Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders celebrate 60 years with Tyler event

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - Saturday in south Tyler, Dee Brock was celebrated as the co-founder of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

Brock was surrounded by original squad members and current cheerleaders. She helped create the iconic cheerleading squad in 1961 that would influence the rest of the league.

Dee Brock said “the cheerleaders were always wonderful. They practice when they were supposed to and they worked hard with their routines. So, they deserve all the credit that is due to them”.

Sally Singleton said “I was a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader in 1961 on the very first squad that the Cowboys Cheerleaders had. And Dee, of course, was our coach and there were 12 of us and we performed at the Cotton Bowl”.

Brock was progressive in that men were once a part of the cheerleaders’ early persona. Director Kelli McGonagiill Finglass said “it started with high school cheerleaders and has now become an international dance team.”

Eunice Cicero was a high school cheerleader who was invited with others to perform, not realizing why she was asked to do so. Cicero said her high school teacher told her “Eunice you are going to be one of the first African-American Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. I was like whoa, what? I said okay. Not really realizing the significance of it. ‘65,’66 you’ve got to put yourself back in that frame of mind at the time. But thanks to her I always felt like part of the team.”

With so many memories and knocking down barriers without thinking twice, Dee Brock’s legacy has its rightful place in the history of sports and society.

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