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.

In the early 1900s hunters and anglers were some of the earliest contributors to new nonprofit conservation organizations in the United States.
Description (Brief)
In the early 1900s hunters and anglers were some of the earliest contributors to new nonprofit conservation organizations in the United States. Today these enthusiasts contribute more than $1.1 billion in membership dues and contributions to conservation or wildlife-related organizations each year.
Location
Currently not on view
Currently not on view (bag; rod section)
date made
ca 1930
maker
Milward's
ID Number
1981.0021.02
accession number
1981.0021
catalog number
1981.0021.02
This badminton set from the early 20th century was produced by the Abercrombie and Fitch Company. Badminton clubs were organized in the United States as early as 1878, but the sport didn't become truly popular in the nation until the 1930s.Currently not on view
Description
This badminton set from the early 20th century was produced by the Abercrombie and Fitch Company. Badminton clubs were organized in the United States as early as 1878, but the sport didn't become truly popular in the nation until the 1930s.
Location
Currently not on view
user
Patterson, Mary Marvin Breckinridge
maker
Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
ID Number
1982.0110.24
accession number
1982.0110
catalog number
1982.0110.24
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
user
Patterson, Mary Marvin Breckinridge
ID Number
1981.0973.19
accession number
1981.0973
catalog number
1981.0973.19
A bicycle pump made of cream celluloid with metal fittings. It was made in England. A trademark etched into the barrel depicts a man in Elizabethan clothing holding a shield with the letters "R I."Currently not on view
Description
A bicycle pump made of cream celluloid with metal fittings. It was made in England. A trademark etched into the barrel depicts a man in Elizabethan clothing holding a shield with the letters "R I."
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2006.0098.1565
catalog number
2006.0098.1565
accession number
2006.0098

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