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 1935 Washington Senators.
Description
Baseball signed by the 1935 Washington Senators. That season the Senators finished 67-86, 6th in the American League.
Autographs include Joe Kuhel; Buddy Myer; Ossie Bluege; Cecil Travis; John Stone; Jake Powell; Heinie Manush; Cliff Bolton; Red Kress; Fred Schulte; Dee Miles; Sammy Holbrook; Earl Whitehill; Bump Hadley; Bobo Newsome; Ed Linke; Jack Russell; Leon Pettit; Bucky Harris.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1935
maker
A. J. Reach Co.
ID Number
CL.310547.114
accession number
CL*310547
catalog number
CL*310547.114
Autographed baseball signed by the 1936 Chicago White Sox.
Description
Autographed baseball signed by the 1936 Chicago White Sox. That season the White Sox finished 81-70, 4th in the American League.
Autographs include Zeke Bonura; Jackie Hayes; Luke Appling; Jimmy Dykes; Mule Haas; Mike Kreevich; Rip Radcliff; Luke Sewell; Tony Piet; Larry Rosenthal; Vern Kennedy; John Whitehead; Sugar Cain; Ted Lyons; Monty Stratton; Clint Brown; Ray Phelps; Jimmy Dikes.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1936
associated institution
Chicago White Sox
maker
A. J. Reach Co.
ID Number
CL.310547.117
accession number
CL*310547
catalog number
CL*310547.117
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1976-07
photographer
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2014.0112.201
catalog number
2014.0112.201
accession number
2014.0112
Scorekeeper for card games, including euchre, whist, and pinochle. Score is kept by a pair of rotating dials. The writing is in English on one side, and in French on the other.The piece advertises Richard's Brandy.
Description (Brief)
Scorekeeper for card games, including euchre, whist, and pinochle. Score is kept by a pair of rotating dials. The writing is in English on one side, and in French on the other.
The piece advertises Richard's Brandy. "Enjoy life but do not forget that Richard's Brandy is the greatest strength giver."
Location
Currently not on view
advertiser
W. J. Woodburn & Son
maker
Whitehead & Hoag Company
ID Number
2006.0098.0768
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0768

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