This Day In History – November 2nd

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OFFICIAL BIRTH DATE OF ORGANIZED CHEERLEADING – NOV. 2, 1898 World’s first cheerleader Johnny Campbell – University of Minnesota Organized cheerleading started out as an all-male activity. In 1898, University of Minnesota student Johnny Campbell directed a crowd in cheering “Rah, Rah, Rah! Ski-u-mah, Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Varsity! Varsity, Minn-e-So-Tah!”, making Campbell the very first cheerleader and November 2, 1898 the official birth date of organized cheerleading. Soon after, the University of Minnesota organized a “yell leader” squad of 6 male students, who still use Campbell’s original cheer. In 1903 the first cheerleading fraternity, Gamma Sigma was founded. In 1923, women joined cheerleading and began to dominate the sport in World War II when few men were involved in organized sports. At this time, there were no collegiate sports for women but women were allowed to participate in cheering squads. At this time, gymnastics, tumbling, and megaphones were incorporated into popular cheers, and are still used. Today, estimates show that 97% of cheerleading participants overall are female. However, at the collegiate level cheerleading is a co-ed sport with 50% of participants being male. [Source] University of Minnesota Rooter Kings circa 1930s – Photograph via University of Minnesota

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