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 46 items.
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Duncan Rainbo Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This Duncan steel yo-yo was manufactured by the Cayo Manufacturing Company in 1934. It has flat black sides with a black and white stripe design around the edges. There is a red, yellow and blue internal, metallic spinning disc that can be seen through small cut out windows in the sides. The decal reads “Genuine Duncan Rainbo Yo-Yo, Trade Mark Reg. USA.” The Duncan Toys Company contracted its metal yo-yos to the Cayo Manufacturing Company until World War II.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1934
- maker
- Duncan
- Cayo Manufacturing Company
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.02
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Duncan Starburst Whistler Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This steel Duncan yo-yo was made by the Cayo Manufacturing Company in the 1930s. It has flat sides and a red, yellow and blue starburst lithograph seal design on both halves. There are two small air holes that make a whistling sound when the toy is spun. The decal reads “Genuine Duncan Whistling Yo-Yo.” The Duncan Toys Company contracted its metal yo-yos to the Cayo Manufacturing Company until World War II.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1930s
- maker
- Duncan
- Cayo Manufacturing Company
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.03
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.03
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Duncan Beginner Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This wooden yo-yo was made by Duncan Toys Company in the 1960s. It is black on one half and red on the other. A Duncan Beginners Yo-Yo, it is part of a line made since the 1930s. Yo-Yos from this line are usually wooden with pegged strings. This example features a very early image of Duncan's mascot “Mr. Yo-Yo.”
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1930s
- maker
- Duncan
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.10
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.10
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Duncan Beginner Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This wooden yo-yo was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s. It is made of wood and has one black side and one red side. This is a "Beginners Yo-Yo," which were less expensive than the company's tournament models.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1950s
- maker
- Duncan
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.11
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.11
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Duncan Tournament Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This dark-blue "little g" wooden yo-yo was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s. It has a gold stamped seal that reads “Genuine Tournament Yo-Yo, Reg. US Pat Off., Duncan Tops.”
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Duncan
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.12
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.12
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Duncan Tournament Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This wooden yo-yo was made by Duncan Toys Company during the 1930s-1940s. It is black with a printed gold label and black lettering. Duncan “Big G” Genuine yo-yos such as this were required for official Duncan contests in the early 1930s.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1930s-1940s
- maker
- Duncan
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.13
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.13
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Duncan Rainbo Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This wooden yo-yo was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1940s. It has plain red and yellow halves advertising Rainbo brand bread. Yo-Yos were often used as advertising tools throughout the 20th century.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1940s
- maker
- Duncan
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.14
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.14
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Duncan Litening Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This wooden yo-yo was made by the Duncan Toys company from 1956-1959. The overall crackle design was created through a double-coat painting process. The sticker reads “Duncan ‘Litening’ Yo-Yo Top”. This was one of the first yo-yos to be packaged and sold upon a blister card.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1950s
- maker
- Duncan
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.15
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.15
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Duncan Genuine Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This wooden yo-yo was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1930s. It has a green design with a broad red stripe. The seal reads “Genuine Duncan Yo-Yo, Reg. US Pat.” This was an early version of the Duncan Genuine Yo-Yo, produced soon after Donald Duncan bought the trademark term “yo-yo” from inventor Pedro Flores. This yo-yo's seal is reminiscent of the one used by Flores.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1930s
- maker
- Duncan
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.17
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.17
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Duncan El Toro Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This blue plastic yo-yo was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s. Clear plastic covers on its rounded sides reveal red, white and black designs featuring graphics of charging bulls. There are loose pieces inside the yo-yo which make a slight noise when spun. The sides read “Genuine Duncan Yo-Yo, El Toro.”
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1950s
- maker
- Duncan
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.20
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.20
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center