The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have a hit Netflix series, a line of Barbie dolls and a uniform in the Smithsonian, but until this year, they have never had a coffee table book. Surprising, given the marketing muscle behind the cheerleaders since their professional debut in 1972, when seven young women took the field in white hot pants and bare midriffs, ushering in the va-va-voom era of modern sports.
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders arrives in time for Christmas, a 264-page compendium of 200 photos spanning more than 50 years. It’s $120 for the classic version and a whopping $1,400 for the large-format ultimate set.
I have not laid hands on this sparkly white-and-blue tome, with text written by Cowboys sideline reporter Kristi Scales and an introduction by Charlotte Jones, but photos on the website are a lively mix of retro and modern, game-day razzle dazzle and backstage chill.
The cheerleaders are some of the most photographed dancers on the planet, and the collection shimmies across hairstyles and decades, capturing these women in their jump-splitting, high-kicking glory.
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The book also features one of my favorite photos, which ran in People in the late ‘70s, where cheerleader Linda Kellum kicks back with a cigarette in the cramped dressing room at Texas Stadium. It’s the only photo of a DCC lighting up I’ve ever seen. (At the time, it was only against the rules to smoke on the field.)
Released by Assouline, a luxury French publisher whose bestselling titles cover Rolex watches and “chic dogs,” America’s Sweethearts will not be the definitive, warts-and-all history the cheerleaders deserve. (The 50-year saga has some real Game of Thrones moments.) But its presence on book shelves is a reminder of how much value the cheerleaders have brought to America’s Team — and thanks to the long-overdue pay bump, the cheerleaders themselves might finally be able to afford a copy.