"Girl Cheerleaders" Debut at OPRF High School in 1955
For the first time in the history of Oak Park River Forest High School, a "mixed squad" of girls and boys led cheers on the sideline of a football game.
Oak Leaves reported that on Oct. 8, 1955, girls joined the traditionally all-male cheer squad on the sideline during the football game versus rival Evanston High School.
After training during the month of September, girls from Oak Park, River Forest and Elmwood Park were the pioneering cheerleaders (Elmwood Park residents attended OPRF while Elmwood Park High School was under construction.) The change was voted in by the school's student council, according to the newspaper.
According to the 1956 Tabula yearbook, "after a series of tryouts in which over 40 girls competed for positions on the squad, 18 girls were chosen to join the boys on the varsity and sophomore squads."