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 290 items.
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Duncan Butterfly Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This wooden butterfly yo-yo was made by the Duncan Toys Company from 1958-1965. It is painted with a light blue glitter enamel paint, and has a stamped gold butterfly design with the words “Duncan Butterfly Yo-Yo.” Butterfly yo-yos have beveled rims tapering inward toward the axle to improve its string catching ability. Although the Duncan company lost its trademark on the term “Yo-Yo” it retains the trademark for“Butterfly.”
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1960s
- maker
- Duncan
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.23
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.23
- 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
McDonald's Hamburger Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This plastic yo-yo was distributed by the McDonald's restaurant chain during the 1980s. Made to resemble a hamburger, it was given away in Happy Meals and other regional promotions.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1980s
- maker
- McDonald's Corporation
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.25
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.25
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Russell Australian Coca-Cola Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This plastic yo-yo was manufactured by the Jack Russell Company during the 1960s. It has white sides which read, “Genuine Russell Yo-Yo, Made in Australia, Pause for Coke, Trademark Registered, Be Really Refreshed, Championship.” Jack Russell began his career as a Duncan yo-yo professional before creating a foreign promotions company for the Duncan Toys Company in the early 1950s. In 1958 Russell formed his own promotional firm which primarily worked with the Coca-Cola Company. This is an example of an Australian Coca-Cola promotion.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1960s-1980s
- maker
- Russell
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.26
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.26
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Playmaxx Smothers Brothers Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This plastic "Smothers Brothers" yo-yo was made by Playmaxx, Inc. in the 1990s. It has indented flat sides and a blue plastic design. Clear removable plastic disc seals on both sides. One side features a line portrait and the other a silhouette of the two performers. The Smothers Brothers were a 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
- 1990s
- maker
- Playmaxx
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.27
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.27
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Peter Fish Glow "Pamela" Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This plastic yo-yo was made by Peter Fish (HK) Ltd. in the 1980s. It has a black rim and clear sides. The interior of each side is filled with silicone gel. Each side reads, “Pamela The World’s First Silicone Implanted Glow Yo Yo." This title is likely a sly nod to "Baywatch" television star Pamela Anderson (1967-.)
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1980s
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.28
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.28
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Duncan Imperial Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This plastic Duncan Imperial yo-yo was made in the early 1960s. It has a marbled design hot-stamped with a fleur-de-lis.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1960s
- maker
- Duncan
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.29
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.29
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Genuine Tournament Yo-Yo
- 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
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Russell Ronald McDonald Championship Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This plastic yo-yo was made by the Jack Russell Company in the 1960s. It is yellow with red sides. One side features a portrait of McDonald's Corporation mascot Ronald McDonald in white with the text ‘Ronald McDonald Championship.” The other side features McDonald's trademarked arches and the words “Genuine Russell Yo-Yo, McDonalds, Made in Argentine.”
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1960s
- maker
- Russell
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.31
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.31
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Duncan Magic Motion Superman Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This plastic yo-yo was manufactured by the Duncan Toys Company in the 1980s. It is plastic with clear sides. Under one side there is a "magic motion" holographic portrait of DC Comics character Clark Kent wearing glasses, which when tilted, turns into an image of his alter-ego Superman. The yo-yo's other side features a red and yellow Superman “S" on a blue background.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1980s
- maker
- Duncan
- ID Number
- 2002.0246.32
- accession number
- 2002.0246
- catalog number
- 2002.0246.32
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center