Sports & Leisure

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.

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1974-12
depicted (sitter)
King, Billie Jean
photographer
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2014.0112.104
catalog number
2014.0112.104
accession number
2014.0112
This metal yo-yo was made by the Gorham Manufacturing Company in the 1970s. It has flat sides and a sterling silver shell. The yo-yo features an ornate repousse leaf pattern and is engraved at the center.
Description (Brief)
This metal yo-yo was made by the Gorham Manufacturing Company in the 1970s. It has flat sides and a sterling silver shell. The yo-yo features an ornate repousse leaf pattern and is engraved at the center. The Gorham Manufacturing Company was originally founded in Rhode Island in 1831 as a sterling silver maker.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1970s
maker
Gorham
ID Number
2002.0246.07
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.07
This steel, whistling yo-yo was made by Festival in the 1960s. It has a black and yellow checkered design on both sides and is called 'The Screamer" as two small air holes create a screaming sound effect when spun. The decal reads “Festival Screamer YoYo.”Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This steel, whistling yo-yo was made by Festival in the 1960s. It has a black and yellow checkered design on both sides and is called 'The Screamer" as two small air holes create a screaming sound effect when spun. The decal reads “Festival Screamer YoYo.”
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1960s-1970s
maker
Festival
ID Number
2002.0246.06
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.06
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1974-03
photographer
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2014.0112.062
catalog number
2014.0112.062
accession number
2014.0112
This steel whistling yo-yo with rounded sides and a metal axle was made in the 1960s. It has a yellow and green design with a graphic of comic strip character Buster Brown and his dog Tige. The characters were created in 1902 by cartoonist Richard Outcault.
Description (Brief)
This steel whistling yo-yo with rounded sides and a metal axle was made in the 1960s. It has a yellow and green design with a graphic of comic strip character Buster Brown and his dog Tige. The characters were created in 1902 by cartoonist Richard Outcault. This yo-yo advertises Buster Brown brand shoes
Date made
1960-1970
ID Number
2002.0246.05
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.05
This plastic yo-yo was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1970s. It is made of translucent orange and green plastic and features an interior battery compartment. Battery power lit the yo-yo when it was spun.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This plastic yo-yo was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1970s. It is made of translucent orange and green plastic and features an interior battery compartment. Battery power lit the yo-yo when it was spun.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1970s
maker
Duncan
ID Number
2002.0246.45
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.45
This Tom Boerwinkle basketball card is number 68 in a series of 175 that was manufactured by the Topps Company Inc. for the 1970-1971 National Basketball Association season. The card is longer than standard cards, measuring 2½ inches by 4 ¾ inches.
Description
This Tom Boerwinkle basketball card is number 68 in a series of 175 that was manufactured by the Topps Company Inc. for the 1970-1971 National Basketball Association season. The card is longer than standard cards, measuring 2½ inches by 4 ¾ inches. The front of the card features a posed picture of the Chicago Bulls center on a yellow background. The card’s reverse features a small cartoon image illustrating the factoid that “At 7’-0” Tom is still growing,” as well as a short biography and career statistics.
It is apparent Boerwinkle is wearing his warm-ups on this card, which looks strange compared to modern cards but was common in basketball cards until the early 1970s. It is believed that the player’s would forfeit their fee to the team if the team name appeared so many players wore their jerseys backwards, wore their warm-ups, or posed in such a way to obscure the team name.
date made
1970
depicted
Boerwinkle, Tom
maker
Topps Company, Inc.
ID Number
1982.0568.382
catalog number
1982.0568.382
accession number
1982.0568
The Powell Quicksilver skateboard has as a hard rock maple core, laminated with aluminum. The aluminum Tracker trucks were designed by Larry Balma and the yellow polyurethane wheels were a Powell design.
Description (Brief)
The Powell Quicksilver skateboard has as a hard rock maple core, laminated with aluminum. The aluminum Tracker trucks were designed by Larry Balma and the yellow polyurethane wheels were a Powell design. George Powell designed and manufactured this board, which was used by Stacy Peralta, a pro skateboarder in 1977. The Quicksilver was the first deck Powell made and was a successful design, but the rapid changing market made it "out of style" less than a year after it was introduced. According to Powell, "the quicksilver utilizes very high strength 7000 series aluminum alloy skins very low elongation, epoxied to hard maple cores to achieve the best strength to weight ratio. The result was a deck that turned quicker than a fiber flex and was a little stronger and less resistant to breaking."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1977
user
Peralta, Stacy
maker
Powell, George
ID Number
1987.0738.01
accession number
1987.0738
catalog number
1987.0738.001
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1979
depicted (sitter)
Balukas, Jean
ID Number
1983.0580.05.1
accession number
1983.0580
catalog number
1983.0580.05.1
Watercolor drawing by Rube Goldberg for the single cell cartoon Predictions for the Year 2070 A.D., 1970.Considered to be Rube's last cartoon, this watercolor drawing looks humorously at problems with politics, women's liberation, scientific invention and the generation gap, and
Description
Watercolor drawing by Rube Goldberg for the single cell cartoon Predictions for the Year 2070 A.D., 1970.
Considered to be Rube's last cartoon, this watercolor drawing looks humorously at problems with politics, women's liberation, scientific invention and the generation gap, and the potential for those issues to continue for at least one hundred years.
Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) was best known for the invention comic art series The Inventions of Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts that he created for local and national newspapers between 1914 and the 1964. In a career that spanned more than half a century, he created some 50,000 individual and series cartoons. His subjects included American politics, sports, and everyday, timeless concerns. As he said in 1940, "Humor comes from everyday situations, because nothing is as funny as real life."
His best-remembered invention comic series looks at everyday life and our love-hate relationship with technology. The series reminds us of the disquieting feelings we have when using new mechanical devices that offer progress while taking away the comfort of an acquired skill or an older way of performing a task. The automobile, the airplane, the telephone, and the radio, among other conveniences, had not been invented when Rube Goldberg was born in 1883. They were world-wide and life-changing innovations by the 1920s, to which everyone was becoming accustomed. The inventions promised hours of entertainment and freedom, but at the same time created fear and feelings of loss of human importance.
Along with the more common fear that the new technologies would take the place of manual labor and human intelligence, Rube Goldberg also came to believe that individualism was disappearing. The more we gave in to the use of innovations and commodities, he felt, the less room there was for our individual perceptions, concerns, and activities. In 1921, for example, he declared that the telephone had "superseded the dog as man's best friend."
Another of Rube Goldberg's continuing themes touched on the humor of man's situation, even to his last cartoons; that nothing really changes no matter how persistent we are, and that man has a "capacity for exerting maximum effort to accomplish minimum results."
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1970
original artist
Goldberg, Rube
Goldberg, Rube
ID Number
GA.23483
catalog number
GA*23483
accession number
1972.299186
Alarm Clock by Rube Goldberg, circa 1970.
Description
Alarm Clock by Rube Goldberg, circa 1970. This non-working, sculpted model signed by Rube Goldberg was crafted [during the 1960s] to replicate a cartoon from the series The Inventions of Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts that he drew for between 1914 and 1964.
Inscription: At 6 a.m. garbage man picks up ashcan, causing mule to kick over statue of Indian warrior. Arrow punctures bucket and ice cubes fall on false teeth, causing them to chatter and nip elephant's tail. Elephant raises his trunk in pain, pressing lever which starts toy maestro to lead quartet in sad song. Sentimental girl breaks down and cries into flower pot, causing flower to grow and tickle man's feet. He rocks with laughter, starting machine that rings gong and slides sleeper out of bed into slippers on wheels, which propel him into bathroom where cold shower really wakes him up.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
circa 1970
depicted
Butts, Lucifer Gorgonzola
original artist
Goldberg, Rube
ID Number
GA.23502
accession number
1972.289709
catalog number
GA*23502
accession number
289709
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
before 1972
ID Number
1983.0838.0138
accession number
1983.0838
catalog number
1983.0838.138
This Elmore Smith basketball card is number 76 in a series of 264 that was manufactured by the Topps Company Inc. for the 1972-1973 National Basketball Association (NBA) season. The front of the card features a posed picture of the Buffalo Braves center on a pink background.
Description
This Elmore Smith basketball card is number 76 in a series of 264 that was manufactured by the Topps Company Inc. for the 1972-1973 National Basketball Association (NBA) season. The front of the card features a posed picture of the Buffalo Braves center on a pink background. The card’s reverse features a small cartoon image illustrating the factoid that “Elmore is first 7-footer to play for Braves,” as well as a short biography and career statistics.
Elmore played in the NBA from 1971-1979 as a member of the Buffalo Braves, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Cleveland Cavaliers. Elmore led the league in blocks in 1974 with an average of 4.9 per game, which remains the third-highest ever recorded for a single season. Smith also set the single-game record for blocks with 17 in a 1973 game against Portland.
date made
1972
copyright date
1973
publisher
NBA Properties, Inc.
Topps Chewing Gum
depicted
Smith, Elmore
maker
Topps Company, Inc.
NBA Properties, Inc.
ID Number
1982.0568.108
accession number
1982.0568
catalog number
1982.0568.108
This reccording, Shakey's presents "Tips on Hockey" with Barclay Plager and Garry Unger, was written and produced by The Wayne Agency, St. Louis, Missouri, 1972.
Description (Brief)

This reccording, Shakey's presents "Tips on Hockey" with Barclay Plager and Garry Unger, was written and produced by The Wayne Agency, St. Louis, Missouri, 1972. It is a 45rpm disc with an original printed sleeve in white and light red with two black and white photographs of hockey players on the front.

This was a promotional disc from Shakey's Pizza. a pizza restaurant chain based in the United States, founded in 1954.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1972
ID Number
1988.0370.01
accession number
1988.0370
catalog number
1988.0370.01
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1979
depicted (sitter)
Balukas, Jean
ID Number
1983.0580.05.2
accession number
1983.0580
catalog number
1983.0580.05.2
This Otto Moore basketball card is number 70 in a series of 264 that was manufactured by the Topps Company Inc. for the 1972-1973 National Basketball Association (NBA) season. The front of the card features a posed picture of the Houston Rockets center on a pink background.
Description
This Otto Moore basketball card is number 70 in a series of 264 that was manufactured by the Topps Company Inc. for the 1972-1973 National Basketball Association (NBA) season. The front of the card features a posed picture of the Houston Rockets center on a pink background. The card’s reverse features a small cartoon image illustrating the factoid that “Otto has gained over 20 pounds since entering NBA,” as well as a short biography and career statistics.
Moore played nine seasons in the NBA for the Detroit Pistons, Phoenix Suns, Houston Rockets, Kansas City-Omaha Kings, and New Orleans Jazz. The center averaged 8.2 points and 8.2 rebounds during his 682 game-career.
date made
1972
copyright date
1969
publisher
Topps Chewing Gum
NBA Properties, Inc.
depicted
Moore, Otto
maker
Topps Chewing Gum
NBA Properties, Inc.
ID Number
1982.0568.095
accession number
1982.0568
catalog number
1982.0568.095
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1974
ID Number
1986.0830.02
accession number
1986.0830
catalog number
1986.0830.02
This honeycomb pool board was a revolutionary design by George Powell and was used by Stacy Peralta, one of the founding members of the Bones Brigade. It has a formed aluminum core with an aluminum honeycomb epoxy bonded with a filled, polyester close out.
Description (Brief)
This honeycomb pool board was a revolutionary design by George Powell and was used by Stacy Peralta, one of the founding members of the Bones Brigade. It has a formed aluminum core with an aluminum honeycomb epoxy bonded with a filled, polyester close out. The polyurethane wheels, or Bones wheels, were also made by George Powell and the Tracker trucks were designed by Larry Balma. According to Powell, "the decks were changing monthly during this era and we had to accommodate the rapidly evolving style of skating, which quickly went from streets to ditches, to pools and skate parks. The aluminum skins were problematic because the skaters would drag the tails to slow down and that would grind them off to a razor-sharp high strength aluminum edge that was very dangerous if it hit someone. This led me to develop the Tail Bones and Nose Bones I made to protect the tips, and to experiment with lighter, better performing prototypes, of which the "Powell" you have is a prime example. It utilizes aluminum skins, aluminum honeycomb core, and epoxy to close out the edges. The wheel wells are post lamination formed by crushing the honeycomb in those areas, as this was a first, and we wanted to learn if we could get away with this shortcut to making them instead of much more expensive and time-consuming alternatives."
date made
1978
user
Peralta, Stacy
maker
Powell, George
ID Number
1987.0737.001
accession number
1987.0737
catalog number
1987.0737.001
Skateboard Racing News, Vol 1, No 1, January 1976The National Skateboard Review was the first nationwide grass roots publication for local skaters.
Description (Brief)
Skateboard Racing News, Vol 1, No 1, January 1976
The National Skateboard Review was the first nationwide grass roots publication for local skaters. The Review included race results, interviews, skateboarding tips, safety lessons, skateboard related advertisements and black and white photographs of tricks, contests and skaters. This publication was written and published by Di Dootson, a slalom racer who began keeping times for the local races and decided a publication about the local competitions and skateboarding in general was needed. In 1975, Dootson skated at LaCosta with many influential people in the skate world including Frank Nasworthy, the designer of the urethane wheel; Dominy and Balma, the inventors of the wide truck; the Bahne Brothers, Caster, Gordon & Smith and Bobby Turner, all manufacturers of skateboard decks; Warren Bolster, the editor of Skateboarder Magazine; and O’Malley and Graham, the builders of Carlsbad Skate Park. They all did their R&D testing at LaCosta and their pros used Black Hill to improve their skills and test new products. The National Skateboard Review was created by Dootson and Peggy Turner, the wife of SummerSki designer Bobby Turner to update racers on their stats and provide information to other racers and skaters across the country. As publisher and editor of the National Skateboard Review, Dootson invited skaters to send in contest results, park news, skater news, legislation news, pro gossip and skateparks provided local information. The first advertisers were: G&S, Tracker Trucks, and Logan Earth Ski. Advertisers would get 100 copies of the newspaper to mail out with shipments to retailers across the country. NSR, as it was referred, was published monthly for the next three years. As Dootson explains, “By early 1979, the insurance industry had effectively closed many skateparks across the country. With the loss of skatepark retail shops to provide sales opportunities, manufacturers had to cut expenses. Ads to the NSR eventually dwindled. By summer, 1979, it was painfully clear the NSR days were numbered. I printed a farewell in the April/May, 1979 issue.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1976
editor
Rose, Di Dootson
ID Number
2013.0163.01
accession number
2013.0163
catalog number
2013.0163.01
Early 1970s boogie board made by Tom Morey. Morey was a surfer who also happened to be an engineer that revolutionized the surfing world with many of his board designs.
Description (Brief)
Early 1970s boogie board made by Tom Morey. Morey was a surfer who also happened to be an engineer that revolutionized the surfing world with many of his board designs. In 1965, Morey teamed up with San Diego surfer and designer Karl Pope and they introduced several trendy surfboard models including the Snub and the Camel. It was during this time that Morey invented the first “commercially successful” removable fin system. Morey also introduced the first prize money contest to surfing, the “$1,500 Tom Morey Invitational.” The contest was also the first timed event and not subjective to judges scoring, having the surfers see how long they could “noseride” the surfboard. It wasn’t until 1973 that Morey re-invented the body board, and named it the Boogie Board, after his love of music. The quirky and eccentric Morey once said, “For anybody to become a graduate of this planet it is essential that they learn to enjoy this activity.”
date made
mid 1970s
ID Number
2015.0228.01
accession number
2015.0228
catalog number
2015.0228.01
This is a "DK38" model Cadillac skateboard wheel which is a pigmented blue-green color and was introduced in 1975. "Cadillac Wheels [/] DK38" is imprinted into the surface of the wheel which is 2 inches in diameter and 1.5 inches or 38 mm wide.
Description (Brief)
This is a "DK38" model Cadillac skateboard wheel which is a pigmented blue-green color and was introduced in 1975. "Cadillac Wheels [/] DK38" is imprinted into the surface of the wheel which is 2 inches in diameter and 1.5 inches or 38 mm wide. This model was the first production Cadillac wheel made in California. According to the donor, several aspects of this wheel were refined and included two models, the DK38 and the DK 51. these wheels were not the original designs but became the standard for the first high volume skateboard production by the new team of Bahne & Co. and Cadillac Wheels. Both models were offered in blue-green and orange. there is a metal bearing race cone in the center of the wheel. This would receive the loose ball bearings and a screw for securing the wheel to the truck, holding the bearings in, allowing the wheel to spin freely.
Frank Nasworthy’s introduction of the urethane wheel to skateboarding in the early 1970s, changed the face of the sport allowing riders a more fluid, smooth ride and innovators to create new and improved equipment designed specifically from the use of the urethane wheel on skateboards. Prior to Cadillac wheel’s introduction, skateboarding had dropped from popularity. The equipment did not allow for a safe, enjoyable ride. The wheels, made of steel, plastic, clay or a crushed walnut composite did not provide a smooth ride. One small rock or rise in the road and the board would stop, sending the rider flying. Nasworthy, a recreational skater discovered the urethane wheel, originally used for roller skating, at a friend’s father’s factory in Purcellville, Virginia. He saw the potential for skateboarding and returned to California with 1000 wheels he bought from his friend’s dad. Selling them to skate and surf shops in California, Nasworthy soon realized the business potential and began manufacturing the wheels under the name Cadillac. While skateboarding ebbed again in the late 70s, the wheels were here to stay.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1975
ID Number
2021.0116.08.1
accession number
2021.0116
catalog number
2021.0116.08.1
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1973-12
photographer
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2014.0112.004
catalog number
2014.0112.004
accession number
2014.0112
Baseball bat used by Pete Rose as a member of the Cincinnati Reds.Peter Pete Rose (b. 1941) currently has the record for most hits in American Major League Baseball with 4,256.
Description
Baseball bat used by Pete Rose as a member of the Cincinnati Reds.
Peter Pete Rose (b. 1941) currently has the record for most hits in American Major League Baseball with 4,256. Known as Charlie Hustle for his aggressive style of play, Rose was a seventeen-time all-star, led the National League in batting three times, and was named the League's Most Valuable Player in 1973. Following his playing career, Rose managed the Cincinnati Reds, where, in 1989, he was found guilty of betting on baseball games. This led to his placement on Major League Baseballs ineligible list, effectively banning him from the sport.
Rose, who appeared in more games (3,562) and had more at-bats (14,053) than any other MLB player, played for the Cincinnati Reds (1963-1978, 1984-1986) Philadelphia Phillies (1979-1983) and Montreal Expos (1984.) A switch-hitter, Rose starred as both infielder and outfielder, winning two gold gloves.
The National League's Rookie of the Year in 1963, Rose helped lead Cincinnati's Big Red Machine to back to back World Series titles in 1975 and 1976. He would attain a third championship ring as a member of the Phillies in 1980.
With a lifetime batting average of .303, Rose had 160 home runs and 1,314 runs batted in for his career. In 1977, he hit safely in 44 straight games, tying the longest streak in National League history. He broke Ty Cobb's long-standing all-time hit record in 1985, retiring the following season.
Named manager of the Reds in 1984, Rose compiled a 412-373 record before being placed on baseball's ineligible list for gambling on baseball. This status has kept Rose away from most MLB baseball functions, including eligibility for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
In 1990 Rose was sentenced to five months in a Federal penitentiary for filing false income tax returns.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1969-1970
Associated Name
Rose, Pete
Cincinnati Reds
maker
Louisville Slugger
ID Number
2017.0334.15
catalog number
2017.0334.15
accession number
2017.0334
“The Say Hey Kid” Willie Howard Mays Jr. (b.1931) began his career in the Negro Leagues (1947) before joining the Major League’s New York Giants in 1951.
Description
“The Say Hey Kid” Willie Howard Mays Jr. (b.1931) began his career in the Negro Leagues (1947) before joining the Major League’s New York Giants in 1951. Excepting time in military service (1952-1953,) the exuberant center fielder became a mainstay of the Giants, who relocated to San Francisco in 1958. In 1973 Mays signed with the New York Mets, where he would play his final two seasons.
Mays started his Major League career by winning the 1951 National League Rookie of the Year Award. A two time National League Most Valuable Player (1954, 1965) Mays led the Giants to victory in the 1954 World Series, where in game one, he famously caught a ball, hit by Cleveland Indian Vic Wertz, over his shoulder. Now simply referred to in baseball lore as “The Catch,” the play is the best remembered of the many defensive efforts that earned the speedy outfielder 12 gold gloves to go along with his 24 All Star Game recognitions.
Mays finished his career with .302 batting average, 3,283 hits, 660 home runs, 1,903 runs batted in, and 338 stolen bases. One of the greatest all-around players the sport has ever seen, Mays was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979. In 2015 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1970-1972
user
Mays, Willie
ID Number
2017.0084.13
accession number
2017.0084
catalog number
2017.0084.13

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