Editing Cheerleading (section)

===Beginning of organized cheerleading===
[[File:JCampbell.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Minnesota Golden Gophers Spirit Squads|Minnesota Gopher]] cheerleader Johnny Campbell]]
Organized cheerleading began as an all-male activity.<ref name=ICU_History_2018>{{Cite web |title=History of The Sport of Cheer |url=https://cheerunion.org.ismmedia.com/ISM3/std-content/repos/Top/docs/ICU_History_2018.pdf |access-date=2020-02-02 |archive-date=2020-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202212101/https://cheerunion.org.ismmedia.com/ISM3/std-content/repos/Top/docs/ICU_History_2018.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> As early as 1877, [[Princeton University]] had a "Princeton Cheer", documented in the February 22, 1877, March 12, 1880, and November 4, 1881, issues of ''[[The Daily Princetonian]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://theprince.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/princeton?a=d&cl=search&d=Princetonian18770222-01.2.12&srpos=1 |work=The Daily Princetonian |volume=1 |issue=13 |page=4 |date=February 22, 1877 |title=deadlink}}{{dead link|date=June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://theprince.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/princeton?a=d&cl=search&d=Princetonian18800312-01.2.4&srpos=1 |work=The Daily Princetonian |volume=4 |issue=16 |page=1 |date=March 12, 1880 |title=deadlink}}{{dead link|date=June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://theprince.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/princeton?a=d&cl=search&d=Princetonian18811104-01.2.17 |work=The Daily Princetonian |volume=6 |issue=8 |page=5 |date=November 4, 1881 |title=deadlink}}{{dead link|date=June 2023}}</ref> This cheer was yelled from the stands by students attending games, as well as by the athletes themselves. The cheer, "Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah! Tiger! S-s-s-t! Boom! A-h-h-h!" remains in use with slight modifications today, where it is now referred to as the "Locomotive".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.princeton.edu/football/songs.html |title=Princeton University website Songs and Cheers |publisher=Princeton.edu |access-date=2012-08-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102092442/http://www.princeton.edu/football/songs.html |archive-date=2012-11-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Princeton class of 1882 graduate [[Thomas Peebles (American football)|Thomas Peebles]] moved to Minnesota in 1884. He transplanted the idea of organized crowds cheering at football games to the [[Minnesota Golden Gophers Spirit Squads|University of Minnesota]].<ref>[https://archive.today/20120709224633/http://files.usgwarchives.org/mn/hennepin/bios/1923/peeblest.txt "Thomas Peebles"]. ''History of Minneapolis, Gateway to the Northwest'' Chicago-Minneapolis: The S J Clarke Publishing Co. 1923. Marion Daniel Shutter, ed. Volume III: Biographical, pp. 719–720.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://cheerunion.org/Content.aspx/History |title=International Cheer Union, Governing Body of International Cheerleading Website: History of Cheerleading |publisher=Cheerunion.org |date=1989-01-01 |access-date=2012-08-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723193811/http://www.cheerunion.org/Content.aspx/History |archive-date=2012-07-23 }}</ref>

The term "Cheer Leader" had been used as early as 1897, with Princeton's football officials having named three students as ''Cheer Leaders:'' Thomas, Easton, and Guerin from Princeton's classes of 1897, 1898, and 1899, respectively, on October 26, 1897. These students would cheer for the team also at football practices, and special cheering sections were designated in the stands for the games themselves for both the home and visiting teams.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://theprince.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/princeton?a=d&cl=search&d=Princetonian18971026-01.2.11 |work=The Daily Princetonian |volume=22 |issue=78 |page=2 |date=October 26, 1897 |title=deadlink}}{{dead link|date=June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://theprince.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/princeton?a=d&cl=search&d=Princetonian19001101-01.2.12 |work=The Daily Princetonian |volume=25 |issue=112 |page=2 |date=November 1, 1900 |title=deadlink}}{{dead link|date=June 2023}}</ref>

It was not until 1898 that 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.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Male Cheerleaders |url=https://cheerleading.lovetoknow.com/Male_Cheerleaders |access-date=2021-04-15 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021214727/https://cheerleading.lovetoknow.com/Male_Cheerleaders |archive-date=2020-10-21 |website=cheerleading.lovetoknow.com}}</ref>

November 2, 1898, is the official birth date of organized cheerleading. Soon after, the University of Minnesota organized a "yell leader" squad of six male students, who still use Campbell's original cheer today.<ref name="ICFHandbook">{{Cite book | last1=Neil | first1=Randy L. | last2=Hart | first2=Elaine | title=The Official Cheerleader's Handbook | publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] | year=1986 | edition=Revised Fireside Edition 1986 | isbn=978-0-671-61210-8 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/allnewofficialch00neil }}</ref>