Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders

It started simply enough: one tryout, 100 women, five judges. Thank you for coming; we'll contact you if we're interested, the judges told each contestant. One week later seven women received a handwritten note marked SPECIAL DELIVERY:

Congratulations! Our first rehearsal is Monday (July 17) at 5:30 at Texie Waterman's dance studio....

The year was 1972, and unbeknownst to anyone, a phenomenon had begun. The Dallas Cowboys had just completed a successful season that included their second straight Super Bowl appearance. Cowboys president and general manager Tex Schramm wanted to take advantage of the spotlight that the team was enjoying. He understood that football wasn't only about X's and O's; it was also about entertainment. What better way to entertain men than with beautiful, dancing women in halter tops, short shorts and go-go boots? Make no mistake, though, from Day One there were rules for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: no jewelry, no gum, no dating the players. "These were the Tom Landry days, and he was a very respected and classy man," says one of those original seven, Dixie Smith Luque. "We were expected to uphold that class."

That first roster read like a potpourri of Southern belles: Anna Marie, Carrie, Deanovoy, Dixie, Dolores, Rosy and Vonciel. No one knew quite what to expect. When Rosy Hall arrived at the audition, she thought she was trying out for a new dance squad with her instructor, Texie Waterman, who had been hired by the Cowboys to choreograph the cheerleading routines. "A cheerleader? I was married and had a baby," says Hall, older sister of model Jerry Hall, Mick Jagger's wife from 1990 to '99. "I thought I was an adult."

Little did Hall & Co. suspect that what seemed like child's play would become a national craze. Over the ensuing 29 years America's Sweethearts have made numerous television appearances (on shows like The Love Boat and the Osmonds' specials), starred in two TV movies in the late '70s (creatively titled Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders IT) and performed at U.S. military bases throughout the world. Today more than 600 women a year vie for one of the 32 to 36 spots on the squad; returning members must audition as well. Tryouts include a dance performance, a talent presentation, a personal interview and a written exam on current events, football facts and Dallas Cowboys lore.

Three decades later the original cheerleaders are revisiting their 15 minutes of fame. Earlier this month they gathered at the Dallas Cowboys' cheerleading dance studio for an SI photo shoot and were quickly harkening back to their days on the sideline, rooting for Dallas heroes like Roger Staubach and Bob Lilly. As I Will Survive blared over the sound system, old pals Baker and Hall shared private jokes and again became teenage gigglers, provoking a half-joking reprimand from Kelli McGonagill Finglass, the team's current cheerleading director. After all, this is still serious business.

Two of the original seven were missing from the shoot. Dolores McAda died in 1975. Deanovoy Nichols, who is single and is a customer-service supervisor for a telephone company, had to cancel her trip to Dallas for the photo when her Houston home was badly damaged by flooding from tropical storm Allison.

"We all have separate lives now," says Luque, "but that close feeling will always be there." With that, the camera lights flashed and five women smiled their famous smiles.