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.

Color print of a large number of horse-drawn carriages on the road in front of a two-story brick road house (Turner"s Hotel).
Description (Brief)
Color print of a large number of horse-drawn carriages on the road in front of a two-story brick road house (Turner"s Hotel). Eighteen of the horses are numbered and indentified in a key below the image.
Description
A color print of a crowded road in front of a large roadhouse (Turner Hotel, Rape Ferry Rd.) filled with carriages and spirited horses. All of the carriages are occupied by fashionably dressed men. The buggies are without tops – they have flat floors and straight footboards. The roadhouse is in the colonial style. A two story structure stands with a large ring in the rear, three dormer windows above, and a veranda across the front. Here guests stand and watch. Stable boys wait outside the barn in the background. The grounds are well-kept with trees, shrubbery, and picket fences.
Point Breeze Park in Philadelphia was founded in 1855 and raced thoroughbreds for the first time in 1860. It was eventually converted into an automobile race course in the 1900s after trotting faded as a popular sport.
Pharazyn was a Philadelphia lithographer and colorist. He was born 1822 and died in 1902. He had offices at 103 South Street in 1856 and at 1725 Lombard Street in 1870. Made prints for different magazines, as well as fine prints for patrons. Created a large colored folio “Trotting Cracks of Philadelphia Returning from the Race at Point Breeze Park” in 1870. The horses are all named as usual in the subtitle, but the artists name isn’t given; this was normal as the horses were more important than the actual artists.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1870
maker
Pharazyn, H.
ID Number
DL.60.3557
catalog number
60.3557
A black and white print of a black stallion running on a hastily erected race track, pulling a sulky. The rider is in a vest, tight pants, a white shirt, and a Homberg hat. The horse’s neck is disproportionately wide.
Description
A black and white print of a black stallion running on a hastily erected race track, pulling a sulky. The rider is in a vest, tight pants, a white shirt, and a Homberg hat. The horse’s neck is disproportionately wide. The center of ring contains two center pole tents with banners which read M…RSHAL and PR…DENT. A judge’s stand is in a circular grandstand with cone-shaped roof and American flag. Spectators line the periphery. The flag in the center of grounds is labeled: US Cr… Society. The scene is the US Agricultural Fair held in West Philadelphia on October 8, 1856.
Sherman Black Hawk was foaled on May 30, 1845 in Bridport, Vermont. He was sired by Black Hawk and Smith Mare, both Morgans, and owned by B.J. Myrick. He was a direct descendent of the founding Sire of the Morgan breed, “Figure” owned by Justin Morgan. At 15.2 hands, Sherman Black Hawk was reputed to be spirited, compact, and well made, and he could trot a mile in 2:40. This enabled him to win first place at both the Vermont State Fair in 1854 and the US Agricultural Fair in Pennsylvania (pictured here) in 1856. The man in the picture is thought to be Hiram Woodruff, a well-known and successful driver of the time. 50,000 attended the race at the 1856 Agricultural Fair in West Philadelphia, PA. Temporary open stands were constructed to seat up to 8,000 people, but people also flooded the infield to watch the main racing attractions.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
n.d.
maker
Bufford, John Henry
original artist
Humphrey, Charles S.
ID Number
DL.60.3529
catalog number
60.3529
This program is from a Philadelphia Phillies home game in the 1950 World Series.
Description
This program is from a Philadelphia Phillies home game in the 1950 World Series. Facing the New York Yankees, the Phillies were swept in the Series 4-0.
It would be the second of five consecutive World Series victories for the powerhouse Yankees, whose roster included such future Hall-of-Famers as catcher Yogi Berra, outfielder Joe Dimaggio, shortstop Phil Rizzutto, and pitcher Whitey Ford.
The young 1950 Phillies squad, known as “the Whiz Kids” achieved the National League pennant behind the pitching of Robin Roberts and National League Most Valuable Player Jim Konstanty. It was the teams first World Series appearance since 1915.
1950 would be the last World Series in which no non-white players took the field , as neither team had yet integrated since the abolishment of baseball’s color barrier in 1947.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1950
thru person
Rinsland, George
associated institution
New York Yankees
Philadelphia Phillies
ID Number
CL.310547.096B
accession number
310547
catalog number
310547.096B
This program for baseball's 11th Annual All-Star game features representations of both of the host cities major league clubs on its cover; Philadelphia's Athletics of the American League and the Phillies of the National.
Description
This program for baseball's 11th Annual All-Star game features representations of both of the host cities major league clubs on its cover; Philadelphia's Athletics of the American League and the Phillies of the National. The game, played at the A's home field of Shibe Park, was the first All-Star contest scheduled at night, intended to be played under the park's artificial lights. The American League would win the game 5-3.
Set during the Second World War, the 1943 All-Star game lacked some big names due to player's military service, but did feature such stars as the Brooklyn Dodger's second baseman Billy Herman, his infield counterpart on the Boston Red Sox, Bobby Doer, and young St. Louis Cardinals' outfielder Stan Musial, making the first of 24 consecutive All-Star appearances.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1943-07-13
thru person
Rinsland, George
Associated Name
Philadelphia Athletics
Philadelphia Phillies
ID Number
CL.310547.094
accession number
310547
catalog number
310547.094
1955 Bowman baseball card #134 featuring Bob Feller.Pitcher Robert Bob Feller (1918-2010) played Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians from 1936-1941 and from 1945-1956, with the time in-between spent in military service.
Description (Brief)
1955 Bowman baseball card #134 featuring Bob Feller.
Pitcher Robert Bob Feller (1918-2010) played Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians from 1936-1941 and from 1945-1956, with the time in-between spent in military service. Compiling a lifetime record of 266-162 with an E.R.A. of 3.25, Feller led the American League in wins six times.
An eight-time All-Star, the right-handed hurler led the league in strikeouts for seven seasons, throwing three no-hitters in his career. In 1948 he helped lead Cleveland to a World Series championship.
Following his playing days, Feller was named the first President of the Major League Baseball's Players Association (1958.) He was elected into Baseball's Hall of Fame in 1962.
Date made
1955
depicted
Feller, Bob
maker
Topps Company, Inc.
thru person
Rinsland, George
Associated Name
Cleveland Indians
maker
Bowman Gum Inc.
ID Number
CL.310547.032.553
catalog number
310547.32.553
accession number
310547
Celluloid baseball score keeper in the shape of a baseball catcher's mitt. The score keeper has numbered wheels by which fans could keep track of each team's runs and hits in a baseball game.
Description (Brief)
Celluloid baseball score keeper in the shape of a baseball catcher's mitt. The score keeper has numbered wheels by which fans could keep track of each team's runs and hits in a baseball game. Celluloid, the first successful commercial plastic, was used to produce a variety of promotional products.
This score counter advertised Keith's Continuous Vaudeville Show. Benjamin Franklin (B.F.) Keith (1846-1914) was an entertainment pioneer who helped develop variety shows that were open for hours on end, and who helped bring vaudeville into middle class acceptability.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900-1910
associated institution
Keith's Vaudeville
thru person
Rinsland, George
ID Number
CL.310547.007
catalog number
310547.07
accession number
310547
This Harlem Globetrotters card is number 82 in a series of 84 featuring the Harlem Globetrotter basketball team that was issued by the Fleer Corporation in 1972. The front of the card features an image of an unidentified Harlem Globetrotters player.
Description
This Harlem Globetrotters card is number 82 in a series of 84 featuring the Harlem Globetrotter basketball team that was issued by the Fleer Corporation in 1972. The front of the card features an image of an unidentified Harlem Globetrotters player. The card’s reverse features the history of the Globetrotters, detailing the players that played for the first team in 1927.
The Harlem Globetrotters—originally called the Savoy Big Five—were founded in 1927 as a promotion for the Savoy Ballroom nightclub in Chicago. The team soon changed their name to associate themselves with the African-American cultural movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. This gave the Globetrotters the prestige of being associated with Harlem, while also letting white Midwestern audiences know what to expect when the team came to town. Before the advent and rise of the NBA, the Globetrotters drove to small towns in the Midwest and played competitive games against other semi professional teams in a practice known as “barnstorming.” The Globetrotters soon became one of the America’s best teams, and they began to incorporate “The Show” into their games to keep the score close. As the years went by, these tricks and comedic routines became the centerpiece of Globetrotter games that they are still known for today.
date made
1971
associated institution
Harlem Globetrotters
publisher
Harlem Globetrotters, Inc.
Fleer Corp.
maker
Fleer Corp.
Harlem Globetrotters, Inc.
ID Number
1982.0568.134
accession number
1982.0568
catalog number
1982.0568.134

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