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.

This wooden spinning top was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s as part of a Campbell’s Soup promotion. It is red with a white plastic tip and has an image of the Campbell’s mascot "Soup Boy" in gold.
Description (Brief)
This wooden spinning top was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s as part of a Campbell’s Soup promotion. It is red with a white plastic tip and has an image of the Campbell’s mascot "Soup Boy" in gold. It reads “A Duncan Brand Toy.” The top's string is wound around a separate string holder.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1950s
maker
Duncan
ID Number
2002.0246.58
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.58
This jumbo-size wooden yo-yo was made by Royal Manufacturing Company in the 1950s. It is blue with a gold stripe, and features a red and yellow crown graphic meant to look like the Crown of England. A blue and white decal reads “Royal Tops Mfg. Co. L.I City. N.Y.
Description (Brief)
This jumbo-size wooden yo-yo was made by Royal Manufacturing Company in the 1950s. It is blue with a gold stripe, and features a red and yellow crown graphic meant to look like the Crown of England. A blue and white decal reads “Royal Tops Mfg. Co. L.I City. N.Y. King Size Yo-Yo.” Royal was a major mid-century maker begun by Filipino immigrant Joe Radovan.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1950s
maker
Royal Tops Manufacturing Co.
ID Number
2002.0246.24
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.24
This plastic yo-yo was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s. It is green with clear rounded sides. An insert under the sides has a graphic of a flying eagle and the text “Genuine Duncan Yo-Yo, Professional Para Campeonato, El Aguila.”Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This plastic yo-yo was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s. It is green with clear rounded sides. An insert under the sides has a graphic of a flying eagle and the text “Genuine Duncan Yo-Yo, Professional Para Campeonato, El Aguila.”
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1950s
maker
Duncan
ID Number
2002.0246.38
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.38
This trophy was awarded during Yo-Yo Contests during the 1950s. The trophy is a solid brass statuette of Duncan Toys Company mascot "Mr. Yo-Yo" atop a wooden base.
Description (Brief)
This trophy was awarded during Yo-Yo Contests during the 1950s. The trophy is a solid brass statuette of Duncan Toys Company mascot "Mr. Yo-Yo" atop a wooden base. The plaque reads “A Good Sport Always Wins, Genuine Duncan Yo-Yo Champion." Duncan held a variety of contests in conjunction with newspapers, retailers and other firms during this periods to generate publicity and interest in the sport.
Date made
1950s
maker
Duncan
ID Number
2002.0246.64
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.64
This pressbook is for the 1958 Warner Bros. musical film Damn Yankees, directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen and starred Gwen Verdon, Tab Hunter, and Ray Walston.
Description
This pressbook is for the 1958 Warner Bros. musical film Damn Yankees, directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen and starred Gwen Verdon, Tab Hunter, and Ray Walston. This pressbook was distributed to movie theater owners for the purchase of posters and other material as marketing tools for promotion of this movie.
Location
Currently not on view
publishing date
1958
performing artist; depicted
Verdon, Gwen
publisher
Warner Brothers
ID Number
1986.0370.10
accession number
1986.0370
catalog number
1986.0370.10
This plastic yo-yo was made by All Western Plastics in Nebraska during the 1950s. It has clear rounded sides and a yellow body, with a photo of movie cowboy Roy Rogers and his horse Trigger on one side.
Description (Brief)
This plastic yo-yo was made by All Western Plastics in Nebraska during the 1950s. It has clear rounded sides and a yellow body, with a photo of movie cowboy Roy Rogers and his horse Trigger on one side. The other side features a printed advertisement for a "King and Queen" top spinner contest. The retail package reads: “It’s smooth and fast, it’s inside walls are slick as glass, no rough wood to catch the string, does all the tricks...its Roundup King.”
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1950s
depicted
Rogers, Roy
maker
All Western Plastics
ID Number
2002.0246.42
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.42
This plastic yo-yo was briefly made by Duncan in the middle of the 1950s. Called the “Pony Boy,” it was intended for beginners. The yo-yo has green rounded sides, a red and orange rim, and a BB pellet inside that makes noise when spun.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This plastic yo-yo was briefly made by Duncan in the middle of the 1950s. Called the “Pony Boy,” it was intended for beginners. The yo-yo has green rounded sides, a red and orange rim, and a BB pellet inside that makes noise when spun.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1950s
maker
Duncan
ID Number
2002.0246.40
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.40
This plastic yo-yo was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s. It is pink with clear edges. There is a decal on each side of an eagle in flight and the words “Genuine Duncan Yo-Yo, El Aguila, Professional Para Campeonato.”Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This plastic yo-yo was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s. It is pink with clear edges. There is a decal on each side of an eagle in flight and the words “Genuine Duncan Yo-Yo, El Aguila, Professional Para Campeonato.”
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1950s
maker
Duncan
ID Number
2002.0246.36
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.36
This blue wooden yo-yo was made by the Duncan Toys Company in 1952. It was given as an award to 1952 yo-yo champion, David Jarol.
Description (Brief)
This blue wooden yo-yo was made by the Duncan Toys Company in 1952. It was given as an award to 1952 yo-yo champion, David Jarol.
Date made
1952
maker
Duncan
ID Number
2002.0246.66
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.66
This wooden yo-yo was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s. It is made of wood and has one black side and one red side. This is a "Beginners Yo-Yo," which were less expensive than the company's tournament models.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This wooden yo-yo was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s. It is made of wood and has one black side and one red side. This is a "Beginners Yo-Yo," which were less expensive than the company's tournament models.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1950s
maker
Duncan
ID Number
2002.0246.11
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.11
This red cloth award ribbon was given by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s to yo-yo tournament champions. It features a drawing in black of Duncan mascot Mr.
Description (Brief)
This red cloth award ribbon was given by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s to yo-yo tournament champions. It features a drawing in black of Duncan mascot Mr. Yo-Yo performing the trick “Rocking the Cradle.” It reads “Duncan Yo-Yo Champ.” The ribbon is attached to a blue and white round pin reading “Duncan Yo-Yo Tourney Expert.”
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1950s
maker
Duncan
ID Number
2002.0246.63
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.63
Baseball autographed by Satchell Paige and the 1951 St.
Description
Baseball autographed by Satchell Paige and the 1951 St. Louis Browns.That season the Browns went 52-102, 8th in the American League.
Autographs include Satchel Paige; Ken Wood; Bob Young; Matt Bates; Fred Marsh; Sherm Lollar; Hank Arft; Frank Saucier; Jack Maguire; Bill Jennings; Jim Suchecki; Jim Delsing; Bob Mahoney.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1951
signer
Paige, Satchel
maker
Spalding
ID Number
2005.0195.01
accession number
2005.0195
catalog number
2005.0195.01
This blue plastic yo-yo was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s. Clear plastic covers on its rounded sides reveal red, white and black designs featuring graphics of charging bulls. There are loose pieces inside the yo-yo which make a slight noise when spun.
Description (Brief)
This blue plastic yo-yo was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s. Clear plastic covers on its rounded sides reveal red, white and black designs featuring graphics of charging bulls. There are loose pieces inside the yo-yo which make a slight noise when spun. The sides read “Genuine Duncan Yo-Yo, El Toro.”
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1950s
maker
Duncan
ID Number
2002.0246.20
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.20
This 1953 Glasspar is an example of fiberglass-body sports cars made in small quantities after World War II. Some American motorists, particularly veterans returning from overseas duty, wanted European-style sports cars.
Description
This 1953 Glasspar is an example of fiberglass-body sports cars made in small quantities after World War II. Some American motorists, particularly veterans returning from overseas duty, wanted European-style sports cars. Several American companies began small-scale production of sports cars with molded fiberglass bodies. This type of body could be made in small quantities without the expensive tooling, dies, and presses needed to make steel bodies. William Tritt, a California fiberglass-boat builder, introduced the Jaguar-like Glasspar in 1951 and sold several hundred bodies. The Glasspar body fit on a used automobile chassis that the owner obtained and customized by shortening the wheelbase. A fiberglass body was not only simpler to make; it was lightweight, rustproof, dent-resistant, and easy to repair. And it was inexpensive; a Glasspar body sold for only $950, one-fourth the price of a Jaguar and less than half the price of a Ford convertible. Tritt improved the technique of making fiberglass bodies and made more bodies of this type than his competitors. He understood the importance of casting an automobile body in one piece, and he developed techniques to avoid shrinkage, tearing at metal joints, and mismatched parts. Dale L. Dutton, a Glasspar enthusiast, donated this car to the Smithsonian in 1996.
Major auto manufacturers dismissed plastic bodies following an unsuccessful Ford experiment in the early 1940s, but William Tritt demonstrated that a body made of polyester resin and glass strands was practical, economical to produce, and superior to steel in many ways. Tritt introduced the Glasspar in 1951 and made about 300 sports car bodies by hand over a period of several years. Despite its advantages, the plastic car seemed destined to remain a low-volume vehicle because of slow production and limited capital investment; only one Glasspar body was made per day. But in 1953, General Motors decided to make Corvette bodies of fiberglass and consulted with Tritt
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1953
maker
Glasspar Company
ID Number
1996.0401.01
accession number
1996.0401
catalog number
1996.0401.01
This paddleboard game was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s as part of a Campbell’s Soup promotion. The board is a red and white cardboard paddle. A hole in the center of the paddle holds a rubber cord and ball.
Description (Brief)
This paddleboard game was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s as part of a Campbell’s Soup promotion. The board is a red and white cardboard paddle. A hole in the center of the paddle holds a rubber cord and ball. There is a graphic of the "Campbell Soup Kids" on one side.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1950s
maker
Duncan
ID Number
2002.0246.59
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.59
This pin was made in Italy by the Duncan Toys Company during the 1950s. It is metal, shield-shaped, and colored red, blue, and silver. It reads “Coca-Cola, Yo-Yo Duncan Esperto,” (Coca-Cola Duncan Yo-Yo Expert.)Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This pin was made in Italy by the Duncan Toys Company during the 1950s. It is metal, shield-shaped, and colored red, blue, and silver. It reads “Coca-Cola, Yo-Yo Duncan Esperto,” (Coca-Cola Duncan Yo-Yo Expert.)
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1950s
maker
Duncan
ID Number
2002.0246.62
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.62
This dark brown wooden hand-carved yo-yo has a floral design and is marked “1951” and "TONY FRANK." Demonstrators carved yo-yos as awards for contest winners during the 1940s and 1950s.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This dark brown wooden hand-carved yo-yo has a floral design and is marked “1951” and "TONY FRANK." Demonstrators carved yo-yos as awards for contest winners during the 1940s and 1950s.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1951
ID Number
2002.0246.09
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.09
This plastic yo-yo was manufactured by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s. It is solid yellow with a hot-stamped golden seal reading “Genuine Tournament Yo-Yo, U.S.
Description (Brief)
This plastic yo-yo was manufactured by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s. It is solid yellow with a hot-stamped golden seal reading “Genuine Tournament Yo-Yo, U.S. Patent, Duncan Tops.” This was one of Duncan’s first attempts at making a standard plastic yo-yo after years of production in wood.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1950s
maker
Duncan
ID Number
2002.0246.30
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.30
This yellow and black wooden paddleball game was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s. The paddle is attached to a red rubber ball by a thin rubber cord. The paddle reads “Duncan’s Official Hi-Li, Reg. U.S. Pat. Off., Champion No. 99.”Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This yellow and black wooden paddleball game was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s. The paddle is attached to a red rubber ball by a thin rubber cord. The paddle reads “Duncan’s Official Hi-Li, Reg. U.S. Pat. Off., Champion No. 99.”
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1950s
maker
Duncan
ID Number
2002.0246.60
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.60
This yellow plastic spinner was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s. This type of flying disc is also called a hat.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This yellow plastic spinner was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s. This type of flying disc is also called a hat.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1950s
maker
Duncan
ID Number
2002.0246.61
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.61
This wooden yo-yo was made by Royal Chico Toys in the 1950s.
Description (Brief)
This wooden yo-yo was made by Royal Chico Toys in the 1950s. There is a red and yellow graphic of a crown (made to resemble the Crown of England) on a blue and white decal seal reading “Royal Special, Official Tournament Top.” This yo-yo is in its original packaging, which reads “Royal Champions in Action, watch them on TV.” Royal was a major, mid-century maker started by Filipino immigrant Joe Radovan.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1950s
maker
Royal Chico Toys, Inc.
ID Number
2002.0246.53
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.53
This round metal pin was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s. It is red and white and reads “Are your Kids in the Yo-Yo Contest.” Duncan often held contests and demonstrations to generate interest and sales.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This round metal pin was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1950s. It is red and white and reads “Are your Kids in the Yo-Yo Contest.” Duncan often held contests and demonstrations to generate interest and sales.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1950s
maker
Duncan
ID Number
2002.0246.67
accession number
2002.0246
catalog number
2002.0246.67
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1957
depicted (sitter)
Gibson, Althea
maker
TIME Inc.
ID Number
2016.0200.01
accession number
2016.0200
catalog number
2016.0200.01
Althea Gibson. I Always Wanted To Be Somebody (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1958). with original paper jacket.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Althea Gibson. I Always Wanted To Be Somebody (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1958). with original paper jacket.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1958
referenced
Gibson, Althea
maker
Harper & Brothers
ID Number
2017.0191.08
accession number
2017.0191
catalog number
2017.0191.08

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