Sports & Leisure - Overview
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.
"Sports & Leisure - Overview" showing 86 items.
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Duncan Starburst Whistler Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This steel Duncan yo-yo was made by the Cayo Manufacturing Company in the 1930s. It has flat sides and a red, yellow and blue starburst lithograph seal design on both halves. There are two small air holes that make a whistling sound when the toy is spun. The decal reads “Genuine Duncan Whistling Yo-Yo.” The Duncan Toys Company contracted its metal yo-yos to the Cayo Manufacturing Company until World War II.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1930s
- maker
- Duncan
- Cayo Manufacturing Company
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.03
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.03
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Goody Filipino Twirler
- Description (Brief)
- This wooden yo-yo was made by the Goody Manufacturing Company in the 1950s-1960s. Goody was a main competitor of the Duncan Toys Co. who had trademarked term “yo-yo.” Instead, Goody called their products “Filipino Twirlers,” in reference to the toys' presumed Filipino origins.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1950s-1960s
- maker
- Goody
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.16
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.16
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Cheerio Practice Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This type of wooden Cheerio brand yo-yo was made by Wilfred Schlee during the 1950s and 1960s in Ontario, Canada. It has flat sides and a pale green and white design. There is a gold, red and black foil sticker on one side reading “Tested and Approved for Practice, Tournament Practice Cheerio, Return Top 25, By Official Worlds Champions.” Cheerio was the best selling yo-yo brand in Canada and England during the 1930s, and became one of the Duncan Toy Company's main U.S. competitors after World War II.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Cheerio
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.18
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.18
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Royal Manufacturing Company King Size Yo-Yo
- 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
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Round-Up King Yo-Yo
- 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
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Duncan Tournament Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This yellow, wooden "Duncan Tournament" yo-yo was made by the Duncan Toys Company frin around 1960-1965. Known as a “crossed flags” model, it is the last iteration of Duncan's "Tournament" line in wood. It is mounted on a display card featuring an image of the mascot “Mr. Yo-Yo” and the slogan “If it isn't Duncan it isn't Yo-Yo.”
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1960s
- maker
- Duncan
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.49
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.49
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Duncan Shrieking Sonic Satellite Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This wooden yo-yo was made by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1960s. It is displayed on a white, teal, and black display card. The yo-yo has rounded sides with a red glitter and white rims. There are holes through both rims that creates a whistling sound when spun. This model was part of Duncan’s "Satellite" line, inspired by the era's space race.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1960s
- maker
- Duncan
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.50
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.50
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Stinger Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This plastic yo-yo was made by Small Minds Press in 1996. Called the Stinger, it remains unopened on a display card. It has indented flat sides. A real scorpion has been embedded inside of one half. There is educational information about scorpions on the reverse of the card.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1996
- maker
- Small Minds Press
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.51
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.51
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Hummingbird Smothers Brothers Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This wooden "Smothers Brothers" yo-yo was made by the Hummingbird Toy Company in 1988. The yo-yo is unopened upon its original yellow, red and black display card that also holds an owner’s manual. Silhouette images of the brothers holding musical instruments are printed on the card. The yo-yo has flat sides and a stamped drawing of Dick Smothers (1939- ). The Smothers Brothers were a duo comedy variety act who parlayed their song “Yo-yo Man” into a successful instructional video and yo-yo line.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1988
- depicted
- Smothers Brothers
- maker
- Hummingbird Toy Company, Ltd.
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.52
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.52
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Royal Special Yo-Yo
- 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
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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