Know Your Pom Poms, A Brief History

Have you ever stopped to ask the question, “Where did cheerleading pom poms come from?” Okay, probably not, but you may now. These are things that you use every day at practice after all. Who ever thought of putting a colorful ball of metallic colors in the hands of chanting, dancing cheerleaders?

The answer was a man named Jim Hazlewood who holds the copyright for the modern pom pom. The origins of the pom pom in America go back to the 1930s when another man named Lawrence Herkimer created the design that was to be the predecessor to Hazlewood’s improved design. It was during that time in the 1930s that high schools and universities around the country began using cheerleading pom poms in their routines to dazzle the crowd and distract opponents.

More surprising is the fact that there was originally no such thing as cheerleading pom poms. The original name is pom-pon, hyphenated with an N on the end of the second word. The origin of the word pom-pon is French and is said to describe a cluster of brightly colored fabric. The use of the word pom pom is so widespread now though, that it can be found spelled both ways - with or without the hyphen - and taken to mean the same thing.

In modern times, pom poms have become synonymous with cheerleading and you can find them utilized by most every squad in the country on game days to get the crowd involved. School and university dance teams utilize pom poms in their routines as well to add color and showmanship to their performances.

You can find cheerleading pom poms sold in many variations, differentiated by size and handle design. Pom poms also come customized using different types of colored materials to fit every school’s unique color scheme.

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