CLINTON, Tenn. (WATE) — An East Tennessee woman and former Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader is asking the community for help to locate a team charm she lost in 2019.
Julia Jackson Smith had been with the Eagles for nearly 10 years. She made the cheerleading team her second season after trying out for the team for the 1988-99 season and cheered with the team through the 1996-97 season.
Now, she is asking for help from East Tennesseans who might be able to help her find a memento from all those years.
“It was my first season with the Eagles and it’s a gold eagle that’s clutching an emerald football and I’ve had it all of these years,” Smith said.
When her mother came to visit her in 2019, she brought Smith some earrings. Smith said she thought they would look great with the necklace, so she wore it that day to church. While eating at the Golden Corral after church, she realized the charm was gone.
“I was like, oh God, there’s no charm and so, for weeks, I went back … trying to track my steps to see if it had fallen. So, my plea is to all the East Tennesseans, which I am proud to be one after many years now, if anyone found the charm … I would be happy to give a reward,” Smith said.
She continued, “[The charm] has a lot of sentimental meaning, of course to me, and it was part of something that, you know, was a big part of my life in my 20s.”
Smith said she could get one made, however, the jeweler that made the pendant is no longer there.
The pendant also has the NFL logo emblem on the back, she added. While Smith does not have the pendant, she said she is still proud of everything it stands for.
“It’s a material thing and I know what it represents, but I still have the pictures and the relationships and the feelings of something that being a part of an awesome, awesome team or teams because each year the teams changed because we had the audition. But you know, it’s still good. It’s still good. I trust in our East Tennesseans,” Smith said.
Julia Smith shows photos from her time as a cheerleader for the Philadelphia Eagles. (Julia Smith) 
Julia Smith shows photo of the old of the Philadelphia Eagles Cheer team. (Courtesy of Julia Smith) 
Julia Smith with teammates at a gathering during the 2000s. (Courtesy of Julia Smith) 
Julia Smith shared a photo of her amd her teammates during the 1980s. (Courtesy of Julia Smith) 
Julia Smith shows photo of the old of the Philadelphia Eagles Cheer team. (Courtesy of Julia Smith) 
Julia Smith shared a photo from her first year as an Eagles cheerleader. (Courtesy of Julia Smith) 
Julia Smith and a teammate skate in a photo featured in a Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders calendar. (Courtesy of Julia Smith) 
Julia Smith and other Eagles cheerleaders during a Thanksgiving Day Parade. (Courtesy of Julia Smith) 
(Courtesy of Julia Smith) 
A signed photo from former defensive lineman of the Philadelphia Eagles Reggie White. (Courtesy of Reggie White) 
Tickets from the 1996 playoffs where the Eagles faced the 49ers. (Courtesy of Julia Smith) 
Eagles Cheerleaders calendar. (Courtesy of Julia Smith) 
Headshots of Julia Smith when she was a cheerleader for the Philadelphia Eagles. (Courtesy of Julia Smith)
Smith remembers her time with the Eagles, saying it was all positive, good stuff. She also shared that during her time on the team, she also worked another job.
“I was working for, at the time I think … Meridian Investment Company. Then I worked for Friends Association, which is a child advocate agency. So I did that because practices were every Tuesday and Wednesday from 6-11 or midnight, whenever our boss … you know, Mary Lou Tamara was the head coach. Some of the girls were lawyers and doctors and going to school. So, it was a full-time, part-time if that makes sense,” Smith said.
Smith cheered on the sidelines for players like Reggie White, Eric Allen, Randall Cunningham, Luis Zendejas, Jessie Small and Keith Jackson. She also traveled with the team to London and Narita, Japan for exhibition games.
