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.

This plastic "Smothers Brothers" yo-yo was made by Playmaxx, Inc. in the 1990s. It has indented flat sides and a blue plastic design. Clear removable plastic disc seals on both sides. One side features a line portrait and the other a silhouette of the two performers.
Description (Brief)
This plastic "Smothers Brothers" yo-yo was made by Playmaxx, Inc. in the 1990s. It has indented flat sides and a blue plastic design. Clear removable plastic disc seals on both sides. One side features a line portrait and the other a silhouette of the two performers. The Smothers Brothers were a comedy variety act who parlayed their song “Yo-yo Man” into a successful instructional video and yo-yo line.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1990s
maker
Playmaxx
ID Number
2002.0246.27
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.27
This steel yo-yo was made by the Oriental Trading Company in the 1990s. This yo-yo has flat sides and a red, white, and blue American flag design on both halves.
Description (Brief)
This steel yo-yo was made by the Oriental Trading Company in the 1990s. This yo-yo has flat sides and a red, white, and blue American flag design on both halves. The Oriental Trading Company, begun as a gift shop in Omaha, is a large wholesale company that sells arts and crafts, toys and novelties.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1990s
maker
Oriental Trading Company
ID Number
2002.0246.08
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.08
This plastic yo-yo was made by Playmaxx Inc. in the 1990s. It was named the "ProYo" and has indented flat sides. It has a removable seal featuring a red and black graphic of Duncan Toys Company mascot "Mr. Yo-Yo" doing a “Texas Cowboy” trick.
Description (Brief)
This plastic yo-yo was made by Playmaxx Inc. in the 1990s. It was named the "ProYo" and has indented flat sides. It has a removable seal featuring a red and black graphic of Duncan Toys Company mascot "Mr. Yo-Yo" doing a “Texas Cowboy” trick. The "ProYo" line was started in 1976 by Donald Duncan, Jr., son of Duncan Toys founder Donald F. Duncan.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1990s
maker
Playmaxx
ID Number
2002.0246.41
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.41
This plastic yo-yo was made by Playmaxx Inc. in the 1990s. It is unopened upon its display card, which reads "ProYo II, the world’s longest spinning fixed axle yo-yo, with tricks inside." The yo-yo has a wooden axle, holographic silver insert seal and a red body.
Description (Brief)
This plastic yo-yo was made by Playmaxx Inc. in the 1990s. It is unopened upon its display card, which reads "ProYo II, the world’s longest spinning fixed axle yo-yo, with tricks inside." The yo-yo has a wooden axle, holographic silver insert seal and a red body. There is a cartoon graphic of a boy spinning a yo-yo on one side.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1990s
maker
Playmaxx
ID Number
2002.0246.56
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.56
This orange plastic “Duncan Butterfly” yo-yo was made Flambeau Products in the late 1990s. The Duncan Toys Company lost its trademark for the term “yo-yo” in 1965. The legal costs of the decision forced the company into bankruptcy.
Description (Brief)
This orange plastic “Duncan Butterfly” yo-yo was made Flambeau Products in the late 1990s. The Duncan Toys Company lost its trademark for the term “yo-yo” in 1965. The legal costs of the decision forced the company into bankruptcy. Flambeau, who had been making plastic yo-yos for Duncan since 1955, bought Duncan's name in 1968.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1990s
maker
Duncan
ID Number
2002.0246.44
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.44
This plastic yo-yo was made by Playmaxx, Inc. in 1993. It has a black body with indented flat sides. There is a graphic of a red, white and blue shield on both halves.
Description (Brief)
This plastic yo-yo was made by Playmaxx, Inc. in 1993. It has a black body with indented flat sides. There is a graphic of a red, white and blue shield on both halves. The yo-yo reads “The Nations Top Yo-Yo Players Meet in Chico California, The 1993 National Yo-Yo Championship.” The yo-yo commemorates the first modern national yo-yo championship in the United States.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1993
maker
Playmaxx
ID Number
2002.0246.39
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.39
This is a white plastic banner, with blue print, and white polyester cords at each corner to suspend the banner. The banner was used by Annapolis, Maryland radio station, WANN (1190) when it was an affiliate of the Motor Racing Network (MRN).
Description (Brief)

This is a white plastic banner, with blue print, and white polyester cords at each corner to suspend the banner. The banner was used by Annapolis, Maryland radio station, WANN (1190) when it was an affiliate of the Motor Racing Network (MRN). The banner is printed:

MRN
RADIO

WANN (1190 AM) was a a radio station based out of Annapolis, Maryland that primarily served the area's growing African American community. Morris Blum founded it in 1946, and it broadcast to the entire mid-Atlantic region. The station was home to disc jockey Charles "Hoppy" Adams starting in the early 1950s. Adams hosted weekly events at a local African American only beach, Carr's Beach, which were popular with the area's youth population.

WANN continued to program gospel, rhythm and blues, and public affairs features until 1992 when the station changed to a mainstream country format with the catchphrase “Bay Country 1190.” Around 1998, the station changed ownership and became WBIS, broadcasting a News Talk Information format.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1992-1997
ID Number
2002.0319.17
accession number
2002.0319
catalog number
2002.0319.17
This translucent plastic yo-yo was made by Yomega in the 1990s. Called the Phantom because of its translucent plastic, it features Yomega's trademarked "Brain," an internal clutch mechanism that helps beginners by automatically causing the yo-yo to return.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This translucent plastic yo-yo was made by Yomega in the 1990s. Called the Phantom because of its translucent plastic, it features Yomega's trademarked "Brain," an internal clutch mechanism that helps beginners by automatically causing the yo-yo to return.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1990s
maker
Yomega
ID Number
2002.0246.46
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.46
This plastic yo-yo was made by Small Minds Press in 1996. Called the Stinger, it remains unopened on a display card. It has indented flat sides. A real scorpion has been embedded inside of one half.
Description (Brief)
This plastic yo-yo was made by Small Minds Press in 1996. Called the Stinger, it remains unopened on a display card. It has indented flat sides. A real scorpion has been embedded inside of one half. There is educational information about scorpions on the reverse of the card.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1996
maker
Small Minds Press
ID Number
2002.0246.51
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.51
This wooden yo-yo was made by BC in 1995. It has a laminated, rainbow wood design and features the Smithsonian Institution's sun logo. The BC yo-yo line was produced by “Whats Next Manufacturing Inc.”Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This wooden yo-yo was made by BC in 1995. It has a laminated, rainbow wood design and features the Smithsonian Institution's sun logo. The BC yo-yo line was produced by “Whats Next Manufacturing Inc.”
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1995
maker
B.C. Yo-Yos
ID Number
2002.0246.19
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.19
This plastic "X-Brain" yo-yo was made by Yomega in 1999. It is made of translucent purple plastic and reads “Yomega X-Brain, Bandai 1999, Made in China, USA Patent No.
Description (Brief)
This plastic "X-Brain" yo-yo was made by Yomega in 1999. It is made of translucent purple plastic and reads “Yomega X-Brain, Bandai 1999, Made in China, USA Patent No. 4,332,102 Auto-Return.” This yo-yo has a cross shaped internal clutch mechanism that returns it to the user when spin has sufficiently slowed.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1999
maker
Yomega
ID Number
2002.0246.47
patent number
4,332,102
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.47
Race cachet created by the donor, Jona Van Zyle, for the Anchorage Museum of History and Art. This was carried over the original Serum Run route by Colonel Norman Vaughan and his group of mushers as an educational and recreational trip to Nome.
Description (Brief)
Race cachet created by the donor, Jona Van Zyle, for the Anchorage Museum of History and Art. This was carried over the original Serum Run route by Colonel Norman Vaughan and his group of mushers as an educational and recreational trip to Nome. The envelope is signed by all of the participants of that adventure. This cachet pays homage to the early history of the original purpose of the sled dog which was to provide mail and supplies for early settlers and is carried by each musher during the race.
The ‘Serum Run’ refers to the outbreak of diphtheria which hit Nome in 1925. The outbreak began just as the harbor at Nome was frozen over for the winter and while air travel was becoming more widespread in the Alaskan wilderness, the only plane available at the time had a frozen engine and was unable to fly. The Alaska Railroad was used to bring the needed anti-diphtheria serum north from Anchorage to Nenana; it traveled the last 700 miles to Nome through a chain of twenty sled dog teams in just over five days. This relay followed the old mail route along the Iditarod Trail. The sled dog teams included Leonhard Seppala and his lead dog Togo who traveled the longest leg of the relay handing off the serum to musher Gunner Kaasen and his lead dog Balto. It was Kaasen and Balto who arrived in Nome and delivered the much needed serum catapulting Balto into the history books as the most famous sled dog of all time.
Jon and Jona Van Zyle are both artists who live outside of Anchorage and have raised sled dogs for many years. Jon has been a supporter of the Iditarod since it beginnings and ran the race in 1976. Jon produced the first official poster for the Iditarod in 1977 which was such a huge success he was voted official artist of the Iditarod in 1979, a position he holds to this day. Jona also contributes her artistic talents to the race by designing logos for the Junior Iditarod and race cachets for the Iditarod and personal cachets for various mushers.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1999
artist
Van Zyle, Jona
ID Number
2014.0116.15.1
accession number
2014.0116
catalog number
2014.0116.16.1
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1990
user
Rosenstein, Rebecca
ID Number
2020.0010.06.2
accession number
2020.0010
catalog number
2020.0010.06.2
Cara-Beth Burnside pro model skate shoes worn by pro skater Cindy Whitehead. The shoes are white canvas with a white suede Vans side swoosh and white laces.
Description (Brief)
Cara-Beth Burnside pro model skate shoes worn by pro skater Cindy Whitehead. The shoes are white canvas with a white suede Vans side swoosh and white laces. There is a light blue sunburst with "CB" embroidered on the heel and Cara-Beth's signature is printed on the inside of the shoe. They have a brown gum sole with blue and white edges as Burnside preferred a gum sole shoe and wanted it to be a feature on her pro models. These Vans are the first pro model shoe designed by a woman skateboarder and to be sold exclusively to girls.
Cara-Beth Burnside was a pro skater in the 1980s often competing against men because there were no contests for women at the time. She was the first woman to be featured on the cover of Thrasher Magazine and used her influence to convince the people at Vans that a girl skate shoe would sell. Skeptical at first, the Cara-Beth model became one of the most popular model shoes in 1999.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1999
designer
Burnside, Cara-Beth
user
Whitehead, Cindy
maker
Vans, Inc.
ID Number
2022.0067.01
accession number
2022.0067
catalog number
2022.0067.01
The August 1999 edition of Skateboarding Magazine features a memorial tribute to skateboarder Tim Brauch who died suddenly from a childhood heart condition.
Description (Brief)
The August 1999 edition of Skateboarding Magazine features a memorial tribute to skateboarder Tim Brauch who died suddenly from a childhood heart condition. Skateboarding Magazine or Transworld Skateboarding as it is known today has been a leader in the industry for over 30 years, created in response to Thrasher Magazine’s “skate and destroy” approach to skate culture. Larry Balma, founder of Tracker Trucks and co-creator of Transworld Skateboarding Magazine along with Peggy Cozen discussed these early beginnings in a 2003 Union-Tribune interview: "They were pretty harsh, sex and drugs and using four-letter words and all that and in the early '80s, the sport started growing and [Thrasher] wasn't the best magazine for young kids." This philosophy led to Cozen’s “skate and create” motto using professional photographers to document skating as both a sport and a lifestyle and using professional skaters to bring credibility to the mix. In 1997, Transworld was sold to Time Warner and a corporate mentality began to creep into the magazine’s pages which didn’t sit right with many of the original editors so they left and created their own publication, Skateboarder Mag. In March of 2013 Transworld became the largest selling skateboarding magazine in the world and was sold to GrindMedia in May of 2013. Former Skateboarder Magazine editor-in-chief, Jamie Owens joined the Transworld team and stated in an interview in an October 2013 Transworld that, "TWS‘ hallmark has always been amazing photography of the biggest names in skateboarding. Growing up with TransWorld meant I was always seeing the best skateboarding being done by the best skaters shot by the best photographers. That documentation of skateboarding is unsurpassed."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1999
depicted
Brauch, Tim
ID Number
2011.3085.274
nonaccession number
2011.3085
catalog number
2011.3085.274
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1992
associated date
1993
depicted (sitter)
Puckett, Kirby
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2018.0193.0003
accession number
2018.0193
catalog number
2018.0193.0003
Amy Cohen, et al vs. Brown University Title IX legal document. Cohen was the co-captain of the 1992 Brown University’s Women’s Gymnastics team and one of twelve plaintiffs in a Title IX lawsuit against the school.
Description (Brief)
Amy Cohen, et al vs. Brown University Title IX legal document. Cohen was the co-captain of the 1992 Brown University’s Women’s Gymnastics team and one of twelve plaintiffs in a Title IX lawsuit against the school. As explained by Cohen, "In 1991, Brown University cut funding for four varsity teams including women’s gymnastics. The university thought it was complying with Title IX because it was cutting 2 men’s sports and 2 women’s sports. However, women were underrepresented before the cuts and disproportionately affected by the cuts, In a precedent-setting ruling, which set the standard for determining a school’s compliance with Title IX in the area of athletics, the court mandated that Brown create a plan to comply with the law. In 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court declined Brown’s petition to hear the case, all four teams were restored to university-funded status, and Brown promoted four additional women’s teams to varsity status. Cohen v. Brown was the first Title IX case of its type to receive an appellate court decision. The Civil Rights division of the Department of Justice filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the plaintiffs in the appeals court."
In the March 15, 2019 issue of the Brown University’s, College Hill Independent, “Cohen v. Brown would go on to define how athletics departments manage participation opportunities at Brown and surrounding universities. Almost 30 years later, “following recent federal announcements of changes to the ways universities must interpret Title IX.... , this case exemplifies the complexity of the law’s impact on gender equity in higher education.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1993
depicted
Cohen, Amy
ID Number
2019.0202.10
accession number
2019.0202
catalog number
2019.0202.10
Program for the 1999 Special Olympics World Summer Games belonging to Special Olympian Marty Sheets.Marty Sheets was born with Downs Syndrome in 1953 but through Camp Joy, a camp for kids with intellectual disabilities, he found a love of sports.
Description (Brief)
Program for the 1999 Special Olympics World Summer Games belonging to Special Olympian Marty Sheets.
Marty Sheets was born with Downs Syndrome in 1953 but through Camp Joy, a camp for kids with intellectual disabilities, he found a love of sports. Invited to participate in the first International Special Olympic Games in Chicago in 1968, Marty formed a life long bond with founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Over the course of the next 40 years Sheets won over 250 medals while competing in golf, swimming, Alpine skiing, tennis and power lifting. His favorite sport was golf and In 2006, he was the PGA’s national volunteer of the year for his work at the Wyndham Championship in his hometown of Greensboro, N.C. He is also included in the portrait of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and other Special Olympians which now resides in the National Portrait Gallery collections.
From its beginnings as Camp Shriver in Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s backyard, to the first international games in 1968, Special Olympics has been about giving people with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to participate in sport. This participation builds confidence, provides emotional support and offers social opportunities for the athletes and their families. With state chapters and a global presence through its World Games, “Special Olympics is the largest sports organization for people with intellectual disabilities with 5 million athletes in 170 countries worldwide.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1999
ID Number
2017.3064.10
nonaccession number
2017.3064
catalog number
2017.3064.10
September 1999 Skateboarding Magazine memorial tribute issue to skateboarder Tim Brauch who died suddenly from a childhood heart condition.
Description (Brief)
September 1999 Skateboarding Magazine memorial tribute issue to skateboarder Tim Brauch who died suddenly from a childhood heart condition. Skateboarding Magazine or Transworld Skateboarding as it is known today has been a leader in the industry for over 30 years, created in response to Thrasher Magazine’s “skate and destroy” approach to skate culture. Larry Balma, founder of Tracker Trucks and co-creator of Transworld Skateboarding Magazine along with Peggy Cozen discussed these early beginnings in a 2003 Union-Tribune interview: "They were pretty harsh, sex and drugs and using four-letter words and all that and in the early '80s, the sport started growing and [Thrasher] wasn't the best magazine for young kids." This philosophy led to Cozen’s “skate and create” motto using professional photographers to document skating as both a sport and a lifestyle and using professional skaters to bring credibility to the mix. In 1997, Transworld was sold to Time Warner and a corporate mentality began to creep into the magazine’s pages which didn’t sit right with many of the original editors so they left and created their own publication, Skateboarder Mag. In March of 2013 Transworld became the largest selling skateboarding magazine in the world and was sold to GrindMedia in May of 2013. Former Skateboarder Magazine editor-in-chief, Jamie Owens joined the Transworld team and stated in an interview in an October 2013 Transworld that, "TWS‘ hallmark has always been amazing photography of the biggest names in skateboarding. Growing up with TransWorld meant I was always seeing the best skateboarding being done by the best skaters shot by the best photographers. That documentation of skateboarding is unsurpassed."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1999
depicted
Brauch, Tim
ID Number
2011.3085.276
nonaccession number
2011.3085
catalog number
2011.3085.276
Scrapbook page belonging to Special Olympian Marty Sheets is one of forty taken from various scrapbooks made by his family over the many years of Marty's Special Olympic career.Marty Sheets was born with Downs Syndrome in 1953 but through Camp Joy, a camp for kids with intellectu
Description (Brief)
Scrapbook page belonging to Special Olympian Marty Sheets is one of forty taken from various scrapbooks made by his family over the many years of Marty's Special Olympic career.
Marty Sheets was born with Downs Syndrome in 1953 but through Camp Joy, a camp for kids with intellectual disabilities, he found a love of sports. Invited to participate in the first International Special Olympic Games in Chicago in 1968, Marty formed a life long bond with founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Over the course of the next 40 years Sheets won over 250 medals while competing in golf, swimming, Alpine skiing, tennis and power lifting. His favorite sport was golf and In 2006, he was the PGA’s national volunteer of the year for his work at the Wyndham Championship in his hometown of Greensboro, N.C. He is also included in the portrait of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and other Special Olympians which now resides in the National Portrait Gallery collections.
From its beginnings as Camp Shriver in Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s backyard, to the first international games in 1968, Special Olympics has been about giving people with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to participate in sport. This participation builds confidence, provides emotional support and offers social opportunities for the athletes and their families. With state chapters and a global presence through its World Games, “Special Olympics is the largest sports organization for people with intellectual disabilities with 5 million athletes in 170 countries worldwide.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1991
ID Number
2017.3064.05.05
nonaccession number
2017.3064
catalog number
2017.3064.05.05
Magazine cover for the first women's snowboarding magazine, Fresh and Tasty featuring Shannon Dunn depicts Dunn flying overhead on the Burton dolphin snowboard she helped design.Shannon Dunn (Downing) began snowboarding in 1988 at age 16, in her hometown of Steamboat Springs, Col
Description (Brief)
Magazine cover for the first women's snowboarding magazine, Fresh and Tasty featuring Shannon Dunn depicts Dunn flying overhead on the Burton dolphin snowboard she helped design.
Shannon Dunn (Downing) began snowboarding in 1988 at age 16, in her hometown of Steamboat Springs, Colorado when the sport was just gaining traction on an international level. In 1985, snowboarding became more relevant as a competitive sport with the arrival of sport specific magazines and videos, the introduction of international snowboard competitions and the acceptance of snowboarding in more resorts throughout the United States. By the late 1980s, women were beginning to enter contests hoping to spark a desire in younger girls to participate. Dunn began competing a year after she started snowboarding and took first in the 1989 Halfpipe Rocky Mountain Amateur Series and second place overall. By 1990 she was competing in the pro circuit and won third in the 1990 Body Glove Snowbout. From 1991 through 1997, Dunn was a consistent first place finisher at the pro contests and won gold in halfpipe at the first ever Winter X Games in 1997. She went on to earn a spot on the inaugural Olympic snowboarding team and became the first American athlete to medal in snowboarding winning the Bronze medal in half pipe at Nagano. Dunn continued her domination of the medal stand on the pro circuit until the 2002 Salt Lake City games where she came in fifth as American Kelly Clark to gold. After the 2002 Games Dunn retired in order to concentrate on her family. Dunn co-founded “Boarding for Breast Cancer” in 1996 and continues her philanthropic work.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1995
depicted
Downing, Shannon
ID Number
2021.0071.09
accession number
2021.0071
catalog number
2021.0071.09
Scrapbook page belonging to Special Olympian Marty Sheets is one of forty taken from various scrapbooks made by his family over the many years of Marty's Special Olympic career.Marty Sheets was born with Downs Syndrome in 1953 but through Camp Joy, a camp for kids with intellectu
Description (Brief)
Scrapbook page belonging to Special Olympian Marty Sheets is one of forty taken from various scrapbooks made by his family over the many years of Marty's Special Olympic career.
Marty Sheets was born with Downs Syndrome in 1953 but through Camp Joy, a camp for kids with intellectual disabilities, he found a love of sports. Invited to participate in the first International Special Olympic Games in Chicago in 1968, Marty formed a life long bond with founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Over the course of the next 40 years Sheets won over 250 medals while competing in golf, swimming, Alpine skiing, tennis and power lifting. His favorite sport was golf and In 2006, he was the PGA’s national volunteer of the year for his work at the Wyndham Championship in his hometown of Greensboro, N.C. He is also included in the portrait of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and other Special Olympians which now resides in the National Portrait Gallery collections.
From its beginnings as Camp Shriver in Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s backyard, to the first international games in 1968, Special Olympics has been about giving people with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to participate in sport. This participation builds confidence, provides emotional support and offers social opportunities for the athletes and their families. With state chapters and a global presence through its World Games, “Special Olympics is the largest sports organization for people with intellectual disabilities with 5 million athletes in 170 countries worldwide.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1991
ID Number
2017.3064.05.08
nonaccession number
2017.3064
catalog number
2017.3064.05.08
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race sports card with a color photograph of Jon Van Zyle, the official artist of the Iditarod on the front of the card and a biography on the reverse, 1991.
Description (Brief)
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race sports card with a color photograph of Jon Van Zyle, the official artist of the Iditarod on the front of the card and a biography on the reverse, 1991. The Iditarod Sled Dog Race is an extreme sports challenge that tests the skill and endurance of competitors while celebrating Alaska’s sled dog culture and history. Teams of 12 to 16 dogs, primarily Alaskan Huskies, and their musher experience harsh terrain and weather conditions during the 1,150 mile run from Anchorage to Nome. In its modern iteration as an extreme sport, the Iditarod takes an intense physical toll not only on the human competitors but also on the sled dogs. The race follows a large network of Native trade and travel routes which travelers used when gold was discovered in the isolated town of Iditarod. This discovery led to a “rush” of miners and settlers from across the country, transforming the trail into the region’s main mail and supply route. The area’s harsh winter conditions made sled dog teams the main source of transportation along the Iditarod Trail and it is this rich history which the Iditarod race celebrates today. In 1978 Congress designated the 2300 mile Iditarod Trail as a National Historic Trail recognizing its importance in the shaping of America. Through its beginnings as a regional story, the Iditarod provides us the opportunity to explore the American Experience through the origins of the Iditarod National Historic Trail and the transformation of the Alaskan sled dog culture into an international sport. The Iditarod is now the largest and most prominent sled dog race in the world, attracting international competitors and world-wide media attention.
Jon and Jona Van Zyle are both artists who live outside of Anchorage and have raised sled dogs for many years. Jon has been a supporter of the Iditarod since it beginnings and ran the race in 1976. Jon produced the first official poster for the Iditarod in 1977 which was such a huge success he was voted official artist of the Iditarod in 1979, a position he holds to this day. Jona also contributes her artistic talents to the race by designing logos for the Junior Iditarod and race cachets for the Iditarod and personal cachets for various mushers.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1991
depicted (sitter)
Van Zyle, Jon
ID Number
2014.0116.18
accession number
2014.0116
catalog number
2014.0116.19
This September 1999 edition of Skateboarder Magazine featured a memorial tribute to skateboarder Tim Brauch who died suddenly from a childhood heart condition.
Description (Brief)
This September 1999 edition of Skateboarder Magazine featured a memorial tribute to skateboarder Tim Brauch who died suddenly from a childhood heart condition. Skateboarder Magazine was first published as The Quarterly Skateboarder in 1964 but was changed to Skateboarder Magazine in 1965. It was only published for another year before the first wave of skateboarding ended but began publishing again in 1977 with Warren Bolster as the editor. Bolster was a photographer who specialized in skateboard photography and made Skateboarder Magazine the ‘standard’ during the second wave of skateboarding in the mid-1970s. The publication went ‘on hiatus’ during the 1980s as skateboarding’s second wave came to an end but was relaunched in 1997 with guest editor Tony Hawk. This helped establish the magazine on a bi-monthly basis once again and it continued to be published until 2013 when Grind Media closed the magazine down permanently.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1999
depicted
Brauch, Tim
ID Number
2011.3085.278
nonaccession number
2011.3085
catalog number
2011.3085.278

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