The Pittsburgh Steelers do not have cheerleaders.
It is crazy to think about since the Pittsburgh Steelerettes were the first cheerleading squad in the National Football League, serving as the cheerleaders for the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 1960s.
They are one of only six NFL teams without cheerleaders, along with the Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, and New York Giants.
Speaking of the Packers, when the two teams met in Super Bowl XLV, neither franchise had cheerleaders, as Green Bay did away with their cheerleaders in 1988 after market research indicated fans did not really care.
The Steelers’ cheerleading pioneers were part of the organization from 1961 until 1968.
In the 1960s, the team’s lack of cheerleaders ended after the girls wished to wear outfits that were more “modern” and “daring.”
According to Wikipedia, the owner wasn’t feeling it, so he decided to fire them instead.
The cheerleaders’ skirts were knee-length, and they wore black turtlenecks and white sneakers. Art Rooney was a devout Catholic who insisted that the cheerleaders maintain a high moral standard, so the women wanting to do away with what he liked ended them forever.
They also wore helmets.
“The first year, we wore hard helmets as part of our uniform… We started to look more and more like wholesome cheerleaders as time went on.” – Eleanor Lewis, Original Steelerette.
Rooney was still not a huge fan of the squad and made it clear to the team that he expected wholesome, conservative performances.
“It was a mutual understanding between us and management that we did not sign on to become showgirls… It was definitely not like what would come with squads like the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.” – Patricia Tanner, Steelerette.
The last Steelerettes squad left the field after the 1969 season, and they haven’t returned since.
