Sports & Leisure - Overview
The nation's passion for sports is obvious every day—at NASCAR races, kiddie soccer matches, and countless other contests. From a handball used by Abraham Lincoln to Chris Evert's tennis racket to a baseball signed by Jackie Robinson, the roughly 6.000 objects in the Museum's sports collections bear witness to the vital place of sports in the nation's history. Paper sports objects in the collections, such as souvenir programs and baseball cards, number in the hundreds of thousands.
Leisure collections encompass a different range of objects, including camping vehicles and gear, video games, playing cards, sportswear, exercise equipment, and Currier and Ives prints of fishing, hunting, and horseracing. Some 4,000 toys dating from the colonial period to the present are a special strength of the collections.
"Sports & Leisure - Overview" showing 13 items.
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Tennis Racket
- Description
- This racquet was used by American tennis player Arthur Ashe (1943-1993) while winning the Wimbledon Men’s Singles championship in 1975. With the victory, Ashe became the first African-American to win the prestigious event, defeating fellow American Jimmy Connors three sets to one.
- Ashe, a native of Richmond, Virginia, was the also first African-American to be named to the U.S. Davis Cup Team (1963) and to win singles titles at the U.S. and Australian Opens (1968 and 1970.)
- Ashe was a vocal advocate for civil rights, both in the United States and abroad, and was involved in many humanitarian efforts, including the opening of the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health. He has been recognized with honors such as the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and has had a statue erected on Richmond’s Monument Avenue.
- In 1997, the U.S. Tennis Association’s opened the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadow, New York. The court serves as the principal stadium for the U.S. Open.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1975
- associated dates
- 1991-04-09
- 1970-1980
- user
- Ashe, Arthur
- maker
- Head
- ID Number
- 1991.0178.01
- catalog number
- 1991.0178.01
- accession number
- 1991.0178
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Baseball, signed by the 1971 Los Angeles Dodgers
- Description
- Baseball autographed by the 1971 Los Angeles Dodgers. That season the Dodgers finished 89-73, 2nd in the National League West. The autographed baseball was collected by American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996), who was also an avid baseball fan.
- Autographs include Bill Sudakis; Willie Crawford; Jim Lefebvre; Bill Grabarkewitz; Jim Brewer; Sandy Vance; Don Sutton; Willie Crawford;
- Bill Buckner; Bill Singer; Hoyt Willhelm; Bob O’Brien; Al Downing; Pete Mikkelsen; Maury Wills; Bill Russell; Tom Haller.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- performing artist; recipient
- Fitzgerald, Ella
- associated institution
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- maker
- Spalding
- ID Number
- 1996.0342.105
- accession number
- 1996.0342
- catalog number
- 1996.0342.105
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Baseball, signed by the 1984 San Francisco Giants.
- Description
- This ball was signed by members of the 1984 San Francisco Giants. That season the Giants finished 66-96, 6th in the National League West. The autographed baseball was collected by American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996), who was also an avid baseball fan.
- Autographs include George Riley; Joel Youngblood; Mark Calvert; Bob Brenly; Dusty Baker; Chris Brown; John Rabb; Dan Gladden; Steve Necosia; Mark Grant; Bill Laskey; Scott Thompson; Fran Mullins; John Clark; Duane Kuiper.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- performing artist; recipient
- Fitzgerald, Ella
- maker
- Rawlings
- ID Number
- 1996.0342.106
- accession number
- 1996.0342
- catalog number
- 1996.0342.106
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Baseball, signed by the 1982 San Francisco Giants
- Description
- Baseball signed by the 1982 San Francisco Giants. That season the Giants finished 87-75, 3rd in the National League West. The ball was collected by American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996), who was also an avid baseball fan.
- Autographs include Frank Robinson; Bob Brenly; Chris Brown; Chili Davis; Jose Barrios; Reggie Smith; Mark Dempsey; Dan Schatzeder; Joe Morgan; Jack Clark.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1982
- performing artist; recipient
- Fitzgerald, Ella
- associated institution
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- maker
- Rawlings
- ID Number
- 1996.0342.107
- accession number
- 1996.0342
- catalog number
- 1996.0342.107
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Baseball, signed by the 1979 Los Angeles Dodgers
- Description
- Baseball signed by the 1979 Los Angeles Dodgers. That season the Dodgers finished 79-83, 3rd in the National League West. The ball was collected by American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996), who was also an avid baseball fan.
- Autographs include Dusty Baker; Steve Yeager; Burt Hooton; Von Joshua; Bill Russell; Johnny Oates; Don Sutton; Pedro Guererro; Steve Garvey.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1979
- performing artist; recipient
- Fitzgerald, Ella
- ID Number
- 1996.0342.108
- accession number
- 1996.0342
- catalog number
- 1996.0342.108
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Baseball, signed by 1984 All-Star Game Participants
- Description
- Baseball signed by participants in the 1984 Major League Baseball All-Star Game . The exhibition was held on July 10th in Candlestick Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. It was won by the National League All-Stars by a score of 3-1. The game's MVP was Montreal Expo's catcher Gary Carter. The ball was collected by American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996), who was also an avid baseball fan.
- Autographs include Al Holland; Keith Hernandez; Dwight Gooden; Bob Brenly; Tim Wallach; Charlie Lea; Rafael Ramirez; Mike Schmidt; Mario Soto; Dale Murphy; Jesse Orosco; Tim Wallach; Tim Raines; Chili Davis; Jody Davis; Tony Gwynn; Ryne Sandberg.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1984
- performing artist; recipient
- Fitzgerald, Ella
- maker
- Rawlings
- ID Number
- 1996.0342.109
- accession number
- 1996.0342
- catalog number
- 1996.0342.109
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Baseball, awarded to Walter "Buck" Leonard
- Description
- Baseball awarded to Walter Fenner "Buck" Leonard (1907-1997), star first baseman of the Negro League's Homestead Grays, while playing winter baseball in Puerto Rico in 1941.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1941
- ID Number
- 1981.0123.02
- catalog number
- 1981.0123.02
- accession number
- 1981.0123
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Baseball, awarded to Walter "Buck" Leonard
- Description
- Baseball awarded to Walter Fenner "Buck" Leonard (1907-1997), star first baseman of the Negro League's Homestead Grays, while playing winter baseball in Cuba in 1949.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1949
- ID Number
- 1981.0123.12
- catalog number
- 1981.0123.12
- accession number
- 1981.0123
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Baseball, awarded to Walter "Buck" Leonard
- Description
- Baseball awarded to Walter Fenner "Buck" Leonard (1907-1997), star first baseman of the Negro League's Homestead Grays, while playing winter baseball in Mexico in 1953.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1953
- ID Number
- 1981.0123.13
- catalog number
- 1981.0123.13
- accession number
- 1981.0123
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Baseball, used by Sam Streeter
- Description
- Baseball used by pitcher Sam Streeter (1900-1985). The left-handed Streeter was a star in the Negro Leagues, playing for the Chicago American Giants, the Birmingham Black Barons, the Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords. Streeter was the National League's starting pitcher in the first Negro League All-Star Game in 1933. He finished his career with 117 wins, ranking him 12th in all-time victories in Negro League play.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1930-1940
- associated dates
- 1930-1939
- ID Number
- 1981.0130.01
- catalog number
- 1981.0130.01
- accession number
- 1981.0130
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center