Cheerleading started in the later part of the 1800s. The story goes that that on November 6th, 1869 the first intercollegiate football game happened between Princeton and Rutgers. The first cheerleaders were present to guide the fans in cheers during the game. The first cheerleaders were a group of male students. They were "elected" to lead the crowd. The first cheerleaders simply got up in front of the crowd and led them in cheers. It was simple. It was basic and it was accurately described by the name. Over the years, the cheerleaders evolved. They employed large megaphones to amplify their voices, and signs to rally up fans. They created signs to highlight their cheers. Over time, tumbling and stunting were used to excite and lead the fans. In 1923, the University of Minnesota[^1] was the first college to let women onto their cheerleading team. Women began to dominate cheerleading as men were drafted for the War in the early 1940s. After the war women continued to dominate cheerleading. In 1975, it was said that roughly 500,000 students participated in cheerleading and 95% of the cheerleaders were female. In 2005, the statistics said that 97% of cheerleaders were female. In college, where coed cheerleading was more prevalent, roughly half of the cheerleaders were male. > Although cheerleading is today predominantly associated with femininity, the original cheerleaders were men. Cheerleading was connected to the emergence of gridiron football at Ivy League colleges and universities in the United States in the mid-1800s, and the growth and formalization of cheerleading paralleled that of football. Over the latter half of the 19th century, as attendance at college games grew, large stadiums were constructed, and spectators were distanced from the playing field. Cheerleaders—or “yell leaders,” as they were then called—led cheers from the sidelines both to encourage the spectators and to serve as a form of crowd control. By the 1920s cheerleading had become a formal extracurricular activity for boys in high schools, colleges, and communities across the country, related to but distinct from other spirit programs such as marching bands, drum corps, and drill teams. As ambassadors for their schools and communities, cheerleaders were associated with such character-building traits as discipline, cooperation, leadership, and sportsmanship. > -- Britanica [^4] ## How Cheerleading Has Evolved From the chant leaders on the sidelines of Ivy League football games to modern day All-Star Cheerleading competitions, the sport has evolved over the years. ### Timeline 1869 November 6 - Princeton vs Rutgers Game with Yell leaders. 1882 - Thomas Peebles, a Princeton Graduate brings Cheerleading to the University of Minnesota [^2] 1884 - First Cheer created at Princeton University[^2] 1898 November 5 - Considered the "Birthday of Cheerleading", Johnny Campbell got up from the Seats at the University of Minnesota Football game, took the field, and led the a student body chant. [^3] [^1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheerleading getting information from https://web.archive.org/web/20120718053056/http://www.cheerleader.pedia.com/ [^2]: https://usacheer.org/history-of-cheerleading [^3]: There is a little controversy about the actual date on the birthday of cheer. USA Cheer's post above talks about it being on November 6th. Varsity's post (https://www.varsity.com/news/cheerleader-history-cheerleading/#) they say it was after a loosing streak. My guess is based on the schedule of 1898 U of M's Schedule (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1898_Minnesota_Golden_Gophers_football_team) the date was probably November 5th. [^4]: https://www.britannica.com/sports/cheerleading