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Dallas
Cowboys Cheerleaders -
Their
First European Tour and How it Came to Camp Lee, 2/11 ACR
In March
1980, the Show Group of the Dallas Cowboy Football Cheerleaders
conducted a brief USO / Department of Defense tour of US military
bases in Germany. This was the first time the Cheerleaders performed
in Europe but it would hardly be the last. Through the ensuing
years, the Cheerleaders participated in over 75 USO tours to
virtually every country that hosted US service men and women and
other NFL teams have likewise joined in these morale boosting
efforts. Thanks NFL for all the games and thanks cheerleaders
on tour for the diversions. Where ever we were you guys also
showed up, regardless of the decade - what a wonderful show!
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Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in performance during the 1979 NFL
season |
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Much of the fine detail of this first brief visit is now
lost, the exact itinerary, number of performances and
specific locations is unknown but we do know some of
their stops. They made appearances at the US Army Barracks
Baumholder, Conn Barracks in Schweinfurt, Camp Lee and then
Downs Barracks, Fulda. Did they stop at Daley Barracks
along the way? There is simply no evidence - maybe
they went to the Hawk site, maybe pressed for time - they
simply drove by.
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The US Army Schweinfurt
Public Affairs Office retained this image of the Dallas Cowboy
Cheerleaders taken on their Christmas Tour in Korea, 1979. The
photo was probably part of the advance publicity as the tour came to
Germany in 1980. |
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In telling this story, we owe great thanks to the newspapers
of the US Army in Germany that first reported on the
tour and the Public Affairs Officers who maintained the
files for long years until we came looking.
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Click on the thumbnail to bring
up the full-sized picture |
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Kim Kilway - a dance and drama major at North Texas State
University, she assisted greatly in retelling this story and
is still very active in the fitness and entertainment
industry in Houston. |
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Teri Richardson - a star athlete in high school with a
passion for performance. Her obituary is here:
http://blackdcc.net/page72.html |
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Kim McKinney - one of the most talented singers to perform
with the DCC, during the Germany tour, she was in school at
the University of Texas at Arlington. |
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Sherrie Worthington - a graduate of North Texas State, she
was employed as a teacher during her DCC career. |
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Jill Waggoner - originally from Los Angeles, she was in
graduate school during the Germany tour. After leaving
the DCC, she went on to medical school and currently is a
physician, author and public speaker. Her twitter feed
is here:
https://twitter.com/AskDrJill
And a bio is here:
http://blackdcc.net/page35.html |
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Suzette Scholz - from Phoenix, she was a nursing student at
Baylor during her DCC career. She is still
professionally active in that field. |
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Debbie White - was attending the University of Texas during
the Germany tour, went into business after leaving the DCC. |
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Syndy Garza - a Texas Tech
graduate in 1980 with a degree in education, she balanced
her teaching career with cheerleading duties and found time
to participate in the Germany tour. |
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Suzanne Mitchell - the heart, soul and manager of the
cheerleaders from their modern day inception in the early
1970s through their spectacular growth in popularity thru
the late 1980s
A history of the DCC recalling Suzanne’s activities
On line interview |
Something
to Cheer About:
Stars and
Stripes Newspaper
13 March
1980
Cowboy
Cheerleaders Kick Off USO Tour
“ We’re
real people not … not sex pots. “
Keith
Bennetts - Entertainment Editor
They may
be the heart throbs of armchair quarterbacks and the envy of
football widows across America, but the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders
say they are much more than just an enterprising group of young
women with long legs, shapely figures and pretty faces.
“ We’re
real people, “ said Jill Waggoner, one of the eight cheerleaders
here on an 11 day USO tour. “ We have careers and full lives …
we’re not sex pots. “
Waggoner
said that although physical attractiveness is part of their success,
the Cheerleaders don’t consider themselves sex objects.
“ Some
people have warped ideas or dirty minds and they can choose to look
at what we do in whatever way they want to - and that’s their right,
“ she explained.
“ However
each of us are individuals with our on jobs and lives to lead.
When people get a chance to know us and talk to us as individuals
they see we’re just like everybody else. If I thought
that I was doing was in any way dirty, I wouldn’t be here. I
don’t think any of us would. We have to live and work in the
community like everyone else. “
Several
women in the touring group have attended college and all have jobs
or avocations other than cheerleading. “ One of the myths
people tend to have about us is that we all want to be movie stars
someday and we’re using the Cheerleaders to get there, “ said Debbie
White, a secretary for a Fort Worth company and in her second years
as a Cheerleader.
“ It’s
just not true. I don’t think there’s one of us here who has
those kind of aspirations. “
Waggoner
added that many people are shocked to learn the Cheerleaders are, “
human beings, too. “
“ When
some people first meet you they say - ’ Well what do you do? ’ I
tell them I work and go to school just like everyone else and I
don’t intend to be a Cheerleader all my life … Sometimes you get the
feeling that people really expect us to just pop up out of the
ground at the games and then just disappear again! “ she said.
“ I think
with our USO Shows and other performances, we have tired to show
people that we just don’t stand there - that we can speak
intelligently and that we have minds, “ added Suzette Scholz, a
three year veteran with the Cheerleaders.
“ With
the shows, we get a chance to sing and dance and show people that we
can do other things besides just stand up and smile on the sidelines
of football games. “
Sex Show Image
Suzanne
Mitchell, vice president of the cheerleaders travels with the group
on show tours. She says dispelling the “ sex show “ image has
been a problem.
“ You’d
really be surprised just how many people think I am some kind of
madam procuring these girls for all sorts of things, “ she said.
“ There’s nothing wrong with being sexy … it’s all in how you
handle it and carry yourself. These are beautiful, dignified
young ladies. Their uniforms are contoured to their bodies not
only to highlight that beauty but for performance purposes as well.
“ We are
entertainers - just like entertainers in Broadway shows or other
performers who wear attractive costumes. Some people try and
separate us from the entertainment business - but you can’t because
that is really what we are all about - entertainment. “
Whatever
the reason for their success, the Cheerleaders have become the
darlings of the gridiron. Dressed in white hot pants and
boots, royal blue shirts and star - spangled mini vests, they
parlayed their sideline shows into a booming business enterprise -
with calendars, posters and other promotional paraphernalia.
Some
Squads Failed
Although
several other National Football League teams have cashed in on the “
beauty on the sidelines “ bonanza, none have enjoyed the
national recognition of the Cowboys cheerleading corps.
Outcries from feminists, moralists and other groups in other cities,
including Washington and Los Angles have forced some teams to either
abandon or tone down cheerleading shows.
“ I think
one of the reasons we are so successful is that we have a good
organization and work so hard. We didn’t start out looking for
fame or anything like that - it just kind of gradually worked out, “
said Kim Kilway, a North Texas State University student. “ I
think that maybe some of the other teams may have tried to achieve
success too fast - maybe that’s why some of them had problems.”
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The DCC were becoming a national sensation in the late 1970s.
Beyond the football sidelines, there were many TV appearances
including the Love Boat program. |
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The corps of Cheerleaders in a publicity still |
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“ Having
a winning team to root for was a big factor too, “ added
Waggoner. “ Without the Cowboys, we wouldn’t be here. “
The Cheerleaders who recently completed a USO tour in Korea, will be
in Europe through March 21 doing shows and making appearances at
USAREUR and USAFE installations and remote sites. Local events
calendars should be consulted for playing dates, times and
locations.
Suzanne
Mitchell
Director
of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders 1975 - 1989
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And the first of two Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader made for TV movies,
seen here with popular 1970s star, John Davidson. |
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Guess who’s coming to town! Baumholder MILCOM delivers
the file recalling the Cheerleaders first tour stop. |
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I
took part in so many tours with the DCC in that period, the
popularity of the cheerleaders was just exploding in the
late 1970s. I recall the Department of Defense / USO
tours began in 1979 when General John Wickham contacted Tex
Schramm and asked if we could participate in a Christmas
tour to Korea to entertain the troops. I said, “
Absolutely! “, it was very successful and became a tradition
with the DCC that holds to this day.
There is an article about that Korea tour.
Going to Germany the following Spring just evolved as we
continued to refine our shows and talent to meet the
requirements the USO. In Germany and then world wide,
we would be making two or three appearances each day in a
foreign country once committed to a tour. In America,
we were used to putting on shows and various public
appearances but when we traveled on the DoD tours, it was a
hectic but enjoyable fast pace with little time for sight
seeing.
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Schweinfurt PAO had a number of clippings from the Cheerleaders
visit. |
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Of course we loved the interaction with the troops, whether
it was a brief stop or full show. That first Germany
tour consisted of seven DCC plus myself. The DoD paid
our flight expenses and a stipend for the cheerleaders and
arranged the tour schedule based on our availability.
The
Cowboys organization picked up the remaining expenses.
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This was the text block accompanying the story in the 3rd ID
Crusader newspaper. |
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We toured with the Show Group, selected cheerleaders who had
great personalities as well as superior performance talent.
This group more or less came into being at about this time
and it was considered a great honor to be chosen. All
together, we had as many as ten costume changes and upwards
of twelve musical numbers with each show - we did not have
live musicians, but the reel to reel player went everywhere
that we went. The length of the show varied according
to our schedule and the local requirements and we planned on
doing one big show each night of the tour except on the
arrival and departure days.
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The Schweinfurt based reporter followed the caravan as far as Camp
Lee, this photo ran in the Crusader. The troopers are unknown
but were members of Troop E. The ladies are, left to right
across the front row: Kim Kilway - Suzette Scholz - Teri
Richardson.
Across the back row: Sherry Worthington, Jill Waggoner, Kim
McKenney, Debbie White and Cindy Garza. |
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I
do recall our German bus driver on that first tour was named
Dieter and he was a God - send. These are the
cheerleaders who went on the 1980 Germany tour:
-
Kim Kilway
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Teri
Richardson
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Kim
McKinney
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Sherry
Worthington
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Jill
Waggoner
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Suzette Scholz
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Debbie
White
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Cindy
Garza
-
Myself
+++++++++++
Kim
Kilway
Dallas
Cowgirl Cheerleader 1978 - 1980
Assistant DCC Choreographer 1982 - 1983
“ I think
I was only 18 years old when I tried out and then was selected for
the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader squad. I was a dance and
theater performance major at North Texas State College, heard about
the auditions and gave it a try. What a wonderful experience
all of that became. “
“
Back then, the Dallas Cheerleaders were really becoming a
national hit. Of course, we practiced and practiced
for the sideline shows at the football games but we were in
demand most of the off season as well. And all of this
was pretty much unpaid - or maybe ten or fifteen dollars per
event but we were happy to represent the team, Texas and
then the United States. “
“
Hollywood came calling three times when I was there - The 36 Most
Beautiful Girls in Texas, then the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders I and
II movies. Countless local and then national TV appearances,
The Love Boat show twice, The Donny Osmond Show, Family Feud, some
of the girls did other game shows as individuals, then Country and
Western Music Awards shows three times and on and on! So - to
be selected to join the Show Group and then go on the tours to Korea
and Germany - it was all just a dream come to life. “
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Ric Badal, Eaglehorse S2 shop captured
this image as the girls stretched their legs enroute to Camp Lee.
At left is Debbie White and then Kim McKenney. |
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On with the show and on to Fulda! The only private photo we
could find from that tour. One big show each night, here the DCC
show their stuff accompanied by their reel to reel tape player.
Kim Kilway up front on the right, Kim McKinney on the front left
with Terri Richardson back right and Sherry Worthington in the back
left. |
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“
Honestly, I do not recall the Germany trip with great detail beyond
a few funny incidents, I am pretty sure we had a helicopter ride and
that was exciting. Once the tour began, we had two or three
events scheduled each day beginning right after breakfast. The
first two troop visits were along the lines of meet - and - greet
functions. We would get off the bus, talk to the troops at
their mess hall or where ever they were assembled. Sign some
autographs - interact with these brave young men far from home.
Then back on the bus and off to the next stop of the day. The
last stop was where we put on our show accompanied by a reel to reel
recorder. “
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And what did the Blackhorse newspaper have to say about all of this
… not much. Sadly, the 11th ACR newspaper files held at the
Post and Regimental Museum at Fort Irwin indicate that the file
copies of the paper were reduced to clippings at some point.
In a folder marked Force Modernization were a few items from the
March 1980 issue, a large article reported on the delivery of the
M901 improved TOW vehicle to the First Squadron and this text block
related to the upgrade of the Eaglehorse M60A3 tanks to thermal
sights. All that high tech equipment and not one saved picture
of pretty gals from Texas. All work and no play makes Trooper Bill a
grump guy … |
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“
We had full costumes and many changes depending on the show
but always were included were two numbers, The Yellow Rose
of Texas and If My Friends Could See Me Now. Between
the songs, there was plenty of banter and interaction with
the audience. Once the show was finally done, back on
the bus and off to a local German Pension for the night - it
was a hectic and wonderful pace. “
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Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders on visit to Marine Corps Camp Courteny,
Okinawa Japan in 1986. |
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“ I do
recall one event in Germany in particular, we were loading up the
bus one morning and I went back inside to use the ladies room.
When I came back out - the bus was gone! Couldn’t speak
German, no local money - just that feeling of “ well - what ever are
you going to do now? “ Luckily, on the bus, they noticed
someone was missing and about fifteen minutes or so later, it loomed
into sight coming back down the road. A lot of laughter and a
few tears. “
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Thanks very much Suzanne Mitchell for assisting in recalling the
first DCC USO tour to Germany. She is seen here wearing the
jacket adorned with the military pins that were collected on each
USO tour. She is currently retired from the Cowboys
organization. |
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“
As with all my memories of the Cheerleaders, the USO tours
were wonderful and I am certain we brought some needed
entertainment to the troops. I look back so fondly to
those times, the Cheerleaders were like a wonderful
sorority, almost a family. I wish I had taken
photographs back in those days. It was such a great
time and I guess I thought it would go on forever; we were
entertainers, representatives of the team and organization
and the cameras flashed in front of us. Each day
brought new adventures, new demands and we were more than
happy to entertain. Such a great experience. “
Suzanne
Mitchell
“ There
were so many tours we did for the DoD / USO over the fourteen years
I was associated with the DCC: 10 Christmas tours to Korea, 9
tours in the Pacific -Indian Ocean region including stops at the
Philippians, Okinawa and Diego Garcia, twice to Turkey, Greece
and the Middle East to include Beirut, tour stops at Iceland,
Greenland and Portugal - just about where ever US troops were
stationed - we tried to visit to include many return visits to
Germany. And after I left the DCC, the tours continued and I
recently read that they had just completed their 75th foreign tour
for the troops. “
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That was then - and this is now - some things seemed to have
changed. DCC on a recent USO stop in front of the troops. |
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“
Along these lines, somewhere early on, soldiers started
giving me their unit pins at the end of a show. I
proudly added these to a jacket that I wore on stage and by
the time I retired, the jacket weighed over two lbs!
This is one of my most treasured souvenirs of the DoD trips
I made with the Cheerleaders. “
So -
Thanks across the decades …
The 1980
Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader tour was their only appearance at Camp Lee
and after that - USO visits to the Eaglehorse border camp were
pretty much limited to: Maurice the comedian and his talking dog …
Rex, but there were laughs all around and USO entertainment
was a nice diversion.
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If you weren’t at Schweinfurt, Camp Lee or Fulda and missed the DCC
experience in the Spring of 1980, do not despair. The Dallas
Cowboys Cheerleaders second movie, contains a wonderful musical /
dance number very similar to the one performed on the USO tour from
that period and in fact, more than a few of the actual tour
participants can be seen on screen. The costumes worn in the
clip are not the ones used in Germany and the clip features a much
larger dance crew but this is as close to the way - back machine as
I can render.
Follow this link to You Tube and enjoy the show more than 30
years after the fact. |
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As years passed, the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders made several
visits to Germany and Fulda was a common stop on the caravan
trail
and the trail still goes on.
Deeply
indebted to the following in helping us recall this bit of both
football and Army history: Office of Public Affairs US Army
Baumholder and Schweinfurt, National Training Center and Blackhorse
Museum - Fort Irwin California, Mr. George Riba - WFAA TV Dallas,
Texas, Ms. Suzanne Mitchell and Ms. Kim Kilway. Thanks!
May 2014 |
