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
ca 1927
referenced
Davega Sports
ID Number
1986.0210.21
accession number
1986.0210
catalog number
1986.0210.21
Baseball signed by the 1935 Chicago Cubs.
Description
Baseball signed by the 1935 Chicago Cubs. That season the Cubs finished 100-54, 1st in the National League, losing the World Series to the Detroit Tigers 4 games to 2.
Autographs include Augie Galen; Phil Cavarretta; Frank Demaree; Billy Herman; Gabby Hartnett; Stan Hack; Billy Jurges; Freddie Lindstrom; Chuck Klein; Lon Warneke; Larry French; Fabian Kowalick; Tex Carleton; Roy Henshaw; Bill Lee; Walter Stephenson; Ken O'Dea.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1935
maker
Davega Sports
ID Number
CL.310547.156
accession number
310547
catalog number
310547.156
Baseball signed by the 1935 Brooklyn Dodgers.
Description
Baseball signed by the 1935 Brooklyn Dodgers. That season the Dodgers finished 70-83, 5th in the National League.
Autographs include Casey Stengel; Sam Leslie; Tony Cuccinello; Lonny Frey; Joe Stripp; Buzz Boyle; Frenchy Bordagaray; Danny Taylor; Al Lopez; Jim Bucher; Len Koenecke; Jimmy Jordan; Babe Phelps; Van Mungo; Watty Clark; George Earnshaw; Tom Zachary; Johnny Babich; Dutch Leonard; Ray Benge.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1935
associated institution
Brooklyn Dodgers
Associated Name
Stengel, Casey
maker
Davega Sports
ID Number
CL.310547.153
accession number
310547
catalog number
310547.153
Baseball signed by the 1935 Philadelphia Phillies.
Description
Baseball signed by the 1935 Philadelphia Phillies. That season the Phillies finished 64-89, 7th in the National League.
Autographs include Jimmie Wilson; Dolp Camilli; Lou Chiozza; Mickey Haslin; Johnny Vergez; Johnny Moore; Ethan Allen; George Watkins; Al Todd; Jimmie Wilson; Chile Gomez; Curt Davis; Orville Jorgens; Syl Johnson; Jim Bivin; Bucky Walters; Joe Bowman.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1935
associated institution
Philadelphia Phillies
maker
Davega Sports
ID Number
CL.310547.158
accession number
310547
catalog number
310547.158
Baseball signed by 1935 Cincinnati Reds.
Description
Baseball signed by 1935 Cincinnati Reds. That season, the Reds finished 68-85, 6th in the National League.
Autographs include Jim Bottomley; Alex Kampouris; Billy Myers; Lew Riggs; Ival Goodman; Samuel Byrd; Babe Herman; Ernie Lombardi; Billy Sullivan; Kiki Cuyler; Gilly Campbell; Gordon Slade; Paul Derringer; Al Hollingsworth; Gene Schott; Tony Freitas; Si Johnson; Benny Frey; Don Brennan; Leroy Herrmann; Chuck Dressen.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1935
associated institution
Cincinnati Reds
maker
Davega Sports
ID Number
CL.310547.141
accession number
310547
catalog number
310547.141
Baseball signed by the 1935 Philadelphia Athletics.
Description
Baseball signed by the 1935 Philadelphia Athletics. That season, the A's finished 58-91, 8th in the American League.
Autographs include Connie Mack; Jimmie Foxx; Roger Cramer; Skeeter Newsome; Wally Moses; Rabbit Warstler; Eric McNair; Pinky Higgins; Bob Johnson; Paul Richards; Lou Finney; Charlie Berry; Johnny Marcum; Bill Dietrich; George Blaeholder; Whitey Wilshere; Roy Mahaffey.
Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy, better known as Connie Mack, played major league baseball from 1886-1896. In 1901 he was named manager of the Philadelphia Athletics, a position he would hold for 50 years. During his tenure he became the sport's all-time winningest manager, accumulating 3,776 victories. With Mack at the helm, the A's won 9 American League pennants and 5 World Series Championships.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1935
associated institution
Philadelphia Athletics
maker
Davega Sports
ID Number
CL.310547.128
accession number
310547
catalog number
310547.128
Baseball signed by the 1935 St. Louis Cardinals.
Description
Baseball signed by the 1935 St. Louis Cardinals. That year the Cardinals finished 96-58, 2nd in the National League.
Autographs include Joe Medwick, Frankie Frisch; Bill DeLancey; Ernie Osatti; Terry Moore; Paul Dean; Jesse Haines; Phil Collins; Virgil "Spud" Davis; Bill Walker; Bill Hallahan; Jack Rothrock; Charlie Gelbert; Pepper Martin; Ripper Collins; Charlie Wilson; Burgess "Whitey" Whitehead; Ray Harrell; Dizzy Dean.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1934
associated institution
St. Louis Cardinals
maker
Davega Sports
ID Number
CL.310547.149
accession number
310547
catalog number
310547.149

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.