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 pressbook is for the 1958 Warner Bros. musical film Damn Yankees, directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen and starred Gwen Verdon, Tab Hunter, and Ray Walston.
Description
This pressbook is for the 1958 Warner Bros. musical film Damn Yankees, directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen and starred Gwen Verdon, Tab Hunter, and Ray Walston. This pressbook was distributed to movie theater owners for the purchase of posters and other material as marketing tools for promotion of this movie.
Location
Currently not on view
publishing date
1958
performing artist; depicted
Verdon, Gwen
publisher
Warner Brothers
ID Number
1986.0370.10
accession number
1986.0370
catalog number
1986.0370.10
Jan Garber and his Orchestra. side 1: Lights Out [track 1] Strike Up the Band [track 2]; side 2: Fordham "Ram" [track 1] Hail to Pitt [track 2] (Capitol 10144), from the album, College Medleys (Capitol CD-95).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description
Jan Garber and his Orchestra. side 1: Lights Out [track 1] Strike Up the Band [track 2]; side 2: Fordham "Ram" [track 1] Hail to Pitt [track 2] (Capitol 10144), from the album, College Medleys (Capitol CD-95).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
release date
1948
recording artist
Jan Garber and His Orchestra
manufacturer
Capitol
ID Number
1981.0656.520
catalog number
1981.0656.520
maker number
10144
CD-95
accession number
1981.0656
Jan Garber and his Orchestra. side 1: Maryland, Maryland [track 1] Hark the Sounds of Tar Heel Voices [track 2]; side 2: Rambling Wreck from Georgia Tech [track 1 Fight Alabama [track 2] (Capitol 10141), from the album, College Medleys (Capitol CD-95).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description
Jan Garber and his Orchestra. side 1: Maryland, Maryland [track 1] Hark the Sounds of Tar Heel Voices [track 2]; side 2: Rambling Wreck from Georgia Tech [track 1 Fight Alabama [track 2] (Capitol 10141), from the album, College Medleys (Capitol CD-95).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
release date
1948
recording artist
Jan Garber and His Orchestra
manufacturer
Capitol
ID Number
1981.0656.517
maker number
10141
CD-95
accession number
1981.0656
catalog number
1981.0656.517
Jan Garber and his Orchestra. side 1: Maine Stein Song [track 1] Hail to Old O.S.C. [track 2]; side 2: Washington and Lee Swing [track 1] Glory to Old Georgia [track 2] (Capitol 10143), from the album, College Medleys (Capitol CD-95).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description
Jan Garber and his Orchestra. side 1: Maine Stein Song [track 1] Hail to Old O.S.C. [track 2]; side 2: Washington and Lee Swing [track 1] Glory to Old Georgia [track 2] (Capitol 10143), from the album, College Medleys (Capitol CD-95).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
release date
1948
recording artist
Jan Garber and His Orchestra
manufacturer
Capitol
ID Number
1981.0656.519
maker number
10143
CD-95
accession number
1981.0656
catalog number
1981.0656.519
Jan Garber and his Orchestra. side 1: On Brave Old Army Song [track 1] Anchors Aweigh [track 2]; side 2: Yale "Boola Song" [track 1] The Princeton Cannon Song [track 2] (Capitol 10142), from the album, College Medleys (Capitol CD-95).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description
Jan Garber and his Orchestra. side 1: On Brave Old Army Song [track 1] Anchors Aweigh [track 2]; side 2: Yale "Boola Song" [track 1] The Princeton Cannon Song [track 2] (Capitol 10142), from the album, College Medleys (Capitol CD-95).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
release date
1948
recording artist
Jan Garber and His Orchestra
manufacturer
Capitol
ID Number
1981.0656.518
maker number
10142
CD-95
accession number
1981.0656
catalog number
1981.0656.518
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
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
before 1972
ID Number
1983.0838.0138
accession number
1983.0838
catalog number
1983.0838.138
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
Reflecting telescope made in the 1980s as part of the "Dobsonian revolution" in amateur astronomy.John Dobson began developing this form in 1956. At the time he was living in a monastery in San Francisco, working as a gardener.
Description
Reflecting telescope made in the 1980s as part of the "Dobsonian revolution" in amateur astronomy.
John Dobson began developing this form in 1956. At the time he was living in a monastery in San Francisco, working as a gardener. Although he had a degree in chemistry, Dobson had always been interested in spiritual issues. Seeking a way to experience a fundamental reality, he became obsessed with seeing the "deep sky"—the distant realm of nebula and galaxies.
Unfortunately, to actually see these astronomical objects required large telescopes that were generally only available to astronomers and were too expensive for many people, and especially for Dobson, who had taken a vow of poverty.
Undeterred, Dobson began teaching himself telescope making. In time he developed a new telescope design and a new approach to telescope making. Compared to the typical amateur telescope of the time, what came to be known as the "Dobsonian" telescopes were large, easy to use, inexpensive, and portable. They were also easy to make. The mirrors were ground from simple porthole glass. The mounts were made from common construction materials. Although comparatively crude, these strange new telescopes worked. Thrilled by his success, Dobson put them on wheels and pulled them around the streets of San Francisco, offering to show the wonders of the sky to anyone he met.
Around 1967 Dobson helped found the Sidewalk Astronomers. They became famous for touring the United States, setting up their telescopes (affectionately known as "light buckets") and inviting passers-by to look through them. Telescope design continues to evolve and today the majority of amateur telescopes (like this one) are precise and commercially made. However, many active amateur astronomers credit an early encounter with a Dobsonian for starting their interest in astronomy and changing the way they view the sky.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1988
inventor
Dobson, John L.
maker
Coulter Optical Co.
ID Number
1994.0399.01
accession number
1994.0399
catalog number
1994.0399.01
“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
"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
ca 1971
user
Mays, Willie
Associated Name
San Francisco Giants
maker
Adidas
ID Number
2017.0084.12
accession number
2017.0084
catalog number
2017.0084.12
"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
1960s
user
Mays, Willie
maker
MacGregor
ID Number
2017.0084.14
accession number
2017.0084
catalog number
2017.0084.14
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1974-08
depicted (sitter)
Brown, Jim
referenced
Foreman, George E.
photographer
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2014.0112.262
catalog number
2014.0112.262
accession number
2014.0112
First prototype of the JBX1 "Breezer 1” mountain bike.
Description
First prototype of the JBX1 "Breezer 1” mountain bike. Hand built by Joe Breeze in 1977, the JBX1 was the first bicycle frame designed specifically for mountain biking.
The “Breezer 1” was constructed with components that could withstand the repeated pounding of mountain bike riding, such as Araya brand 26” steel rims, Phil Wood hubs, Sun Tour derailleurs, and Dia-Compe brakes. The steel “riser” handlebars and Magura brand brake levers were repurposed from motorcycles and adapted to work with the “Breezer 1’s” stem and brake calipers. The large size of the Magura motorcycle levers provided increased braking leverage and was advantageous when trying to ride in wet conditions with slippery steel Araya rims. Other parts, such as the Sun Tour thumb shifters were adapted from five-speed touring bikes and only came in right hand models. The left side thumb shifter, which controlled the front derailleur, was a right hand shifter that was mounted backwards.
Prior to the construction of the “Breezer 1”, mountain bike racers would modify vintage cruiser bikes, nicknamed “clunkers”, with coaster or drum brakes, sturdier wheels with knobby “balloon tires”, and “fork braces” to keep the frames from bending under the stresses of off-road riding. Mountain bike riders in Marin County, California would race these “clunkers” down mountain trails in events called “Repack Races”. The term ”Repack” was coined because the hub-based brakes would inevitably overheat, lose their effectiveness, and have to be disassembled and repacked with fresh grease prior to another ride down the mountain.
Joe Breeze’s “Breezer 1” design served as a benchmark for mountain bikes to build and improve upon. In 1979 Tom Ritchey of Redwood City, California, started building fat-tire mountain bikes, which were sold by two veterans of the “Repack Races”, Gary Fisher and Charlie Kelly. In 1982, mountain bicycles were offered by two separate companies -- Specialized Bicycles came out with the Stumpjumper and Univega released the Alpina Pro. The following year, Gary Fisher founded his own mountain bicycle company, which sold bicycles under the brand "Gary Fisher" from 1983 to 2010.
The 1980s and 1990s saw mountain biking evolve from a niche sport to an International Cycling World Championship event in 1990. It became an Olympic event at the 1996 Atlanta games. Additionally, mountain biking became an increasingly popular amateur sport. Once only available from specialty shops, mountain bikes were suddenly being sold as recreation bikes at department stores and big box retailers.
date made
1977
maker
Breezer Bicycles
maker; designer
Breeze, Joe
ID Number
2012.0066.01
catalog number
2012.0066.01
accession number
2012.0066
serial number
JBX1
This is a single glassed, lightweight surfboard with a single fin, and two fin boxes. According to the donor, Craig Stecyk, "the board was shaped by me in December of 1966.
Description (Brief)
This is a single glassed, lightweight surfboard with a single fin, and two fin boxes. According to the donor, Craig Stecyk, "the board was shaped by me in December of 1966. It was manufactured by Dave Sweet Surfboards, Santa Monica, CA (Sweet pictured here holding a board similar to the one donated by Stecyk). It was single glassed (less fiberglass than usual) to promote lightweight and flexibility (ditto for lack of a central strip). The fin is a Reynolds Yater #2 design from the Tom Morey Finworks. It is polypropylene in construction. The board features a stepped deck (for better sensitivity and control when riding on its front third). It has two fin boxes allowing for repositioning of the fin. (This will change the riding characteristics of the board. The center position is "normal". The outside position is the variable position). The bottom color design was also done by me and is typical of the "plastic fantastic" period. This board is entirely created from plastic materials and is a typical "stringerless" surfboard from 1966-1967. A stringer is slang for the wood center strip common to most surfboards." Stecyk is another eccentric character that lives in the surf and skate world. He is one of the people responsible for the creation of the Zephyr Surf team and the Z-Boys skate team and for bringing surf and skate art to the forefront of that distinctive culture. Stecyk was a writer for “Skateboarder Magazine” during its resurgence in the mid-1970s and spread the word about these growing sports throughout the globe providing his distinctive insight and first person narrative. Stecyk continues to practice his craft as a multimedia artist and still has a direct impact on the graffiti and street art cultures he helped create.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966
maker
Stecyk, Craig R.
ID Number
1988.0256.01
accession number
1988.0256
catalog number
1988.0256.01
This ball was used in Super Bowl XIV, held at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on January 20, 1980. In the game, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Los Angeles Rams 31-19.
Description (Brief)
This ball was used in Super Bowl XIV, held at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on January 20, 1980. In the game, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Los Angeles Rams 31-19. It was the Steelers' fourth Super Bowl win and the second straight year that Terry Bradshaw took home the Most Valuable Player trophy.
The Wilson Sporting Goods Company introduced the Wilson Duke football during the early 1940s. Wilson has provided the official ball for the National Football League's Super Bowl since Super Bowl II in 1968.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1979
user
Pittsburgh Steelers
maker
Wilson Sporting Goods Company
ID Number
1980.0131.05
accession number
1980.0131
catalog number
1980.0131.05
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.
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
recipient
Fitzgerald, Ella
maker
Rawlings
ID Number
1996.0342.109
accession number
1996.0342
catalog number
1996.0342.109

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