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 2 items.
Italian Yo-Yo Pin
- 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
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Duncan Yo-Yo Contest Pin
- 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
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center