YORK, Pa. — It was devastating news to fans when the Baltimore Colts Football team packed up and left in the middle of the night. Next year will be the 40th anniversary of the teams move to Indy.
However, the roots haven't completely dried up of the former team. York Surburban cheerleading coach Leslee Yoder was a former Baltimore Colts cheerleader.
Cheerleading was something very close to Yoder’s heart, never knowing her talents and love for the sport would take her to the NFL. The idea of being an NFL Cheerleader never even crossed her mind until a random day in 1978.
“An article came through in the paper, talking about needing more NFL cheerleaders. They wanted some new blood and I decided to go for it. I never ever thought about doing NFL cheerleading, really, until I saw that and thought, maybe I could," recalled Leslee.
Yoder is a Central York and York College graduate, and at the time, she was 21-years-old, teaching dance, cheerleading and acrobatics.
When she decided to give it a shot, there were more than 400 candidates at her first audition. Yoder made the cut as one of 50 cheerleaders that would take the sidelines during the 1978 NFL season.
“In disbelief [I] called my dad and told [him] that I was going to be a professional cheerleader. I said, 'Guess what, dad? I made it. I’m a professional cheerleader,'" said Yoder.
She was the first to join the team from Pennsylvania. Yoder spent five seasons as a Baltimore Colts Cheerleader, only taking one season off to start a family.
One of her favorite memories was cheering during a Monday night football game against rival Washington. It was the only Monday night game she cheered during.
In 1984, it was set to be her sixth season with the team, but it was cut short after the football team picked up and left in the middle of the night.
Yoder said, “Everyone was shocked. The whole state of Maryland.”
Some of the girls went to Washington and some to Philadelphia, but Yoder wanted to expand her family and decided to step away from professional cheerleading.
During her time with the Baltimore Colts, she was very good friends with band president John Ziemann. He’s the reason why the Colts band stayed together. The cheerleaders were always part of the band, even without a football team – they found places to perform.
“John is an amazing person. He just dearly loved the Colts and dearly loved the band. We were the only team, in the NFL, that had a band," Leslee told FOX43. "Other teams would have piped in music and it was so much fun to have the band there. We would do a few halftime shows a year and I’m really happy that John kept that together and now they’re the Baltimore Ravens band.”
Ziemann is the main reason Yoder was able to keep her uniform; reaching out to her after the football team left and to this day, they are still friends. Ziemann is the only original member of the Baltimore Colts left working in the Ravens organization.
In some way shape or form, Yoder has been involved with the sport her entire life. She has been York Suburban’s cheerleading coach for 23 years, not only their coach but also a mentor.
However, the stint with the Baltimore Colts will always hold a special place in her heart.
“It’s fun to be a part of history. Do we wish the Colts were still back in Baltimore, yes, but we have that Ravens now," said Yoder.
She’s one of the co-founders of the alumni group for the Baltimore Colts.