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.

Baseball signed by the 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers.
Description
Baseball signed by the 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers. That season the Dodgers finished 97-65, 1st in the National League, winning the World Series over the Minnesota Twins 4 games to 3.
Autographs include Ron Fairly; Nate Oliver; Howie Reed; John Kennedy; Sandy Koufax; Don LeJohn; Maury Willis; Ron Perranoski; Hector Valle; Bill Singer; Jim Lefebvre; Derell Griffith; Jeff Torborg; Bob Miller; Lefty Phillips; Nick Willhite; Claude Osteen; Wally Moon.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1965
associated institution
Los Angeles Dodgers
signer
Fairly, Ron
Koufax, Sandy
Perranoski, Ron
Osteen, Claude
maker
Spalding
ID Number
1984.0228.01
accession number
1984.0228
catalog number
1984.0228.01
Baseball autographed by Don Drysdale (1936-1993). The right handed pitcher played for the Brooklyn/ Los Angeles Dodgers from 1956-1969.
Description
Baseball autographed by Don Drysdale (1936-1993). The right handed pitcher played for the Brooklyn/ Los Angeles Dodgers from 1956-1969. Drysdale finished his career with a win-loss record of 209-166, having been named to nine All-Star Teams and receiving the Cy Young Award in 1962. He was a contributor to three World Series Champion Dodger teams (1959, 1963 and 1965). Drysdale has had his number 53 retired by the Los Angeles Dodgers, and was elected into Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame in 1984.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1960s
associated institution
Los Angeles Dodgers
signer
Drysdale, Don
maker
Spalding
ID Number
1984.0228.02
accession number
1984.0228
catalog number
1984.0228.02
Baseball signed by the 1982 San Francisco Giants. That season the Giants finished 87-75, 3rd in the National League West.
Description
Baseball signed by the 1982 San Francisco Giants. That season the Giants finished 87-75, 3rd in the National League West. The ball was collected by American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996), who was also an avid baseball fan.
Autographs include Frank Robinson; Bob Brenly; Chris Brown; Chili Davis; Jose Barrios; Reggie Smith; Mark Dempsey; Dan Schatzeder; Joe Morgan; Jack Clark.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1982
recipient
Fitzgerald, Ella
presenter
Los Angeles Dodgers
maker
Rawlings
ID Number
1996.0342.107
accession number
1996.0342
catalog number
1996.0342.107
Baseball autographed by the 1971 Los Angeles Dodgers. That season the Dodgers finished 89-73, 2nd in the National League West.
Description

Baseball autographed by the 1971 Los Angeles Dodgers. That season the Dodgers finished 89-73, 2nd in the National League West. The autographed baseball was collected by American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996), who was also an avid baseball fan.

Autographs include Bill Sudakis; Willie Crawford; Jim Lefebvre; Bill Grabarkewitz; Jim Brewer; Sandy Vance; Don Sutton; Willie Crawford; Bill Buckner; Bill Singer; Hoyt Wilhelm; Bob O'Brien; Al Downing; Pete Mikkelsen; Maury Wills; Bill Russell; Tom Haller.

Location
Currently not on view
presentation date
1971
recipient
Fitzgerald, Ella
presenter
Los Angeles Dodgers
manufacturer
Spalding
ID Number
1996.0342.105
accession number
1996.0342
catalog number
1996.0342.105

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.