Because in those years, the team had little success on the field, which hurt ticket sales.


In 1961, William Day, an administrator at the Robert Morris college, who was also the entertainment coordinator for the Steelers, had this idea to hold tryouts at the college and select a group of young female students to perform on the field during Steelers games.  Robert Morris was a small college without a football team, and the students had unofficially adopted the Steelers as «their team».  So it was a natural union...

At tryouts, candidates were evaluated on their athletic ability, coordination, personality, gymnastics, and appearance.  They also had to know football well to prove that they would know when to cheer.  At games, the performed choreographed jazz routines to live jazz music performed by Harold Betters and band leader Benny Benack.  Steelerettes received one free ticket per game as pay.
1961

Without realizing it, the young Steelerettes were making history as the first cheerleading squad in the NFL.  They would be adorned in outfits befitting of the steel town image of Pittsburgh.  Their uniforms consisted of gold knee-lenght bibbed jumpers and hard hats.

The first group of Steelerettes that cheered during the 1961 season were : Eleanor Lineman (Captain), Virginia Davis, Patricia Zuvella, Margaret Hensler, Dolly Merante, Margie McCormick, Sandy McEachran, Linda Walters and Barbara Bishop.

Contrary to their habits, the Pittsburgh Steelers had more success at home that year, winning four of their seven games.  And the Steelerettes proved to be a tremendous success with both the fans and the media.

1963

The 1962 season started off with a frenzy of public appearances.  When the squad was selected, Bob Prince interviewed them on his weekly TV show, and they were being mentioned in newspaper articles.  The Pittsburgh Steelerettes had become the darlings of the local sports scene.

A group of young men, called «the Ingots», who were also Robert Morris students, were added to complement and assist the cheerleaders in their routines.  But the experience lasted only one season.  The Ingots did not return in 1963.

1964

That year (1963), the Steelerettes uniforms were a bit brighter and the girls no longer had to wear the hard hats.  They were making regular appearances at charity functions, hospitals and schools.  The talented ladies were also regular performers during halftime at the Duquesne University basketball games.

The squad was increased to ten girls, which made it possible to do a classic pyramid, which from then on became one of the Steelerettes trademark routines.

Carefully choreographed acrobatic maneuvers were used to disassemble the pyramid.  The girl in the top position did a backflip onto the field, then a series of cartwheels ending in a split to begin the formation.  The next two did their backflips and cartwheels ending in a split on each side of the first and so on until we ended up forming a «V» on the field.  The girls performed this several times during the game and it was a genuine crowd pleaser.

1968

But the pyramid was difficult to pull-off, and sometimes the girls collapsed into pile.  The 1963 Steelerettes, as well as the 1969 squad, are immortalized in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  Among the films that are shown in the theater are bloopers.  The opening scenes of two such films show the pyramids collapsing in one of the Steelerettes humorous heaps.

Another well-rehearsed routine was the line dance that followed every Steelers score, performed to the rhythm of the «Pittsburgh Steelers Fight Song».

By the 1967 season, the idea of having cheerleaders on the sidelines had cought the attention of several other NFL teams, most notably the Dallas Cowboys, and times were changing.  The Steelerettes had always projected a wholesome, collegiate type image while the new wave of NFL cheerleaders mimicked the Cowboys cheerleaders and their go-go dancing «Rockettes» style.


The Steelerettes were starting to look a bit outdated.

By the late 1960's, Robert Morris' students body had grown and the school now had its own football team.  The decision to disband the Steelerettes was a joint decision between the Rooney family (owner of the Steelers) and Robert Morris.  Apparently, the cheerleaders wished to wear outfits that were more «modern» and «daring».

In response, the «very conservative» owner fired the team.  The last squad of Steelerettes left the field after the 1969 season, when the Steelers lost 13 of their 14 games.  They would never come back.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, to this day, are still among the few NFL teams that do not have cheerleaders.

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Three years later, Dallas Cowboys general manager Tex Schramm asked fashion designer Paula Van Wagoner to «modernize» the cheerleaders' uniforms of the team.  The result was the 1972 iconic DCC uniform which is in the Smithsonium Museum today...