Helen A. Vitek

The Baltimore Sun

Helen A. "Kim" Vitek, a member of the original Baltimore Colts cheerleading squad, died July 6 from complications of a stroke at Cherrywood Healthcare and Rehabilitation Centre in Reisterstown. The Highlandtown resident was 72.

Helen Alma Benvenga was born in Baltimore and raised in Highlandtown. She was a 1953 graduate of Patterson Park High School, where she was known as Alma and was a member of the school's cheerleading squad.

"She was working for C&P; Telephone Co. downtown at the time when she heard an ad on the radio about tryouts for a Colts cheerleading squad. So, she went to the meeting at Druid Hill Park behind the Reptile House, where practices were held," said a daughter, Donna L. Vitek Saucier of Cockeysville.

The cheerleading squad had its beginning in 1954, when Thelma Mack, a Colts fan who worked for American Credit & Indemnity Co., wrote to Sam Banks, publicity director of the team, offering to train a group of cheerleaders who would perform at games without pay.

"We had a group of girls from Patterson Park High School and my office who came out, and if they came out, they were accepted and on the squad," Mrs. Mack said yesterday from her Reisterstown home. "After our first season, so many girls wanted to become cheerleaders that we had to hold tryouts in 1955."

Mrs. Vitek was one of the 10 "girls" - they were never called "women" then - who made up the first full-time football cheerleading squad in the National Football League.

"We were in the same class at Patterson where Alma was a cheerleader and I was a majorette with the band. We go back a long way," said Patricia "Pinkie" Brodowski of Rosedale, also a veteran of the first team.

"We wore a pleated blue skirt, a white blouse worn with a blue scarf, and white boots with blue tassels," Mrs. Brodowski said. "Alma loved being in the limelight. She was low-key and not excitable and really liked it and loved what she was doing."

"Alma was a real solid part of our first group," Mrs. Mack said.

One of Mrs. Vitek's on-field roles was carrying one of the letters that spelled out "Go Colts."

"She stood next to me for 11 years," recalled Rosemary S. Baldwin, who joined the team in 1956. "We were in New York for the big championship game against the Giants in 1958. We would squat down, turn our backs to the fans, and then jump up and turn our letters around."

Mrs. Baldwin held the letter "C," while Mrs. Vitek held the "O."

During a previous routine leading up to the "Go Colts" cheer, the letters somehow got transposed on the ground.

"When we picked them up, it spelled out 'Go Clots.' There we were in front of 60,000 fans who quickly pointed out the error," Mrs. Baldwin said. "Alma's face turned 50 shades of red. It was so funny."

"We always called her the red-headed 'O,'" Mrs. Saucier said.

"Football was a huge part of her life," said another daughter, Karen A. Persons of Cumberland.

Mrs. Vitek, who remained with the squad until retiring in 1968, is the second from the original group to die. Joella Kaspary, an office co-worker, died in the 1950s after being stuck by a truck, Mrs. Mack said.

In addition to cheerleading, Mrs. Vitek worked during the 1950s in production for Romper Room, a children's TV show, and as a ballroom dance instructor.

She also was a physical fitness instructor for the Daniel Barry Figure Salon.

"She was a trendsetter. She taught the benefits of fitness before they were accepted by mainstream society," Mrs. Persons said.

Mrs. Vitek had been active in the parent-teacher association at Gilman School and helped stage and choreograph fashion show fundraisers for St. Matthew Parochial School.

She enjoyed dancing, listening to music, and spending time at Ocean City or Virginia Beach, Va.

Mrs. Vitek, a former Towson resident, was a communicant of St. Matthew Roman Catholic Church in Baltimore.

Services were Tuesday.

Also surviving are a son, Stanley A. Vitek of Owings Mills; and nine grandchildren. Her marriage to Stanley A. Vitek ended in divorce.

fred.rasmussen@baltsun.com

An obituary published in yesterday's editions of The Sun for Helen A. "Kim" Vitek omitted a survivor. She is also survived by her mother, Grace Benvenga of Highlandtown.The Sun regrets the omission.
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