Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders enshrined in Smithsonian museum

Decades worth of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders memorabilia is now on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

The museum accepted several items donated by the squad, including game-day uniforms, a 1977 poster and an original sketch of the iconic DCC uniform.

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders were the pioneers of modern-day cheerleading. They became the first group to incorporate choreographed dance routines on the sidelines of a professional football game in 1972.

“The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders raised the bar for NFL cheerleaders in the 1970s, using athleticism and a strong sense of self to set the standard for what an organization of empowered women can accomplish in today’s society,” said Jane Rogers, associate curator in the museum’s Division of Culture and the Arts, in a press release.

LINK: History of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders

Cowboys Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer Charlotte Jones-Anderson was among the contingency of people at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. Monday. She signed the donation deed for the historical memorabilia.

The donated items include a copy of the original uniform sketch, game-worn DCC uniforms from the 1980s and 2011, three 2007 Barbie Dolls wearing DCC garb, the first poster featuring an NFL cheerleading squad and an NFL-licensed Abbey Bear.

From the Smithsonian:

"The donated artifacts will join the museum’s collection of cheerleading objects, which includes items from a 1934 high school precision-dance team, as well as items associated with the Kilgore Rangerettes, a college precision-dance team organized in 1949 by Gussie Nell Davis. These were collected because they were the first high school and college teams created specifically to involve girls and women in a sport at a time when their participation in sports was limited."

Cowboys cheerleading director Kelli Finglass, past uniform designers Lisa Dobson and Paula Van Wagoner and four DCC group leaders took part in Monday’s ceremony with museum personnel.

Dallas sculptor Brad Oldham, who has designed the silver and jewel-encrusted belt buckle on the cheerleaders’ uniform since 2006, was also on hand.

Today I became a permanent part of the #Smithsonian as part of the #dallascowboyscheerleaders uniform. I’ve been making that great that great shiny silver and jewel encrusted buckle in the middle since 2006. One outfit from the 80’s and the current one pictured here will be preserved for the future. The Smithsonian National Museum of American History. #bradoldhamsculpture #dallascowboyscheerleaders #dallascowboys #washingtondc #sculpture #swarovskicrystals #cheerleaders

A post shared by Brad Oldham Sculpture (@bradoldhamsculpture) on Feb 26, 2018 at 2:12pm PST