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.

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
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
This board was used by the donor, Mark Lake at the Surf Expo, 80s competition in Orlando, Florida in 2011. Lake began his pro skateboarding career at 19 with his first pro model deck by Flite Skateboards.
Description (Brief)
This board was used by the donor, Mark Lake at the Surf Expo, 80s competition in Orlando, Florida in 2011. Lake began his pro skateboarding career at 19 with his first pro model deck by Flite Skateboards. In 1985 he began skating for Walker skateboards where he designed his unique 'Nightmare' board and in 1987 left to create his own company, Lake Skateboards. He has been competing throughout the country for the past 35 years.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1980s
user
Lake, Mark
ID Number
2011.0092.02
accession number
2011.0092
catalog number
2011.0092.02
The Shaggo skateboard shown here was made by Strand skateboards and is made of wood laminate with layers of blue, gray and blond colored wood but it is the top surface of the Shaggo that makes it unique.
Description (Brief)
The Shaggo skateboard shown here was made by Strand skateboards and is made of wood laminate with layers of blue, gray and blond colored wood but it is the top surface of the Shaggo that makes it unique. The top of the board is covered with black, pink, white and silver shag carpet. The donor, Jeff Atkinson, is the maker of the board and found that carpet lessens vibration and makes for a smoother ride. This is marketed to younger riders that have a more recreational use in mind as the added weight and texture would weigh down the more serious competitive skater.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2012
inventor
Atkinson, Jeff
ID Number
2013.0010.01
accession number
2013.0010
catalog number
2013.0010.01
Skateboard used by professional skateboarder Leo Baker is laminated wood with black grip tape on the surface and a black and white photograph of Lady Gaga affixed to he lower 2/3 of the board. Baker began skating at an early age, winning bronze at the 2006 X-Games at 15.
Description (Brief)
Skateboard used by professional skateboarder Leo Baker is laminated wood with black grip tape on the surface and a black and white photograph of Lady Gaga affixed to he lower 2/3 of the board. Baker began skating at an early age, winning bronze at the 2006 X-Games at 15. It took 8 years to finally win gold but when they did, it was on their own terms, as a queer skater. Baker went on to win the Street League Skateboarding Super Crown World Championship in 2016 but it was 2017 that proved to be a pivotal year for Baker. Earning a spot on the Nike team, creating the first women’s skate shoe for Nike SB, quitting their day job as a graphic designer and moving to New York City whose ‘melting pot of communities feels like the right fit,’ are just a few changes they made once they dedicated themself, full time, to skate. They are sponsored by Meow Skateboards, a company owned by women, representing women skaters which Baker hopes is a growing entity in the sport.
Baker is also involved with Brian Anderson and his Cave Homo zine which they say, “helped me feel validated and seen for who I am beyond my skateboarding identity. That’s really important for me, because for a long time the industry wanted to shape me in a way that wasn’t me.” Wanting to keeptheir long blonde hair and be ‘more feminine’ were the stereotypes Baker could not represent as a queer skater and while leaving sponsors could be devastating to skaters, they refused to compromise their integrity and it has paid off immensely. Baker relates, “To be unapologetic about my image and who I am and then to have people acknowledge how important that is in the skate industry… I can’t even describe how that feels. To bring together girls who skate, queers who skate… and let those worlds collide. I’m lucky to be here.”
Skate is still working on its acceptance of gay or queer skaters but many of the girls who Baker skates with are queer or gay and her guy friends didn’t care if they were gay, so they felt accepted although their male counterparts deal with a “toxic masculinity” where there is a greater need to be masculine. Their hope for inclusion is contagious, “I would love to just carve out a bigger space for women who skate, and queer people who skate and gender non-conforming people… and just like, really open up that space for people like me, and people that understand what it’s like to experience life this way.”
Location
Currently not on view
user
Baker, Leo
ID Number
2018.0276.01
accession number
2018.0276
catalog number
2018.0276.01
This is the second iteration of the prototype skateboard designed by professional skater Cindy Whitehead and manufactured by Dwindle Distribution in 2015.
Description (Brief)
This is the second iteration of the prototype skateboard designed by professional skater Cindy Whitehead and manufactured by Dwindle Distribution in 2015. Whitehead used her skate background to create the “Girl Is Not A 4 Letter Word” brand which includes Cindy’s original art work. Whitehead began skateboarding at age 15 and had turned pro by the time she was 17, something girls were not doing in the mid-1970s. She became one of the only girls skating both pool and half pipe and is the only girl ever to be featured in a two page article with a centerfold in a skateboarding magazine. Whitehead retired from skateboarding at 22 but still skates and has remained in the sports arena as a sport stylist, a job title she also created. Whitehead is especially supportive of young female skaters through her “Girl Is Not A 4 Letter Word” skate team and her products which are geared towards women and girls. Whitehead’s signature phrase printed in gold on many of the “Girl Is Not A 4 Letter Word” products personifies her independent spirit, "Live life balls to the wall. Do epic shit. Take every dare that comes your way. You can sleep when you’re dead."
Location
Currently on loan
date made
2015
user
Whitehead, Cindy
distributor
Dwindle Inc. dba Dwindle Distribution
maker
Dwindle Inc. dba Dwindle Distribution
ID Number
2019.0092.01
accession number
2019.0092
catalog number
2019.0092.01
The 1990s style skateboard shown here was made by Paul Schmitt for, and ridden during, the Smithsonian’s Lemelson's Center Innoskate event in June of 2013.
Description (Brief)
The 1990s style skateboard shown here was made by Paul Schmitt for, and ridden during, the Smithsonian’s Lemelson's Center Innoskate event in June of 2013. The deck is laminated wood with a wide deck, double kick tail and grip tape on the entire top surface of the board with indentations on the bottom of the board by each wheel for carving. The board is black with a white skull design with "90s" printed in black on the bottom of the skateboard. The colors and design were indicative to boards designed and used during the 1990s. The Independent trucks and Chris Haslam wheels are modern day. This is one of four boards designed by Paul Schmitt to show the evolution of the skateboard deck through the 1960 to the 1990s. Schmitt, President of PS Stix, Inc., CreateASkate.org and The New Deal Skateboard Products, Inc. owns and operates one of the largest and most successful skateboard manufacturing companies in the United States and is known in the industry as 'Professor Schmitt’. For almost 30 years Schmitt’s companies have been considered an innovative leader in the design and the manufacture of high quality skateboards. Schmitt has been involved with many different brands throughout the skate world including Schmitt Stix, the New Deal and Element. His CreateASkate.org program started in 2004 and teaches kids from 5th to 12th grade how to build a skateboard while learning about math, science, physics and chemistry. The kids don’t even realize they are learning, they just know they walk away with a cool skateboard that they designed. Schmitt, a skater himself works with skaters and industry leaders to constantly transform the sport and is one of the most respected innovators in the skate industry.
Innoskate was a public festival presented by The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation during June of 2013. “Innoskate highlighted the contributions skate innovators made to society through demonstrations, hands-on education activities, public programs with inventors and innovators, and donations of objects to the national collections.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2013
user
Schmitt, Paul
maker
Schmitt, Paul
ID Number
2013.3079.04
nonaccession number
2013.3079
catalog number
2013.3079.04
The original Schmitt Stix Yard Stix, 36 Inch skateboard, shown here, was designed, made and used by Paul Schmitt. It is a laminated wood deck with black grip tape strips at the front and back, a kick tail and a rounded nose.
Description (Brief)
The original Schmitt Stix Yard Stix, 36 Inch skateboard, shown here, was designed, made and used by Paul Schmitt. It is a laminated wood deck with black grip tape strips at the front and back, a kick tail and a rounded nose. The bottom surface resembles a yard stick with two black Schmitt Stix attached to each side and a rounded yellow Schmitt Stix attached to the nose of the board. Schmitt, President of PS Stix, Inc., CreateASkate.org and The New Deal Skateboard Products, Inc. owns and operates one of the largest and most successful skateboard manufacturing companies in the United States and is known in the industry as 'Professor Schmitt’. For almost 30 years Schmitt’s companies have been considered an innovative leader in the design and the manufacture of high quality skateboards. Schmitt has been involved with many different brands throughout the skate world including Schmitt Stix, the New Deal and Element. His CreateASkate.org program started in 2004 and teaches kids from 5th to 12th grade how to build a skateboard while learning about math, science, physics and chemistry. The kids don’t even realize they are learning, they just know they walk away with a cool skateboard that they designed. Schmitt, a skater himself works with skaters and industry leaders to constantly transform the sport and is one of the most respected innovators in the skate industry.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1980s
maker
Schmitt, Paul
ID Number
2013.0224.08
accession number
2013.0224
catalog number
2013.0224.08
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968
user
Gardner, Jerome
maker
Gardner, Jerome
ID Number
2021.0036.01
accession number
2021.0036
catalog number
2021.0036.01
Chris Strople model, Caster skateboard with yellow Yo-Yo Pro wheels and Tracker trucks, black grip tape with CASTER cutout on top surface. The board is maple laminate with built up kicktail. This board was bought by skater William Conner, Jr. for his dad, William Sr.
Description (Brief)
Chris Strople model, Caster skateboard with yellow Yo-Yo Pro wheels and Tracker trucks, black grip tape with CASTER cutout on top surface. The board is maple laminate with built up kicktail. This board was bought by skater William Conner, Jr. for his dad, William Sr. for Father's Day in the mid 1970s. Conner was a skater for B&L Skateboard Shop in Norfolk, VA and his father started skating at age 53 when Conner had taken an interest. William Sr. built his own board and started riding with his son but after turning pro, Conner Jr. decided to buy a 'real' skateboard for his dad. This Caster Pro Model was used by his father and eventually by WIlliam Jr.'s son Jack, who learned to ride on it.
Location
Currently not on view
user
Conner, Jack L.
ID Number
2019.0249.01
accession number
2019.0249
catalog number
2019.0249.01
This 1960s style skateboard was made by Paul Schmitt for, and ridden during, the Smithsonian’s Lemelson's Center Innoskate event in June of 2013. The deck is solid wood with a flat, square back and a rounded point at the front.
Description (Brief)
This 1960s style skateboard was made by Paul Schmitt for, and ridden during, the Smithsonian’s Lemelson's Center Innoskate event in June of 2013. The deck is solid wood with a flat, square back and a rounded point at the front. There is a red vertical line design with "60s" printed in red on the bottom of the skateboard. The Independent trucks and Chris Haslam wheels are modern day. This is one of four boards designed by Paul Schmitt to show the evolution of the skateboard deck through the 1960 to the 1990s. Schmitt, President of PS Stix, Inc., CreateASkate.org and The New Deal Skateboard Products, Inc. owns and operates one of the largest and most successful skateboard manufacturing companies in the United States and is known in the industry as 'Professor Schmitt’. For almost 30 years Schmitt’s companies have been considered an innovative leader in the design and the manufacture of high quality skateboards. Schmitt has been involved with many different brands throughout the skate world including Schmitt Stix, the New Deal and Element. His CreateASkate.org program started in 2004 and teaches kids from 5th to 12th grade how to build a skateboard while learning about math, science, physics and chemistry. The kids don’t even realize they are learning, they just know they walk away with a cool skateboard that they designed. Schmitt, a skater himself works with skaters and industry leaders to constantly transform the sport and is one of the most respected innovators in the skate industry.
Innoskate was a public festival presented by The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation during June of 2013.
“Innoskate highlighted the contributions skate innovators made to society through demonstrations, hands-on education activities, public programs with inventors and innovators, and donations of objects to the national collections.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2013
maker
Schmitt, Paul
ID Number
2013.3079.01
nonaccession number
2013.3079
catalog number
2013.3079.01
Pro model skateboard, produced by Welcome Skateboards and designed and used by professional skateboarder Nora Vasconcellos in June 2018 while touring through Portugal and Spain.
Description (Brief)
Pro model skateboard, produced by Welcome Skateboards and designed and used by professional skateboarder Nora Vasconcellos in June 2018 while touring through Portugal and Spain. Vasconcellos began skating at age 5 in her hometown of Pembroke, Massachusetts and by age 24 she had become a pro rider for Welcome Skateboards, designed her first pro model board, won a world championship and became a member on Adidas’s skateboarding team. Her unique style of skating sets her apart from other skaters and insiders say her backside air is among the best in the world. She is a role model for girls in the sport proving a women can be successful in the male dominated world of skate. She uses her art in Welcome Skateboards apparel line and it is included on this first pro model deck.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2018
user
Vasconcellos, Nora
ID Number
2018.0272.01
accession number
2018.0272
catalog number
2018.0272.01
Skateboard is maple wood laminate and was used by transgender skater, Cher Strauberry is one of two pieces. There is a rough edge with exposed wood where the board was cracked in half while Strauberry was performing a trick.
Description (Brief)
Skateboard is maple wood laminate and was used by transgender skater, Cher Strauberry is one of two pieces. There is a rough edge with exposed wood where the board was cracked in half while Strauberry was performing a trick. Strauberry is a transgender skater celebrating her first signature deck made by her friend, Stevil Kinevil. He said he made the board, “to celebrate her as a talented skateboarder, but additionally to recognize and honor the diversity of the community who frequents the parking lot where we first met, and spend time together on a weekly basis.” He relates how “transgender skaters haven’t been a visible component in our community until recently” which he wanted to celebrate through this board.
Strauberry describes the board she donated to the museum, “This was the first cher skateboard I ever set up, I went out filming with my friends from unity skateboards, we went to the Oakland California city hall building there's a set of stairs right outside the front of the building and I was doing a back side heelflip down them, 6 big steps, I've landed the trick before and also broke my board on that exact trick too! I tried it five times and broke the nose off on the last try, I was filming my best friend Mae after and she broke her ankle on the same stairs, the rest of the day was spent in the ER, her with her broken foot and me holding what was left of the first Cher board.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2018
ID Number
2019.0038.01.1
accession number
2019.0038
catalog number
2019.0038.01.1
This blue fiberglass, Z-Flex skateboard is signed on the bottom by Anthony Jabin, the current owner of the Z-Flex company. Z-Flex Skateboards, founded in 1976, has a storied history and it begins with Jay Adams and the Z-Boys of Dogtown.
Description (Brief)
This blue fiberglass, Z-Flex skateboard is signed on the bottom by Anthony Jabin, the current owner of the Z-Flex company. Z-Flex Skateboards, founded in 1976, has a storied history and it begins with Jay Adams and the Z-Boys of Dogtown. Jay Adams was a surfer on the Zephyr surf team which was based out of Jeff Ho Surfboards and Zephyr Productions, created by Jeff Ho, Skip Engblom and Craig Stecyk. In 1975, the second wave of skateboarding was well under way and when the Z-Boys heard about the Bahne-Cadillac Del Mar Nationals skateboard contest, they switched to skating. Adams brought the fluid and assertive moves of a surfer to the sport of skateboarding and became one of the original innovators of the sport. The Z-Boys became known for their aggressive style of skating which contrasted wildly from the freestyle moves of the 1960s skate scene. It helped that the new urethane wheels made skating smoother and the California drought emptied swimming pools across southern California. Adam’s was one of the true pioneers of “pool” skating which would usher in a new generation of skating. Once the Z-Boys were firmly established in the skateboarding scene the Zephyr owners approached Adam’s stepdad, Kent Sherwood to produce a new kind of skateboard. Sherwood worked with fiberglass in Dave Sweet’s Surf Shop and was more than willing to take on the challenge. After six months, problems arose and Sherwood took Adam’s and a few of the other Z-Boys and founded EZ-Ryder Skateboards. Within six months the name was changed to Z-Flex and the company has been an innovator ever since. They were the first to use a concave on the board’s topside and developed a smoother type of wheel which most of the modern wheels of today are based.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1970s
1975
ID Number
2014.0022.01
accession number
2014.0022
catalog number
2014.0022.01
Bahne skateboard with red Stoker urethane wheels on metal trucks that have been raised by wooden blocks affixed between the bottom of the board and the truck. This deck belonged to Steve Hawk, older sibling to Tony Hawk.
Description (Brief)
Bahne skateboard with red Stoker urethane wheels on metal trucks that have been raised by wooden blocks affixed between the bottom of the board and the truck. This deck belonged to Steve Hawk, older sibling to Tony Hawk. Steve gave this board to Tony in 1977 and it was the first board Tony learned to ride. Tony attached the wooden blocks to the bottom to give him greater clearance in order to make turns and tricks smoother. Tony Hawk began competing at age 12 and turned pro at 14. An innovative vert skater, Hawk competed in over 100 competitions before he was 25 and was the first to land a 900 in competition. Hawk retired in 1999 but continues to skate in exhibitions and demos. In that same year, Hawk created ‘Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater’ video game franchise which became one of the most popular video games in history. The Tony Hawk Foundation has funded over $5 million to over 550 skate park projects throughout the world.
date made
1975
1977
user
Hawk, Tony
Hawk, Steve
ID Number
2013.0166.01
accession number
2013.0166
catalog number
2013.0166.01
Almost, Double Impact model skateboard, custom made for Rodney Mullen which he rode during his podcast at the American History museum in August of 2012.
Description (Brief)
Almost, Double Impact model skateboard, custom made for Rodney Mullen which he rode during his podcast at the American History museum in August of 2012. He had saved this board because the experience he had during the podcast was memorable and he wanted to capture that moment by keeping this board. He usually gives his boards away to those in need. Mullen began skating at 14 in his hometown of Gainesville, Florida which geographically was flat farmland. This meant Mullen was destined to hone his skills in freestyle and in 1978 became the U.S. Open Champion. This led to an invitation to join the Bones Brigade headed by world renowned skater, Stacy Peralta and included team members Tony Hawk, Alan Gelfand, Steve Caballero and Andy McDonald. By 1990 Mullen had racked up 34 out of 35 freestyle wins but when freestyle gave way to vert, pool and street skating he quickly shifted gears. Mullen took the street skating genre by storm creating tricks including the street Ollie, the 360-flip, the kickflip and the heelflip to name only a few. Considered 'the most influential street-skater in the history of the sport,' Mullen created most of the tricks used in street skating today and continues to develop the sport through his innovative style.
date made
2012
user
Mullen, Rodney
ID Number
2013.0160.01
accession number
2013.0160
catalog number
2013.0160.01
This Proline model skateboard made by Roller Sports Inc. was ridden by Jack Smith in 1976 as he skateboarded across the country with a few of his friends. Jack Smith began skating in 1974 and entered his first contest, the Bahne-Cadillac/Del Mar Nationals, in 1975.
Description (Brief)
This Proline model skateboard made by Roller Sports Inc. was ridden by Jack Smith in 1976 as he skateboarded across the country with a few of his friends. Jack Smith began skating in 1974 and entered his first contest, the Bahne-Cadillac/Del Mar Nationals, in 1975. On a whim the next year, he and a few friends decided to skate across the country and he has made the trip three other times since. It took only 26 days in 1984 and in 2003 he skated again but this time for a cause, “Skateboarding Across America on Board for Lowe Syndrome.” Smith’s son was diagnosed with this genetic disease and passed away in 2003 so to raise awareness he and three friends took a month to make the trip. The fourth trip across the country took place in 2013 with his son, Dylan and a few other skateboarding devotees. “Skateboarding Across America to End Alzheimer’s” was to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s which Smith’s father had passed away from that May. Smith took yet another trip across America in the summer of 2018, this time going solo. Smith was riding an Inboard Technology electric skateboard and the journey from Mountain Home, Idaho to Washington DC, all 2394 miles of it took 45 days. Smith still skates today and, with his wife, currently runs the Morro Bay Skate museum in Morro Bay, California.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1976
user
Smith, Jack
ID Number
2013.0161.01
accession number
2013.0161
catalog number
2013.0161.01
Rayne Limited Edition long board ridden by Dylan Smith in the “Push To Remember - Skateboarding Across America to End Alzheimer's” tour which began in California and ended in New York City.
Description (Brief)
Rayne Limited Edition long board ridden by Dylan Smith in the “Push To Remember - Skateboarding Across America to End Alzheimer's” tour which began in California and ended in New York City. This event was to honor Jack Smith's father who passed away from Alzheimer’s in 2012.
Jack Smith began skating in 1974 and entered his first contest, the Bahne-Cadillac/Del Mar Nationals, in 1975. On a whim the next year, he and a few friends decided to skate across the country and he has made the trip three other times since. It took only 26 days in 1984 and in 2003 he skated again but this time for a cause, “Skateboarding Across America on Board for Lowe Syndrome.” Smith’s son was diagnosed with this genetic disease and passed away in 2003 so to raise awareness he and three friends took a month to make the trip. The fourth trip across the country took place in 2013 with his son, Dylan and a few other skateboarding devotees. “Skateboarding Across America to End Alzheimer’s” was to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s which Smith’s father had passed away from that May. Smith took yet another trip across America in the summer of 2018, this time going solo. Smith was riding an Inboard Technology electric skateboard and the journey from Mountain Home, Idaho to Washington DC, all 2394 miles of it took 45 days. Smith still skates today and, with his wife, currently runs the Morro Bay Skate museum in Morro Bay, California.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2013
user
Smith, Dylan
ID Number
2013.0161.02
accession number
2013.0161
catalog number
2013.0161.02
Skateboard used by professional skateboarder Tony Hawk to complete his last 900 is a birdhouse design with Independent trucks and three green, Tony Hawk Skate Park Formula wheels and one white Hawk SPF 60 wheel.
Description (Brief)
Skateboard used by professional skateboarder Tony Hawk to complete his last 900 is a birdhouse design with Independent trucks and three green, Tony Hawk Skate Park Formula wheels and one white Hawk SPF 60 wheel. The top surface is covered in black grip tape and the bottom surface is green with a golden bird design in the center. There is a green Independent sticker a black and white birdhouse sticker on each end of the board. A "900" is a skate trick in which the skater completes 2 1/2, 360 degree revolutions on the skateboard while in mid air. Hawk began competing at age 12 and turned pro at 14. He is an innovative vert skater competing in 103 competitions before he was 25 and was the first to land a 900 in competition. In 1999, Hawk created the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game franchise which became one of the most popular video games in history. Hawk retired in 1999 but continues to skate in exhibitions and demos and the Tony Hawk Foundation has funded over $5 million to over 550 skatepark projects throughout the world.
Location
Currently not on view
user
Hawk, Tony
ID Number
2019.0311.01
accession number
2019.0311
catalog number
2019.0311.01
This 1980s style skateboard was made by Paul Schmitt for, and ridden during, the Smithsonian’s Lemelson's Center Innoskate event in June of 2013. The deck is laminated wood with a wide deck, kick tail in the back and a rounded nose at the front.
Description (Brief)
This 1980s style skateboard was made by Paul Schmitt for, and ridden during, the Smithsonian’s Lemelson's Center Innoskate event in June of 2013. The deck is laminated wood with a wide deck, kick tail in the back and a rounded nose at the front. There is grip tape on most of the top surface of the board with indentations on the bottom of the board by each wheel for carving. The board is light blue with a neon pink splash design with "80s" printed in blue on the bottom of the skateboard. The colors and design were indicative to boards designed and used during the 1980s. The Independent trucks and Chris Haslam wheels are modern day. This is one of four boards designed by Paul Schmitt to show the evolution of the skateboard deck through the 1960 to the 1990s. Schmitt, President of PS Stix, Inc., CreateASkate.org and The New Deal Skateboard Products, Inc. owns and operates one of the largest and most successful skateboard manufacturing companies in the United States and is known in the industry as 'Professor Schmitt’. For almost 30 years Schmitt’s companies have been considered an innovative leader in the design and the manufacture of high quality skateboards. Schmitt has been involved with many different brands throughout the skate world including Schmitt Stix, the New Deal and Element. His CreateASkate.org program started in 2004 and teaches kids from 5th to 12th grade how to build a skateboard while learning about math, science, physics and chemistry. The kids don’t even realize they are learning, they just know they walk away with a cool skateboard that they designed. Schmitt, a skater himself works with skaters and industry leaders to constantly transform the sport and is one of the most respected innovators in the skate industry.
Innoskate was a public festival presented by The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation during June of 2013. “Innoskate highlighted the contributions skate innovators made to society through demonstrations, hands-on education activities, public programs with inventors and innovators, and donations of objects to the national collections.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2013
user
Schmitt, Paul
maker
Schmitt, Paul
ID Number
2013.3079.03
nonaccession number
2013.3079
catalog number
2013.3079.03
One of four red skateboards that accompany the Farah Fawcett doll has loops in the top of each to receive the doll's feet so she stands on the skateboard.
Description (Brief)
One of four red skateboards that accompany the Farah Fawcett doll has loops in the top of each to receive the doll's feet so she stands on the skateboard. The skateboard is plastic with yellow plastic wheels that roll and has 'Charlie Angels' printed in black on the top of the board. This Farah Fawcett doll chronicles one of the more popular episodes from the TV series Charlie’s Angels when Farah rode a skateboard to catch the ‘bad guy’. This series was one of the first to portray women in a position of power and in typical 70s style, still maintaining a beautiful hairdo. These dolls were produced in 1977 complete with go-go boots and skateboard. It also reflects the growing impact that popular culture was having on the consumer during the 1970s. These “barbie” dolls and character dolls modeled after television and movie characters were becoming increasingly popular.
Location
Currently not on view
associated
Fawcett, Farah
ID Number
2022.0032.01.1
accession number
2022.0032
catalog number
2022.0032.01.1
This Hobie Super Surfer skateboard was used by Patti McGee during her traveling skateboarding demonstrations with the Hobie/VitaPak skateboard team in 1965.
Description (Brief)
This Hobie Super Surfer skateboard was used by Patti McGee during her traveling skateboarding demonstrations with the Hobie/VitaPak skateboard team in 1965. The year before, Patti became the first female to win the National Skateboard Championships and achieved another first in 1965 as she became the first female pro skateboarder. Patti went on to appear on the television show “What’s My Line” and “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson after being featured on the cover of Life magazine in May of 1965. She was also the only woman to be featured on a skateboard magazine cover when she appeared on the May 1965 issue of Skateboarder Magazine. Patti was a worldwide ambassador for the skateboarding world in the 1960s and continues in that role today with her induction into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame, the first female to hold that honor.
date made
1964
user
McGee, Patti Villa
maker
Hobie
ID Number
2013.0130.01
accession number
2013.0130
catalog number
2013.0130.01
Prototype skateboard designed by professional skater Cindy Whitehead and manufactured by Dwindle Distribution. Whitehead used her skate background to create the “Girl Is Not A 4 Letter Word” brand which includes Cindy’s original art work.
Description (Brief)
Prototype skateboard designed by professional skater Cindy Whitehead and manufactured by Dwindle Distribution. Whitehead used her skate background to create the “Girl Is Not A 4 Letter Word” brand which includes Cindy’s original art work. Whitehead began skateboarding at age 15 and had turned pro by the time she was 17, something girls were not doing in the mid-1970s. She became one of the only girls skating both pool and half pipe and is the only girl ever to be featured in a two page article with a centerfold in a skateboarding magazine. Whitehead retired from skateboarding at 22 but still skates and has remained in the sports arena as a sport stylist, a job title she also created. Whitehead is especially supportive of young female skaters through her “Girl Is Not A 4 Letter Word” skate team and her products which are geared towards women and girls. Whitehead’s signature phrase printed in gold on many of the “Girl Is Not A 4 Letter Word” products personifies her independent spirit, "Live life balls to the wall. Do epic shit. Take every dare that comes your way. You can sleep when you’re dead."
date made
2012
2013
designer
Whitehead, Cindy
maker
Dwindle Inc. dba Dwindle Distribution
ID Number
2013.0255.01
accession number
2013.0255
catalog number
2013.0255.01
Electric skateboard made by Inboard Technology of Santa Cruz, California and used by Jack Smith during his 2018 solo ride across the country.
Description (Brief)
Electric skateboard made by Inboard Technology of Santa Cruz, California and used by Jack Smith during his 2018 solo ride across the country. It has black grip tape and a battery compartment door on the surface and is made of black plastic with red urethane wheels and black, metal Caliber trucks.
Jack Smith began skating in 1974 and entered his first contest, the Bahne-Cadillac/Del Mar Nationals, in 1975. On a whim the next year, he and a few friends decided to skate across the country and he has made the trip three other times since. It took only 26 days in 1984 and in 2003 he skated again but this time for a cause, “Skateboarding Across America on Board for Lowe Syndrome.” Smith’s son was diagnosed with this genetic disease and passed away in 2003 so to raise awareness he and three friends took a month to make the trip. The fourth trip across the country took place in 2013 with his son, Dylan and a few other skateboarding devotees. “Skateboarding Across America to End Alzheimer’s” was to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s which Smith’s father had passed away from that May. Smith took yet another trip across America in the summer of 2018, this time going solo. Smith was riding an Inboard Technology electric skateboard and the journey from Mountain Home, Idaho to Washington DC, all 2394 miles of it took 45 days. Smith still skates today and, with his wife, currently runs the Morro Bay Skate Museum in Morro Bay, California.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2018
user
Smith, Jack
ID Number
2018.0237.01
accession number
2018.0237
catalog number
2018.0237.01

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