MUSTANGS FEATURED IN DMN'S \"THE BIG IDEAS THAT STARTED HERE\"

[MrMustang1965]

You can thank Lamar Hunt for the Super Bowl. Without him, it wouldn't exist. In 1959, he formed the American Football League with his Dallas Texans franchise (which became the Kansas City Chiefs) and seven other teams. Always a marketing whiz, Mr. Hunt coined the name to give the game more pizzazz.
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It probably wouldn't be a pretty sight to see 79-year-old Lawrence Herkimer perform his signature "Herkie Jump."

But you won't get the chance. The man who created the leg-splitting leap, invented pompoms and spawned the cheerleading industry says the only way he could pull off one of these is "with a crane and piano wires."

The former Southern Methodist University cheerleader founded the National Cheerleaders Association, pioneered summer cheerleading camps and made millions selling paraphernalia, including the pompom. (Its original name, by the way, was pompon, because he was told that pompom is a derogatory term in Hawaiian.)

Mr. Herkimer, who now lives north of Miami Beach, puffs up with pride when he sees the wholesome athletic ability of high school and collegiate cheerleaders that his camps encouraged.

But forget about the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. "Professional cheerleaders are not cheerleaders. They're dancing girls and entertainers," he maintains.

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