Long before the days the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders had a Netflix special, and before cheer competitions with pounds of makeup and hairspray were commonplace, cheerleading’s purpose stayed close to its namesake: Girls led the spirit of sports teams through cheers. From saddle shoes and pleated skirts to coiffed hair and pompoms, these vintage photos show what cheerleaders looked like in decades past.
1. Sodas and Saddle Shoes (1950s)
2. Not Everyone Got the Enthusiasm Memo (1940s)
3. Wintertime Cheer Squad (1950s)
4. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ Cheerleaders, the ‘Steelerettes’ (1961)
5. Head Cheerleader Hugging the Football Captain (1953)
Trending on Wealth Gang
6. High School Cheerleaders at a Pep Assembly
7. Getting Ready for the Game (1950s)
8. Working Those Pom Poms (1959)
Sign up for our newsletter
Subscribe to Wealth Gang and get exclusive tips, top deals, and money-saving ideas sent directly to you.
9. Catching Some Air (1954)
10. Sweater Weather (1946)
11. Plaid, Tie, and Pom Poms (1969)
12. Before the Game Chaos (1974)
13. Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Team Pictures (1977)
14. Mary Smith, One of the First African American Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (1970)
15. Fired Up (1960s)
16. Now Those Are Groovy Cheerleaders (1970s)
17. Collars and Pleated Skirts (1966)
Looking for similar content?Â
Take a trip back to high school when cheerleaders kept spirits high. Check out 20 High School Photos From the ’70s That Are Pure Nostalgia, 20 High School Photos That Perfectly Sum Up the 1980s Teen Experience, and 17 Real-Life ’90s High School Photos That Feel Like a Teen Movie.
