An 1880s Soap Opera Saga Captivated Kansas City

June 15, 1886 drawing in the Kansas City Times of the Carlile attempted murder. 
Colorization by Jamie Russell

On that warm Spring day at 9^th and Main, the streetcars rushed by the Diamond Building. In 1886, a lawyer watched from a distance as the editor of the Kansas City Times purchased a few papers from a street vendor at the Junction. As the editor jumped on the streetcar No. 2 heading eastbound with a half dozen other passengers, the lawyer on a mission followed him, gripping his Smith and Wesson in his jacket pocket.

The Junction in 1900. Image courtesy Missouri Valley
Special Collections, KCPL

He had vengeance on his mind and would stop at nothing to get it. Dr. Morrison Munford searched for a seat on the streetcar as it began to move forward. At 5:15pm, the lawyer stealthily crept behind him and climbed onto the open doorway of the streetcar, drew out his weapon, and aimed for the unassuming editor.

“You have traduced my wife!” the shooter screamed as he fired his first shot.

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William Dorsey Carlile was born in 1851 in Virginia, the son of a prominent senator named John Snyder Carlile. His mother was said to have been a close relative of Stonewall Jackson- a fact that Carlile proudly told anyone who would listen.

Interestingly enough, William's own father, John, seemed to have a difficult upbringing that sounds quite familiar. John's family always insisted that his father, Jonathan, died when he was quite young- but this was not true. According to the Library of Virginia, William's grandfather Jonathan Carlile "was an abusive alcoholic who squandered his wife's inheritance and whose conduct forced the family to move frequently."

So, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

John Snyder Carlile (1817-1878)
Courtesy Library of Congress

William D. Carlile attended West Virginia University and later law school in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After serving in the legislature back in Virginia, W.D. Carlile moved to Chicago and became a quite successful lawyer.

In 1875, Carlile met his future wife, Mary Saville Foster at a wedding they both attended and married shortly thereafter in her hometown of Evanston, Ill. She was the daughter of a founder of Chicago and came from “good stock.” Carlile later insisted that he tried to back out of the wedding, stating he didn't love her, but her family allegedly convinced him to proceed.

What a lovely start to wedded bliss.

Due to poor health, Carlile often traveled to California and Colorado where the climate was touted for being pleasurable for those with sickness. On a trip through Kansas City in 1879, Carlile set his sights on relocating to the growing city.

Early accounts in his adoptive town show that he fit in quite well and made friends quickly. He ran for prosecutor of Jackson Co. in 1884 under the democratic ticket but was unsuccessful. He welcomed two children, Marjorie in 1882 and Alonzo in 1885. One other child died in infancy.

All was well until Carlile’s path ran across a young, beautiful woman named Sallie Crute.

A photograph of the East Bottoms in 1900 shows development of land. Photo taken from Scarritt Point
Courtesy Missouri Valley Special Collections, KCPL

In 1879, the death of one man set the stage of all the action that would follow.

As crowds of newcomers moved into Kansas City, land prices were on the rise. The East Bottoms was slowly growing with new businesses.

A wood hewer in the East Bottoms named William Crute left a widow and three children to split his 280 acres of prime real estate. His widow, Sarah remarried and found herself in uncomfortable circumstances. Sarah voiced her concerns to her lawyer, W.D. Carlile. The newspapers reported that her relationship with her husband wasn’t the best, so she sent her teenage daughter Sallie J. Crute to live with her lawyer’s family at 13th and Wyoming.

Sallie’s age was always in question, but she would have been around eighteen at the time. Before she moved into the Carlile home, Sallie was given “80 acres of the best of her father’s land.” W.D. Carlile’s intentions are unclear- was he trying to protect a young client, or was he trying to rip her off? Accounts on both sides muddy the waters, but it is clear that Sallie lived with the family and became close to Carlile’s wife.

In 1884, Sallie was given control of her estate and gave Carlile power of attorney. Sallie’s mother was growing suspicious of his intentions, especially when she found out that her own inheritance had been sold by Carlile without her permission. 

The Grand Court of the Palace Hotel,
San Francisco in 1895

In 1886, Sallie’s mother arrived at the Carlile home in order to try to talk some sense into her daughter who was still living with them. While trying to talk sense into her, Mrs. Mary Carlisle allegedly burst into the room and ordered her to leave the home. On the street, Mrs. Carlile screamed, “We’ll have you in the insane asylum in three months!” Sallie’s mother became convinced that both Mr. and Mrs. Carlile were trying to steal their inheritance from under them.

Despite her mother’s warnings, Sallie ignored her and continued on a path destined for destruction. In March 1886, Carlile bought two tickets at the Union Depot to California- a place he oftentimes ventured to for his health. His companion, however, was not his wife.

It was the “beautiful young girl of easy manners and a good education.” It was Sallie J. Crute. Her mother had begged her not to go, stating that her reputation would forever be ruined. Regardless of the warnings, Sallie and William Carlile boarded a train and landed in San Francisco. There, Carlile told people that he was a retired banker in ill health traveling with his niece.

May 13, 1886 front page headline 
introducing the scandal
in the Kansas City Times

For six weeks, the couple lived at the Palace Hotel. Little did Sallie know that her mother had hired a private investigator to locate them. Possibly in retaliation for taking her teenaged daughter away, Sallie’s mother was ready to ruin William Carlile’s reputation.

She sat down for an interview with the Kansas City Times before Carlile and her daughter returned from California.

In it, Sallie’s mother claimed that her daughter told her “Carlile was in the habit of romping with her and his wife.”

Translate that 1880s information however you want…

She went on to tell the Kansas City Times, “I care for nothing of the land- she can have that- but I want my girl back to me pure.”

This story and its awful aftermath was posted as a full two-page expose story in the Kansas City Times that showcased the scandalous story.

William D. Carlile, described as a 35-year-old “dapper, sallow-complected little man” arrived back in Kansas City with Sallie six weeks later well-aware of the expose in the newspaper- and he was irate.  He mulled over what to do with his wife and his friends, but the damage had been done. It was said he asked the editor of the newspaper, 49-year-old Confederate vet Dr. Morrison Munford to print a retraction.

Dr. Morrison Munford (1842-1892)

Dr. Munford refused.

On May 12, 1886, W.D. Carlile marched down to the Junction at 9th and Delaware in front of the Kansas City Times office with retribution on his mind.

Hidden in his jacket pocket was a loaded pistol. As he watched Dr. Morrison Munford, editor for the Times, jump on the streetcar with his friend, E.L. Martin (founder of Martin City) at 5:15pm, he was quick to follow in their paths.

Before Munford could even sit down, Carlile withdrew his revolver and shot into the busy streetcar and struck Munford in his side. As Dr. Munford turned toward Carlile in confusion, Carlile fired a second shot that hit 16-year-old Jennie Streeter in the left breast. Luckily, her corset saved her from any grave injury.

As the passengers on the streetcar screamed and sought shelter, Dr. Munford reached in his own pocket for his Colt revolver. Before he had the opportunity to shoot at his assassin, Carlile jumped from the moving streetcar and fired two more shots. One of them hit John E. Hale, a 50-year-old bookkeeper in the face just below the right eye.

The Junction at 9th and Main in 1890, 
the site of the shooting.
The Kansas City Times building can be seen

Carlile was caught by police before he could even cross the street. He was brought to the police station and charged with “assault with an intent to kill.”

The Kansas City Times claimed that Carlile was known for this type of mischief, stating “He believes the revolver as a means of settling all differences, no matter how trivial.” The Kansas City Times claimed that all information printed in the story a few weeks earlier was true. They declared the article was to “warn the public against purchasing Crute’s lands” and to “unmask a smiling villain.”

Just a few days later, Carlile’s wife, described as “medium stature and very plump,” entered into the jail and paid his bail. Allegedly, she got the money from none other than Sarah J. Crute.

Miraculously, all of Carlile’s victims survived the shooting, and after paying $100 to the courts and pleading guilty to assault, he was free to go.

He knew he was no longer an upstanding citizen of Kansas City, so he was quickly on the road and ready to wreak havoc elsewhere.

June 15, 1886 drawing of the attack 
at the Junction.
Courtesy Kansas City Times

Before he left town, he sold 36 acres of Sallie’s land in the East Bottoms for $43,200.

Carlile moved back to Chicago with his wife and two children. . .

with beautiful Sallie J. Crute in tow.

By March 1887, William Carlile had left Chicago and was buying up property in Napa, Ca. Included in this property was a ranch outside of Napa and one of the biggest houses in town known as the Yount mansion purchased for $15,000. It had been built a few years earlier for a whopping $25,000. This home still stands today and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

All of us wine lovers know the importance of Napa Valley. To be clear, the town of Napa was quite small during this time period- a population around 4,000. Kansas City at the same time boasted a population well over 125,000.

If he made the headlines in a metropolis, it wouldn't take long before the same happened in the little town of Napa.

W.D. Carlile carried with him letters from prominent people and clippings from newspapers showcasing his stance in society. Even a newspaper in San Francisco raved of Carlile’s character, calling him “of engaging presence, a cultured conversationalist, pleasing, refined and intelligent.” One business he began to show particular interest in was growing grapes in Napa and investing in vineyards.

Carlile rose within the upper echelon of society – but there were some concerns. Inside the Yount mansion that still stands today were secrets Napa was just starting to unravel. The Napa County Register reported, “In the mansion with him lived a very handsome young woman who was not Mrs. Carlile.”

The Yount Mansion at 423 Seminary St. was built in 1884 and was the site of the Carlile-Crute saga in 1887-88.
The home in Napa was purchased with Sallie Crute's money. The home is now on the National Register.

That was a nice way of putting it.

First, he told people she was the wife of a friend. Then he told them she was his cousin. Last, he claimed she was his ward.

It appears the counselor couldn’t keep his lies straight.

A drawing from a photo of Mrs. Mary Carlile
Courtesy San Francisco Examiner

Just as people were scratching their heads, Mrs. Mary Carlile arrived from Chicago with her two young children. Her reaction to Miss Crute seemed to put the public at ease. They even co-hosted a grand party at the mansion where both women acted as hosts.

This harmonious arrangement was about to blow up into pieces.

In January 1888, Mrs. Carlile ran away from the mansion in Napa where she and her husband were cohabitating with Ms. Crute. She was taken in by a neighbor and reported that her husband and Miss Crute had been “for a long time intimate” and she had run away because she couldn’t take the abuse any longer.

Her story smelled of scandal, and the newspapers were quick to pick it up. She openly spoke with journalists and told them that she and her husband had no money. They had been living for years off the money of his mistress.

A drawing from a photo of Sarah J. Crute
Courtesy San Francisco Examiner

The “most abandoned wretch that ever lived,” as she called her husband, was confined to bed at the time in ill health. Poor Mrs. Carlile claimed her husband promised her she would break it off with Sallie, so when she arrived from Chicago in Napa and found her living with him, she was shocked. She declared he begged her to try to live in harmony because Sallie’s money would help them- and he revealed that Sallie’s money had actually bought the house.

Mrs. Mary Carlile claimed they tried to make it work, her husband begging her to try out living with Sallie in the home since her money would help them. Mrs. Carlile stated, “My life was a perfect hell in that house.”

Even though Mr. Carlile was in bed sick, it didn’t stop him from also talking to reporters about their situation. 

He insisted that it was his wife’s idea to take in Sallie and use her for money and that his wife had begged him to shoot Dr. Munford in Kansas City for ruining her reputation. He even had the audacity to claim that his wife had told him to divorce her and marry Sallie.

March 20, 1888 headline in
the San Francisco Examiner

To complicate matters, William D. Carlile did have some incriminating letters that backed up part of his story.

Sallie denied the affair but said his wife owed her $5,000 for the bail and other expenses back in Kansas City. “When Mr. Carlile and I came out [to California] in 1886 it was at the suggestion of Mrs. Carlile,” Sallie told reporters. “The allegations contained in the Kansas City Times touching our relations were absolutely false, and must have been instigated by personal ill-will. There were no grounds for the charges.”

I’m not sure I believe little Sallie J. Crute.

She went on to claim that she and Mrs. Carlile “were the closest of friends.”

Regardless, the headlines had followed the Carliles to Napa- and these headlines would force them to leave.

In February 1888, the tumultuous and confusing love triangle came to a head. Possibly out of retaliation, Sallie filed Mrs. Carlile filed two separate suits- one in Kansas City and one in Napa. She charged her husband with desertion and asked for his financial support. In a suit in Kansas City, she sued Sallie J. Crute for $50,000 in damages, asserting “by means of offers of money, aid, social position and influence, did wickedly, willfully, designedly and maliciously debauch and seduce W.D. Carlile.”

"A Birdseye View of Napa City"- circa 1880s. Image courtesy University of California-Berkeley

It was likely true that most of the property purchased in California was done with Sallie’s inheritance. Even though this may have been true, the properties were purchased under W.D. Carlile’s name. In April, Mary S. Carlile was granted divorce from her husband and was given 75 percent of the property in his name- plus guardianship of their two children.

Twelve days later in San Francisco, William Dorsey Carlile made an honest woman out of Sallie J. Crute and married her.

Kansas City Times headline
April 18, 1888

Before the ink was dry, the former Mrs. Crute took a train with her two children back to Chicago and didn’t look back.

In 1890, W.D. Carlile published a 142-page “Personal Statement” printed and bound in leather. He asked newspapers across the nation to publish its availability so he could give “explanation and vindication of his conduct throughout his troubles in Kansas City and California.”

From my research, I have been unable to locate this “Personal Statement.”

A character such as William Carlile wasn’t about to sneak into the undiscovered pages of history.  He did bounce back and forth from the west coast to Chicago, still allowed to practice law in both states. In 1892, he represented the Chicago World’s Fair in a lawsuit. In 1898, he was sentenced to 30 days in jail after he punched a defendant in a Chicago court in the eye.

After the late 1890s, Carlile seems to have been able to erase his errs in the headlines. It may have been because he changed his identity altogether and abandoned his law practice. He changed the spelling of his name to  “Carlisle” and began to dabble in apple orchards.

His love for orchards became his priority. Carlisle even invested money into a large apple orchard in his home state of Virginia. The property in Afton, Va. was located in the Blue Ridge Mountains and was famously known as the "Royal Orchard." Lore stated that the apples from this property were sent to the Queen of England, hence its name.

Royal Orchard's "Scott Castle" built in 1911 on the land once owned by Carlile

The happy couple spent much of the turn of the century at the Royal Orchard and also had a residence in Charlottesville, Va. where the papers boasted "Mr. Carlisle and wife will be a great addition to both social and business circles of Charlottesville."

Luckily, Virginia seemed to remain safe of scandals associated with the Carlile/Carlyle/Carlises.  They sold the property to Fred Scott in 1902, and the property today still remains with this family. The built a large stone castle in 1911 on the land that is known as Royal Orchard's "Scott Castle."

Always one to weasel people into investing in his ideas, W.D. Carlisle became a sought-after speaker at fruit conferences across the nation. Called “professor” by his newfound industry, William and Sallie Carlisle made their home by 1904 in Spokane, Washington where he had convinced wealthy men to invest in 600 acres of land ten miles southeast of the city. The plan was to manufacture cider, champagne and apple butter under the name of the Evergreen Fruit Company. "Professor" William D. Carlisle was given the title of superintendent of the factory and the newspapers stated, "He understands the making of cider, wines and fruit butters and has labored in the industry both in America and in Europe."

An apple orchard in Washington. Photo courtesy 1889 Magazine

Considering his health, I'm pretty sure the European connection was a bit of a fib. And, his "experience" in the industry spanned a whopping ten years- tops.

Regardless, the newspapers and horticulture industry touted Professor Carlisle as a “widely known champagne manufacturer.” His ability to turn apple juice into champagne became a brief sensation. The Evergreen Fruit Company boasted that "the apple cider, after Mr. Carlisle's treatment, could hardly be discerned from light French wines."

Yellow journalism, perhaps? 

On Jan. 17, 1905, Professor W.D. Carlisle stood to address a crowd from the Northwest Fruit Growers’ Association at the Boise YMCA and “dropped dead on the platform.” His death came only months before his large apple orchard manufacturing plant, the Evergreen Fruit Company in Spokane was set to open its doors, and it was said that “some valuable secret formulas [for apple champagne] perished with him.”

Spokane in 1910. Image courtesy Spokane Historical,
Eastern Washington University

In his obituary, there is no mention of his children.

Sallie J. Crute, now Mrs. Carlisle, stayed in Spokane. In 1910, it is clear her wealth had diminished as she is a roomer with others and working as a clerk in a physician’s office. She later remarried, but her fate is unknown. She never had her own children and lost the bulk of her money. Was it for love? Was it because she was duped?

William J. Carlile’s first wife also opted to distance herself from her past. After moving to Chicago with her two children, she also changed the spelling of her last name, opting for “Carlyle.” She died in 1912 and is buried in Chicago.

Newspapers in the 1880s called the Carlile story “one of the most remarkable scandals ever made public.” There is no mistaking the intrigue even well over a century later. Just as many questions today remain as to what led to such a scandal and as to who the true victims
were.

* This story was originally published in the Martin City Telegraph and was expanded for this blog.

* * * *

** My newest project is my FREE podcast with 610 Radio host Bob Fescoe called "Kansas City: 2 States, 1 Story" where we discuss our city's history in a fun, relatable way. Download the episodes and listen at your convenience.  Just click "download" and PLAY! To access the podcasts, CLICK HERE!

* If you loved this story, consider "liking" The New Santa Fe Trailer on Facebook so you don't miss any of my writing! Click here!

*Colorization of the main image by Jamie Russell. She does amazing lettering and art! Check out her Facebook page HERE!

Male Chiefs Cheerleaders Hold History in the First Super Bowl

The energy was indescribable; your own heartbeat couldn’t keep up with the palpable energy surging through the stadium. To be in Los Angeles inside the Coliseum as the Kansas City Chiefs represented the AFL in the very first Super Bowl is history in itself. To be on the field on national television was unforgettable.

My father, Larry Euston proudly holding up a
photo of the 1966-67 Chiefs Cheerleaders

My father, Larry Euston, was there on the field taking in the sights and sounds as the World Championship began- as a cheerleader.

I can remember telling classmates when the ever-so-common topic of the Chiefs came up about my father’s role in sports history. Wide-eyed and proud, I would say, “My dad was a cheerleader in the first Super Bowl!” Oftentimes, I was met with questioning eyes and confused stares.

“There were male cheerleaders?” would often be the response.

Without batting an eye and with my head held high, I would respond, “Yes. Yes, there were.”

Years have gone by since these schoolyard conversations, but the confusion still remains in the pages of history. Last year as the 53rd  Super Bowl was set to air on national television, networks reported two male cheerleaders, a part of the Los Angeles Rams squad, were the first male cheerleaders to appear in the Super Bowl.

This hit home for me personally. I’m so proud of my dad’s role in Chiefs history- and within the history of the NFL- that I couldn’t stand on the sidelines like he once did without yelling, as loud as I can, that this is not the truth. The very first Super Bowl had male cheerleaders.

Municipal Stadium was the home of the Kansas City Chiefs from 1960-1971. Image courtesy Randy Neil.

The story of cheerleaders within the Kansas City Chiefs organization is extensive and even extends past my father. Without the vision of one male cheerleader from KU who heard football was coming to Kansas City, my father may have never had the chance to cheer at the Super Bowl- just over 53 years ago.

Talk about a history that is never told….

Dallas Texans logo from 1960.
Image courtesy Texas State Historical Association

I had to pause for a moment and look up the history of Chiefs Cheerleaders on my own. If you drop a Google on it, the ever-so-reliable Wikipedia (kidding) states they were formed in 1971. The website connected to the official Chiefs that used to have some basic history on the cheerleaders is now gone.

Why is it so hard to find out the truth? Shouldn’t the Chiefs organization be proud of their place in history- and bank on it?!

Regardless, I am here to set the record straight once and for all.

It may come to a surprise to some that the beginnings of cheerleading both as a sport and in Kansas City rest in the hands of men. Cheerleading first appeared with the creation of an all-male pep club at Princeton in the 1880s. Princeton graduate Thomas Peebles took the idea of leading chants with him to the University of Minnesota where, in 1898, a man named Johnny Campbell rallied a group of students to energize the crowd. These organized cheers were the first cheerleading in the country.

A sticker from 1964 shows the original Chiefs logo.
Image courtesy Randy Neil.

Football in America was becoming vastly popular, and the founding of the National Football League (NFL) in 1920 brought the sport into the professional arena and grew to ten teams in four states. Forty years later in 1960, an innovative businessman named Lamar Hunt founded the American Football League (AFL) and started his own team, the Dallas Texans.

The logo for the Dallas Texans was a cowboy running, complete with a cowboy hat, boots with spurs and a gun drawn into the air. When the organization moved north to Kansas City, the logo- and their name- had to be revamped.

In 1963, Lamar Hunt chose to move his professional team to Kansas City where they were renamed the Chiefs. H. Roe Bartle (1901-1974), Kansas City’s two-term mayor at the time, had his hands in getting the Chiefs to Kansas City. Nicknamed “the Chief,” Bartle was the inspiration for the new team name of the Kansas City Chiefs. The logo was originally based off the gunslinger Dallas Texans symbol but was redesigned to feature a Native American running with a tomahawk in one hand and a football in the other.

Randy Neil holding up his official Chiefs
Cheerleader photo.

If people are up in arms about our Chiefs name today, imagine how they would react if we still had that logo on uniforms.

The logo was definitely not politically correct today, but it was a sign of the times. This logo was used until 1971 when it was replaced with the simple “KC” inside an arrowhead.

21-year-old Randy Neil, an alternate cheerleader and member of the pep club at KU, bounced around the idea of bringing his collegiate spirit to the sidelines at Municipal Stadium when it was announced the Kansas City Chiefs would be the city’s professional football team.

Randy recalled, “I just kept thinking in my head- I’m going to do this. I sat down at our kitchen table and typed a letter to Lamar Hunt in Dallas and gave him my background. I asked him, ‘Do you want a fully-formed cheerleading squad when you get here?’”

Just a short time later, Randy received a hand-written note back from Lamar Hunt that simply read, “Dear Randy – Go to it.”

Drawing of one of the girls' Chiefs uniforms. More images
of uniform designs can be seen at the end of the blog.
Image courtesy Randy Neil

Thus, the first cheerleaders in the entire AFL were born right here in Kansas City.

Randy wasted no time. He met with Lamar Hunt, came up with a game plan, and went out and hand-picked the first squad. Within a short time, he had a group of boys and girls- a total of about 18- ready to go before the Chiefs played their first game.

The budget was always a problem. The Chiefs agreed to come up with a mere $400 per year for miscellaneous expenses. The first official practice was held in the front yard of Randy’s parents’ home in Prairie Village. “We designed our own uniforms and paid for them ourselves. It was easy for boys, because we wore red blazers,” Randy explained. “The girls’ moms made their uniforms.”

Payment for their services came in the form of two tickets to home games which remained the standard for several years. The cheerleaders, led by Randy Neil, knew that promotional work was part of the package. In uniform, the squad made appearances at different events across the city to drum up sales for season tickets.

Ward Parkway Shopping Center was brand new and was looking for promotions to run. Randy sat down with the developers, the Kroh Brothers to try to sell sponsorship of their squad. It worked. “They decided to have a pep rally in their south parking lot. H. Roe Bartle appeared, there were marching bands, the entire team, and- of course- the cheerleaders,” Randy said with a smile. Around 3,000 to 4,000 people showed up.

The 1964 Chiefs Cheerleaders inside Ward Parkway Center.  Mike Nauman is on the top left; Randy Neil is on the bottom right. Image courtesy Randy Neil.

What Randy had assembled in Kansas City was getting attention from leagues around the country. His format for the Chiefs Cheerleaders, as can be seen in his carefully crafted scrapbook of memories, features several letters from teams such as the New York Jets asking for advice on how to assemble their own squads.

A promotional magazine printed by the KC Chamber of
Commerce showcases four of the cheerleaders in 1964.
Image courtesy of Randy Neil

AFL Commissioner Joe Foss also noticed. In 1965, nine members (four girls and five boys) of the Chiefs Cheerleaders were led by Randy to the All-Star Game in Houston. Representing the west, they wore red, white and blue uniforms.  

Most of the men on the cheerleading squad for the Chiefs came from Rockhurst High School and College. One of them, Mike Nauman, recalls trying out for the Cheerleaders after their first season (1964). An advertisement in the Kansas City Star read, “No previous cheerleading experience required.” They did ask that girls and boys be seniors in high school or in college.

“I remember a ton of girls tried out, and there were only a handful of guys from Rockhurst there,” Mike recalled.

Randy needed boys on his squad, and Mike and his friends from Rockhurst were just what he was looking for. “Hanging out with good-looking cheerleaders from across Kansas City wasn’t offensive either, so we just signed on,” Mike laughed.

Chiefs Cheerleaders also broke the racial barriers that were prominent in the early 1960s when Gwen Simmons, a Central High School student, joined the squad in 1964. She later cheered at Lincoln University in Jefferson City.

The 1964 Chiefs Cheerleaders. Mike Nauman is in the glasses kneeling in front; Gwen Simmons is on his lap.
Captain Randy Neil is kneeling on the right. Image courtesy Randy Neil

After the 1965 season, Randy decided it was time to move on. “I felt I had gone as far as I could with the support we had at the time,” Randy commented. Even though Randy left as head cheerleader, his relationship with the sport would last for years to come. He started what would be known as the International Cheerleading Foundation, holding clinics across the country. In 1979, he wrote The Official Cheerleaders Handbook. His book reached the New York Times bestsellers list and it is still in print today.

Mike Nauman holding up his original Chiefs sweater.

 From 1978 to 1981, he executive produced the National Collegiate Cheerleading Championships on CBS. He also returned as executive director of the Chiefs Cheerleaders in the 1980s.

As Randy exited the stage, my father, Larry Euston, received an invitation he couldn’t refuse. Mike Nauman was still cheerleading for the Chiefs and was also on the squad with my father at Rockhurst College. When a spot for a male cheerleader came up, my dad’s name was passed along by his friend, Mike.

It was as simple as that.

Starting in 1966, my father became one of the six men on the Chiefs cheerleaders that partnered up with the girls to do lifts and some acrobatic moves. The boys would hold up large “Go!” signs and large megaphones to get the crowd at the stadium hyped. Being on the field at Municipal Stadium was always a special moment for my father. “It was quite the feeling. You felt like a celebrity looking up and seeing everyone cheering as we got to watch the game from the field,” my dad recalled.

Bandleader Tony DiPardo would lead his 14-piece Zing Band and cue cheerleaders with his music. The squad included "very talented," according to my father, children that did stunts on the field. The uniform my dad sported was a white sweater with a red “C” in the center, a red dickey, and white jeans.

The 1966-67 Chiefs Cheerleaders. My father is holding 
the second girl up on the left.

Classy! I had to laugh when Randy said that he would never have allowed (gasp!) white jeans when he was head cheerleader. “We wore white slacks,” Randy emphatically told me.

Just as with most organizations, times definitely moved quickly- and every uniform seems to be short-lived in the pages of history.

A win on the road against the Buffalo Bills in the AFL Championship gave Kansas City an invitation to play the Green Bay Packers in Los Angeles on January 15, 1967. At the time, the NFL was a separate organization that many considered far superior to the AFL. In order to test this theory, the AFL and NFL agreed to play a World Championship Game called the Super Bowl.

Headline from the Kansas City Star Jan. 2, 1967 showcases the Chiefs win of the AFL Championship and their trip to the
first Super Bowl

Vince Lombardi, Green Bay’s coach and the namesake for today’s Super Bowl trophy, said that even the best team in the AFL “doesn’t compare to the top NFL teams.”

My father at Ward Parkway Center lifting
a girl trying out for the cheerleaders in 1967

Nevertheless, Chiefs Kingdom was on cloud nine when their young team was on their way to the championship. Around 12,000 screaming fans, led by the cheerleaders, stormed the airport to welcome the team home. Traffic on the Broadway Bridge was backed up as people honked their horns, rolled down their windows, and screamed “Charge! Charge!”  There was no room on the runway to even put down the stair ramp, so the team had to exit through the rear baggage door.

The Chiefs Cheerleaders assumed they would be going to the first Super Bowl with their team. “The word we got was that the Chiefs organization wasn’t allowed to pay for their own fanfare,” my dad explained.

That meant the Chiefs organization claimed they weren’t able to pay to have the cheerleaders go to the first Super Bowl in Los Angeles.

My father wasn’t about to take no for an answer. Just shy of 21 years old, my dad had been working at Milgram’s and knew that owner Lester Milgram (1917-1976) was a Red Coater and huge supporter of the Chiefs. “I went down to the Milgram office to talk to Mr. Lester to see if he could do something to help the cheerleaders get to the Super Bowl, but he wasn’t there,” my dad recalled.

Cushions commemorating the first Super Bowl
were given on the flight to Los Angeles

Mr. Lester’s personal secretary, Miss Francis was there to listen. My father explained the problem. “I just told her we found out we couldn’t go to the Super Bowl and I was hoping to talk to Mr. Lester.”

Did Miss Francis deliver the message? A short time later, my father and the rest of his squad found out that someone had arranged for them to take a charter flight so they could be there on the field cheering at the first Super Bowl. “I have no idea if I was 10 percent or 100 percent of the reason of why we got to go,” my father chuckled.

My father and the rest of the Chiefs Cheerleaders boarded a TWA chartered flight that was something to remember. They handed out bright red seat cushions stuffed with plaid blankets with white lettering that reads, in part, “First Super Bowl Game.” My father recalled, “We were served steaks branded with the Chiefs logo. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen.”

The cushion today is one of the pieces of memorabilia my father has from his days as a Chiefs Cheerleader.

New York Times headline from 1968

The hype of the big game wasn’t anything like we see today. The game itself was an experiment between two separate organizations not set on merging into one.

The nation could watch the Super Bowl on television on two different networks. NBC had the rights to the AFL games and CBS had the rights to the NFL games. Each network reportedly paid one million dollars to air the first Super Bowl.

The game was blacked out in Los Angeles to encourage people to attend, but the prices of tickets had many people upset. The cost was $12- just under $100 in today’s money. Just shy of 62,000 people attended the first Super Bowl, but the Coliseum could hold just over 78,000. It is the only Super Bowl on record that didn’t sell out.

The Chiefs Cheerleaders in Los Angeles for Super Bowl I. My dad is the back row on the right.
Courtesy Amy Appleton Dreyer

Being on the field as a Chiefs Cheerleader- the only cheerleaders at the first Super Bowl- is a memory I have heard my father tell and retell countless times. There he was, with his squad, greeting Len Dawson and the Chiefs led by Hank Stram down the tunnel and onto the field.

A patch from the 1960s given
to Chiefs Cheerleaders. 
Courtesy Mike Nauman

“Entering into the Coliseum was like going onto sacred ground,” Mike Nauman recalled. The Coliseum in Los Angeles was where all the major games were played. There were a select few, like my father and his friend, Mike, that were on the field at the Super Bowl. They knew being there on the field was something special.

But, they had no idea at the time that they were a part of NFL history.

As the records tells us, the Chiefs lost 35-10 to the Green Bay Packers that significant day in football history. After the following season, the Chiefs Cheerleaders eliminated men from the squad. A letter from Lamar Hunt thanking my father for his service is one of his prized pieces in his album. “Lamar Hunt was a class-act,” my father stated.

As Kansas City erupted in pure excitement when we brought the Lamar Hunt trophy back home for the first time in 50 years and prepare to go to Super Bowl LIV, I, along with most of us, cried tears of joy. We have waited so long for this! Then, I thought back to Randy, my father, and Mike- and how sometimes history is forgotten or told incorrectly.

Video from the first Super Bowl shows my dad cheering with
other cheerleaders as the Chiefs entered from the tunnel

Last year, national news proudly reported that for the first time ever in the history of the Super Bowl, men would be cheerleading. To be fair, these talented men on the LA Rams squad are professional dancers and are doing every move alongside the women.

Cheerleading as a sport has come a long way since the 1960s. However, these men were clouted to have been “the first male cheerleaders in league history.” This is simply not true. The old film from the Super Bowl game proves that my father and other men and women were there as cheerleaders- they made history.

A letter from Lamar Hunt in 1968 thanked my father for
his service to the Chiefs

Randy Neil also made history when he had the guts to send a letter to Lamar Hunt with the idea of starting the Chiefs Cheerleaders. From their beginning in 1963, there were men cheering along the sidelines, lifting girls and leading the crowd at Municipal Stadium in chants.

“In retrospect, it was a unique experience looking back,” Mike said. “We were a part of history.”

When we think of the cheerleaders along the sideline today, we picture beautiful, talented women dancing with their pompoms and jeweled uniforms. But the founding of cheerleading here in Kansas City started with the vision of a 21-year-old junior from KU and ended after the Chiefs Cheerleaders, including my father, were the first men and women to cheer in a Super Bowl game.

* Additional images below are courtesy of Randy Neil.
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May 1964 tryouts at Ward Parkway Center; a WDAF-TV photographer documents the moment. Image courtesy Randy Neil

Chiefs Cheerleaders appeared with WHB DJ's at the Benjamin Stables Rodeo in 1964. Image courtesy Randy Neil

Randy performing a one-armed lift with Marilyn Moot at the 1964 tryouts at Ward Parkway Center. Courtesy Randy Neil

The 1964 Chiefs Cheerleaders. Mike Nauman is on the left in the glasses; Gwen Simmons stands to his left. Randy Neil
is in the suit behind the drum. Image courtesy Randy Neil

The 1964 Kansas City Chiefs. Image courtesy of Randy Neil

Randy's personal calendar from August-September 1964 shows how busy the Chiefs Cheerleaders
were with promotional events and practices. Image courtesy of Randy Neil.