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.

All-American Glee Club. side 1: Rambling Wreck From Georgia Tech (track 1) Hail to Georgia (track 2) Cavalier Song/Virginia, Hail, All Hail (track 3); side 2: Carolina's Day (track 1) Hark!
Description
All-American Glee Club. side 1: Rambling Wreck From Georgia Tech (track 1) Hail to Georgia (track 2) Cavalier Song/Virginia, Hail, All Hail (track 3); side 2: Carolina's Day (track 1) Hark! The Sound of Tarheel Voice/Here Comes Carolina (track 2) (Victor 26684), from the album, College Songs, Vol. 3 - Southern (Victor P 34).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1940
manufacturer
Victor
ID Number
1988.0384.25
accession number
1988.0384
maker number
26684
catalog number
1988.0384.25
All-American Glee Club. College Songs, Vol. 4 - Pacific Coast (Victor P 36). 3-disc set. (album for 1988.0384.27 - .29).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description
All-American Glee Club. College Songs, Vol. 4 - Pacific Coast (Victor P 36). 3-disc set. (album for 1988.0384.27 - .29).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1940
manufacturer
Victor
ID Number
1988.0384.26
accession number
1988.0384
maker number
P 36
catalog number
1988.0384.26
United States Navy Band. side 1: Anchors Aweigh; side 2: All Hands (Victor 21296).78 rpm. This record is not part of the original Victor P 32 set. The correct record is Victor 26672.Currently not on view
Description
United States Navy Band. side 1: Anchors Aweigh; side 2: All Hands (Victor 21296).
78 rpm. This record is not part of the original Victor P 32 set. The correct record is Victor 26672.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1928
release date
1940
recording artist
United States Navy Band
manufacturer
Victor
ID Number
1988.0384.19
accession number
1988.0384
maker number
21296
catalog number
1988.0384.19
maker number
P 32
All-American Glee Club. side 1: Roll On, Tulane (track 1) Fight for L.S.U./Alma Mater (track 2); side 2: Blue and White/Dear Old Duke (track 1) Washington and Lee Swing/College Friendships (track 2) (Victor 26683), from the album, College Songs, Vol.
Description
All-American Glee Club. side 1: Roll On, Tulane (track 1) Fight for L.S.U./Alma Mater (track 2); side 2: Blue and White/Dear Old Duke (track 1) Washington and Lee Swing/College Friendships (track 2) (Victor 26683), from the album, College Songs, Vol. 3 - Southern (Victor P 34).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1940
manufacturer
Victor
ID Number
1988.0384.24
accession number
1988.0384
maker number
26683
catalog number
1988.0384.24
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
Soon after the United States entered World War II, the federal government decided that bicycles should be brought under consumer manufacturing guidelines so that they might support conservation efforts, local transportation, and the war production work force.
Description
Soon after the United States entered World War II, the federal government decided that bicycles should be brought under consumer manufacturing guidelines so that they might support conservation efforts, local transportation, and the war production work force. A series of orders reduced bicycle design to bare essentials, limited metal and rubber content, set output quotas, promoted the use of bicycles among adult civilians, allocated bicycles for military use, and suspended production of children's bicycles, which comprised 85 percent of the prewar market. These measures were designed to conserve rubber and metals needed for war materiel and complement gasoline and automobile tire rationing by providing an alternate form of transportation for war production workers and other workers.
In December 1941, the Office of Production Management and leading manufacturers developed specifications for a simplified bicycle dubbed the "Victory bicycle" by government and media. OPM reviewed several prototypes submitted for examination. Regulations finalized in March 1942 specified that bicycles would be lightweight - not more than 31 pounds, about two-thirds the weight of prewar bicycles - and they would be made of steel only, with no copper or nickel parts. Chrome plating was limited to a few small pieces of hardware. Handlebars and wheel rims would be painted instead of chrome plated, and most accessories (chain guard, basket, luggage rack, bell, whitewall tires) were eliminated. Tire size was limited to a width of 1.375 inches, narrower than balloon tires on prewar children's bikes. Production was set at 750,000 Victory bicycles per year by twelve manufacturers, approximately 40 percent of total prewar production but a significant increase in annual production of adult bicycles. The manufacture of all other types of civilian bicycles was halted.
As a prelude to rationing, the federal government imposed a freeze on bicycle sales and allocated almost 10,000 bikes to war production plants for use by workers and messengers. By July 1942 the Office of Price Administration estimated that 150,000 Victory bicycles and 90,000 prewar bikes were available for retail sale. OPA rationed new and prewar men's and women's bicycles. Any adult who was gainfully employed or contributed in some way to the war effort or public welfare could purchase a bicycle if she or he could cite a compelling reason, such as inadequate public transportation, excessive walking, or responsibility for a delivery service. In August 1942 eligibility was further restricted to persons in critical occupations, including physicians, nurses, druggists, ministers, school teachers, mail carriers, firefighters, police officers, construction workers, delivery personnel, public safety officers, and others. By the summer of 1942, American Bicyclist and Motorcyclist reported that thousands of war production workers were riding bicycles to their jobs, and new and used bikes were in great demand. Some companies owned fleets of bicycles for work-related uses such as reading electric meters.
Pauline Anderson of Norwalk, Connecticut was hired as a mathematics teacher at Norwalk High School in the fall of 1942 and purchased a Victory bicycle shortly thereafter. She lived with her parents, George and Flora Anderson, in a residential neighborhood two miles from downtown Norwalk. Pauline married Walter Dudding on November 26, 1942 but continued to live with her parents while her husband was serving in the Coast Guard. Mrs. Dudding rode the bicycle on errands and pleasure trips in the Norwalk area. It was a good form of supplemental transportation, but she didn't commute to work on the bike; she rode a bus or shared a ride with her father, who owned an automotive sales and repair shop in downtown Norwalk. The high school also was located downtown.
Pauline Dudding's bicycle has all the features of a 1942 Victory bicycle. The handlebars have black paint instead of chrome plating, and the wheel rims are painted a tan color. The frame is painted red, white and blue. In keeping with a War Production Board order, there is no nameplate or other brand identification other than the letter "H" (for Huffman) stamped on the bottom of the crankcase beside the serial number. In September 1942 the number of authorized Victory bicycle manufacturers was reduced from twelve to two, and the WPB decided that "no firm left in a business from which others are excluded shall be permitted to spread its name over the land and in foreign countries" (Wall Street Journal, September 3, 1942).
date made
1942
maker
Huffman Manufacturing Company
ID Number
2006.0183.01
accession number
2006.0183
catalog number
2006.0183.01
All-American Glee Club. side 1: Harvardiana (track 1) Down the Field/Boola Boola (track 2); side 2: Princeton Tiger Gridiron March (track 1) Cannon Song (track 2) (Victor 26670), from the album, College Songs, Vol. 1 - Eastern (Victor P 32).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description
All-American Glee Club. side 1: Harvardiana (track 1) Down the Field/Boola Boola (track 2); side 2: Princeton Tiger Gridiron March (track 1) Cannon Song (track 2) (Victor 26670), from the album, College Songs, Vol. 1 - Eastern (Victor P 32).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1940
manufacturer
Victor
ID Number
1988.0384.20
accession number
1988.0384
maker number
26670
catalog number
1988.0384.20
maker number
P 32
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
More than 280 motorcycle manufacturers have been recorded in the United States, but only two have had lasting significance or sold in large numbers. One, Harley Davidson, began production in 1903 and is still going strong today.
Description
More than 280 motorcycle manufacturers have been recorded in the United States, but only two have had lasting significance or sold in large numbers. One, Harley Davidson, began production in 1903 and is still going strong today. The other is Indian, which began in 1901 and ceased manufacturing motorcycles for the public in 1953.
By far the most individual and distinctive Indian models were produced in the 1940s; they are characterized by flared, skirted mudguards that convey a strong sense of speed even while standing still. So powerful is this style element that in 1999 Kawasaki copied it for its Drifter cruiser model. This 1941 stock Indian example sits squarely in this streamlined category.
Recreational motorcycle riding became increasingly popular during the Depression and early years of World War II. The number of local clubs chartered by the American Motorcyclist Association grew from about 400 in 1936 to 498 in 1938 and 645 in 1940. Indian motorcycle production grew from about 5,000 per year to 10,000 per year during the same period. Police departments also found motorcycles useful for patrol duty, and and small retail businesses used them for delivery purposes. The years 1940-1941 proved to be a high point for civilian sales and usage. The leading manufacturers, Harley-Davidson and Indian, began producing motorcycles for the British and French armies, and by 1942 they were concentrating on military production for the United States Army. During World War II, many motorcycle enthusiasts entered the armed forces, depleting clubs and reducing pleasure travel. Motorcycle tires, like automobile tires, were rationed. The AMA cancelled its National Gypsy Tour and other club events but automatically renewed memberships for those in the service.
William J. McDaniels of Ohio was the first owner of this motorcycle. Soon after purchasing it, he moved to San Bernardino, California, riding the motorcycle the entire distance. He worked at Norton Air Force Base near San Bernardino in the late 1940s.
The Indian brand name continues to resonate in the motorcycling industry. In the 1990s, three different companies were formed to purchase the rights to the name and begin manufacturing cruisers. But after a brief period (1999-2003), production ceased again.
Reference photograph courtesy of donors Katie and Taylor Smith.
date made
1941
maker
Indian Motorcycle Company
ID Number
2000.0070.01
accession number
2000.0070
catalog number
2000.0070.01
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
Various artists. College Songs, Vol. 1 – Eastern (Victor P 32). 3-disc set (album for 1988.0384.19 - .21).78 rpmCurrently not on view
Description

Various artists. College Songs, Vol. 1 – Eastern (Victor P 32). 3-disc set (album for 1988.0384.19 - .21).
78 rpm

Location
Currently not on view
release date
1940
manufacturer
Victor
ID Number
1988.0384.18
accession number
1988.0384
maker number
P-32
catalog number
1988.0384.18
All-American Glee Club. side 1: All Hail, Blue and Gold/Hail to California (track 1) Rally Song/Sgtand Up for Blue and Gold (track 2) ; side 2: Mighty Oregon (track 1) Hail to O.S.C./Alma Mater (track 2) (Victor 26686), from the album, "College Songs, Vol.
Description
All-American Glee Club. side 1: All Hail, Blue and Gold/Hail to California (track 1) Rally Song/Sgtand Up for Blue and Gold (track 2) ; side 2: Mighty Oregon (track 1) Hail to O.S.C./Alma Mater (track 2) (Victor 26686), from the album, "College Songs, Vol. 4 - Pacific Coast" (Victor P 36).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1940
manufacturer
Victor
ID Number
1988.0384.28
accession number
1988.0384
maker number
26686
catalog number
1988.0384.28
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.Currently not on view
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
All-American Glee Club. side 1: Fight Song/Washington My Washinggton/Tearing Along/All Hail to Washington State; side 2: Fight On/Trojan Marching Song/All Hail, Alma Mater (Victor 26687), from the album, College Songs, Vol. 4 - Pacific Coast (Victor P 36).
Description
All-American Glee Club. side 1: Fight Song/Washington My Washinggton/Tearing Along/All Hail to Washington State; side 2: Fight On/Trojan Marching Song/All Hail, Alma Mater (Victor 26687), from the album, College Songs, Vol. 4 - Pacific Coast (Victor P 36).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1940
manufacturer
Victor
ID Number
1988.0384.29
accession number
1988.0384
maker number
26687
catalog number
1988.0384.29
maker number
P 36
Founded in 1901 as a manufacturer of small internal-combustion engines for farm equipment and boats, the Cushman Motor Works added motor scooters to its product line in 1936.
Description
Founded in 1901 as a manufacturer of small internal-combustion engines for farm equipment and boats, the Cushman Motor Works added motor scooters to its product line in 1936. Filling a gap between bicycles and motorcycles, the Cushman scooter was popular among high school students, adults (as an economical "second car") and small businesses. Passenger and cargo models were available. Farmers, salesmen, housewives, and many other people ran errands, made deliveries, and enjoyed pleasure trips. In particular, the Cushman scooter provided expanded personal mobility for two generations of young people. Some states required a driver's license, and some did not require one.
Production of Cushman Airborne military scooters aided the Army during World War II. Consumer production resumed full-force after the war; by 1950 Cushman was manufacturing 10,000 motor scooters per year, and in that year the company introduced its popular Eagle model. Production peaked at about 15,000 scooters per year in the late 1950s. In the early 1960s, imported motor scooters began to erode the company's market share. Cushman stopped building motor scooters in 1965 and diversified into golf carts, utility carts, and other small motorized vehicles.
Thomas Bracco of Springfield, Illinois purchased this scooter in 1945 and rode it to high school, social activities, and the locomotive roundhouse of the Chicago and Illinois Midland Railroad, where he worked as a hostler. He rode the scooter several years and sporadically thereafter before donating it to the National Museum of American History.
date made
1945
maker
Cushman Motor Works
ID Number
2000.0235.01
accession number
2000.0235
catalog number
2000.0235.01
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.Currently not on view
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
All-American Glee Club. side 1: Alabama's Day/Song of the Crimson Tide (track 1) Fight 'Em Tigers/Alma Mater (track 2); side 2: Kentucky! Fight, Fight, Fight/On, On U. of K. (track 1) Spirit of the Hill/Fight Vols, Fight!
Description
All-American Glee Club. side 1: Alabama's Day/Song of the Crimson Tide (track 1) Fight 'Em Tigers/Alma Mater (track 2); side 2: Kentucky! Fight, Fight, Fight/On, On U. of K. (track 1) Spirit of the Hill/Fight Vols, Fight! (track 2) (Victor 26682), from the album, College Songs, Vol. 3 - Southern (Victor P 34).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1940
manufacturer
Victor
ID Number
1988.0384.23
accession number
1988.0384
maker number
26682
catalog number
1988.0384.23
maker number
P 34
All-American Glee Club. side 1: Come, Join the Band/Sons of the Stanford Red/Hail, Stanford, Hail; side 2: Bow Down to Washington/Alma Mater (Victor 26685), from the album, College Songs, Vol. 4 - Pacific Coast (Victor P 36).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description
All-American Glee Club. side 1: Come, Join the Band/Sons of the Stanford Red/Hail, Stanford, Hail; side 2: Bow Down to Washington/Alma Mater (Victor 26685), from the album, College Songs, Vol. 4 - Pacific Coast (Victor P 36).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1940
manufacturer
Victor
ID Number
1988.0384.27
accession number
1988.0384
maker number
26685
catalog number
1988.0384.27
maker number
P 36
Amateurs began making home radios to transmit and receive messages early in the 1900s. As part of the 1912 Radio Act, these "hams" were assigned to the short-wave part of the radio spectrum.
Description
Amateurs began making home radios to transmit and receive messages early in the 1900s. As part of the 1912 Radio Act, these "hams" were assigned to the short-wave part of the radio spectrum. Radio operators around the world learned code, formed clubs, and exchanged cards listing their license numbers.
In 1933, radio enthusiast William (Bill) J. Halligan of Chicago founded The Hallicrafters, Inc. The firm sold radios and other electronic components. Ham radio operation in the U.S. was suspended during World War II, and Hallicrafters devoted its resources to producing military goods.
After the war, it resumed production for consumers. Hobbyists bought receivers like this one. This sturdy object was owned by Charles E. Dennison, a longtime employee of the Smithsonian Institution.
Reference: Max de Henseler, "When the Sky was the Limit, The Hallicrafters Story 1933-1975," unpublished manuscript.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1946
maker
Hallicrafters, Inc.
ID Number
EM.334935
catalog number
334935
accession number
315488
model number
S-40
All-American Glee Club. side 1: Alma Mater (track 1) Lord Geoffrey Amherst (track 2); side 2: Fight On, Pennsylvania (track 1) Red snd Blue (track 2) (Victor 26671), from the album, College Songs, Vol. 1 - Eastern Vol. (Victor P 32).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description
All-American Glee Club. side 1: Alma Mater (track 1) Lord Geoffrey Amherst (track 2); side 2: Fight On, Pennsylvania (track 1) Red snd Blue (track 2) (Victor 26671), from the album, College Songs, Vol. 1 - Eastern Vol. (Victor P 32).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1940
manufacturer
Victor
ID Number
1988.0384.21
accession number
1988.0384
maker number
26671
catalog number
1988.0384.21
maker number
P 32
All-American Glee Club. College Songs, Vol. 3 – Southern (Victor P 34). 3-disc set (album for 1988.0384.23-.-25).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description
All-American Glee Club. College Songs, Vol. 3 – Southern (Victor P 34). 3-disc set (album for 1988.0384.23-.-25).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
release date
1940
manufacturer
Victor
ID Number
1988.0384.22
accession number
1988.0384
maker number
P 34
catalog number
1988.0384.22
Baseball signed by the 1949 Philadelphia Athletics.
Description
Baseball signed by the 1949 Philadelphia Athletics. That season, the A's finished 81-73, 5th in the American League.
Autographs include Connie Mack; Eddie Frost; Nellie Fox; Ferris Fain; Pete Suder; Eddie Joost; Hank Majeski; Wally Moses; Sam Chapman; Elmer Valo; Mike Guerra; Don White; Taffy Wright; Alex Kellner; Joe Coleman; Lou Brissie; Dick Fowler; Carl Scheib; Bobby Shantz.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1949
signer
Mack, Connie
Frost, Eddie
Fox, Nellie
maker
Harwood
ID Number
CL.310547.129
accession number
310547
catalog number
310547.129
Paper scorecard for a 1949 matchup between the Philadelphia Athletics and the Detroit Tigers.
Description
Paper scorecard for a 1949 matchup between the Philadelphia Athletics and the Detroit Tigers. That year, the Athletics, led by longtime owner/manager Connie Mack, finished 81-73, fifth in the American League.
The Athletics, also known as the A's, played in Philadelphia from 1901-1954, where they won five World Series titles. They moved to Kansas City in 1955, relocating to Oakland in 1968.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1949
thru person
Rinsland, George
Associated Name
Philadelphia Athletics
Detroit Tigers
ID Number
CL.310547.093B
accession number
310547
catalog number
310547.093B

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