Sports & Leisure

Tennis Racket

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.

Vans skateboarding shoes

Vans skateboarding shoes are blue canvas low tops. The shoe midsoles are white and the sole is the trademark deep tan, waffle pattern. There is only one shoe lace.
Description (Brief)
Vans skateboarding shoes are blue canvas low tops. The shoe midsoles are white and the sole is the trademark deep tan, waffle pattern. There is only one shoe lace. These shoes are housed in a Vans shoe box which is black with the red trademark "Vans Off the Wall" skateboard on the top. This model of Vans is called the Authentic as these were one of the first models made and has been a staple of the company since it was founded in 1966.
Paul and Jim Van Doren, along with partners Gordon Lee and Serge Delia opened the Van Doren Rubber Company in 1966, manufacturing shoes and selling them directly to the public. Vans uses a vulcanized shoe making process where the rubber outsoles are heated and stretched onto the “lasted upper” of the shoe before the rubber is completely cured. The entire shoe is then heated to over 300 degrees. This process creates a ‘sticky’ sole popular with skaters for ensuring a good contact surface with their board. Using pro skaters to design their shoes, producing pro skater models and creating the trademark “sidestripe” recognizable around the world, Vans became the shoe of choice for a generation of skaters and grew into an international enterprise in just 50 years.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1970s
ID Number
2016.0351.09
accession number
2016.0351
catalog number
2016.0351.09

Practice plans used before Duke University's NCAA Men's National Championship win in 2015

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
January 24, 2015
user
Duke University Athletics
ID Number
2015.0268.05.2
accession number
2015.0268
catalog number
2015.0268.05.2

Official Special Olympics International General Rules booklet, 1994

Official Special Olympics International General Rules booklet with the business card of Dr. Thomas Songster, Director of Sports and Recreation stapled to the front.
Description (Brief)
Official Special Olympics International General Rules booklet with the business card of Dr. Thomas Songster, Director of Sports and Recreation stapled to the front. These are the rules and regulations governing Special Olympics and were in effect as of August 15, 1974, and were revised in 1994.
From its beginnings as Camp Shriver in Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s backyard, to the first international games in 1968, Special Olympics has been about giving people with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to participate in sport. This participation builds confidence, provides emotional support and offers social opportunities for the athletes and their families. With state chapters and a global presence through its World Games, “Special Olympics is the largest sports organization for people with intellectual disabilities with 5 million athletes in 170 countries worldwide.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1994
ID Number
2017.3156.23
nonaccession number
2017.3156
catalog number
2017.3156.23

Double Impact skateboard used by Rodney Mullen

Almost, Double Impact model skateboard, custom made for Rodney Mullen which he rode during his podcast at the American History museum in August of 2012.
Description (Brief)
Almost, Double Impact model skateboard, custom made for Rodney Mullen which he rode during his podcast at the American History museum in August of 2012. He had saved this board because the experience he had during the podcast was memorable and he wanted to capture that moment by keeping this board. He usually gives his boards away to those in need. Mullen began skating at 14 in his hometown of Gainesville, Florida which geographically was flat farmland. This meant Mullen was destined to hone his skills in freestyle and in 1978 became the U.S. Open Champion. This led to an invitation to join the Bones Brigade headed by world renowned skater, Stacy Peralta and included team members Tony Hawk, Alan Gelfand, Steve Caballero and Andy McDonald. By 1990 Mullen had racked up 34 out of 35 freestyle wins but when freestyle gave way to vert, pool and street skating he quickly shifted gears. Mullen took the street skating genre by storm creating tricks including the street Ollie, the 360-flip, the kickflip and the heelflip to name only a few. Considered 'the most influential street-skater in the history of the sport,' Mullen created most of the tricks used in street skating today and continues to develop the sport through his innovative style.
date made
2012
user
Mullen, Rodney
ID Number
2013.0160.01
accession number
2013.0160
catalog number
2013.0160.01

Ken Regan and Bobby DelVecchio

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1978-06-14
depicted (sitter)
Regan, Ken
photographer
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2014.0112.105
catalog number
2014.0112.105
accession number
2014.0112

Proof page for the book "It's Not About Pretty - A Book About Radical Skater Girls"

Proof page for the book "It's Not About Pretty - A Book About Radical Skater Girls" written by Cindy Whitehead and Ian Logan that includes author, photographer and editors notations before final publication.
Description (Brief)
Proof page for the book "It's Not About Pretty - A Book About Radical Skater Girls" written by Cindy Whitehead and Ian Logan that includes author, photographer and editors notations before final publication. Whitehead began skateboarding at age 15 and had turned pro by the time she was 17, something girls were not doing in the mid-1970s. She became one of the only girls skating both pool and half pipe and is the only girl ever to be featured in a two page article with a photo spread in the center of a skateboarding magazine. Whitehead retired from skateboarding at 22 but still skates and has remained in the sports arena as a sport stylist, an occupation she created.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2017
2016
ID Number
2017.0044.02.67
accession number
2017.0044
catalog number
2017.0044.02.67

Proof page for the book "It's Not About Pretty - A Book About Radical Skater Girls"

Proof page for the book "It's Not About Pretty - A Book About Radical Skater Girls" written by Cindy Whitehead and Ian Logan that includes author, photographer and editors notations before final publication.
Description (Brief)
Proof page for the book "It's Not About Pretty - A Book About Radical Skater Girls" written by Cindy Whitehead and Ian Logan that includes author, photographer and editors notations before final publication. Whitehead began skateboarding at age 15 and had turned pro by the time she was 17, something girls were not doing in the mid-1970s. She became one of the only girls skating both pool and half pipe and is the only girl ever to be featured in a two page article with a photo spread in the center of a skateboarding magazine. Whitehead retired from skateboarding at 22 but still skates and has remained in the sports arena as a sport stylist, an occupation she created.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2017
2016
ID Number
2017.0044.02.50
accession number
2017.0044
catalog number
2017.0044.02.50

Jim Fixx

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1978-01-03
photographer
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2014.0112.110
catalog number
2014.0112.110
accession number
2014.0112

Iditarod 2012 key chain

This is a keychain from the 2012 Iditarod celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the race. The Iditarod Sled Dog Race is an extreme sports challenge that tests the skill and endurance of competitors while celebrating Alaska’s sled dog culture and history.
Description (Brief)
This is a keychain from the 2012 Iditarod celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the race. The Iditarod Sled Dog Race is an extreme sports challenge that tests the skill and endurance of competitors while celebrating Alaska’s sled dog culture and history. Teams of 12 to 16 dogs, primarily Alaskan Huskies, and their musher experience harsh terrain and weather conditions during the 1,150 mile run from Anchorage to Nome. In its modern iteration as an extreme sport, the Iditarod takes an intense physical toll not only on the human competitors but also on the sled dogs. The race follows a large network of Native trade and travel routes which travelers used when gold was discovered in the isolated town of Iditarod. This discovery led to a “rush” of miners and settlers from across the country, transforming the trail into the region’s main mail and supply route. The area’s harsh winter conditions made sled dog teams the main source of transportation along the Iditarod Trail and it is this rich history which the Iditarod race celebrates today. In 1978 Congress designated the 2300 mile Iditarod Trail as a National Historic Trail recognizing its importance in the shaping of America. Through its beginnings as a regional story, the Iditarod provides us the opportunity to explore the American Experience through the origins of the Iditarod National Historic Trail and the transformation of the Alaskan sled dog culture into an international sport. The Iditarod is now the largest and most prominent sled dog race in the world, attracting international competitors and world-wide media attention.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2012
ID Number
2013.3036.08
nonaccession number
2013.3036
catalog number
2013.3036.08

Diana Nyad

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1978
photographer
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2014.0112.055
catalog number
2014.0112.055
accession number
2014.0112

Splatter Party Kaufhaus Berlin roller derby sticker

Splatter Party Kaufhaus Berlin roller derby sticker.
Description (Brief)
Splatter Party Kaufhaus Berlin roller derby sticker. As in skateboarding, stickers are an inexpensive and productive way to spread the roller derby culture throughout the world.
Modern roller derby began in 2001 after four teams were formed and founded under the Bad Girls Good Women Productions name. In 2002, the Texas Rollergirls were formed from 65 members of the first BGGW teams after a disagreement over management practices caused a permanent split. BGGW took the remaining 15 skaters and became the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls forming a banked track league. The flat track derby uses a not-for-profit organizational model with skaters running the leagues and using their own money to buy rink time, produce tournaments, print programs and putting any money earned back into the organization.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2016.3108.27
nonaccession number
2016.3108
catalog number
2016.3108.27

Boston Red Sox Jersey, worn by Ted Williams

Theodore "Ted" Williams (1918-2002) played left-field for the Boston Red Sox from 1939-1960.
Description
Theodore "Ted" Williams (1918-2002) played left-field for the Boston Red Sox from 1939-1960. His career was interrupted by military service in the Second World War (1943-1945) and Korea (1952-1953.) At the end of his playing days, Williams managed the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers. (1969-1972.)
A native Californian, "Teddy Ballgame" left baseball as one of the sports all-time greatest hitters, finishing his career with a remarkable .344 career batting average. Williams remains the last player to hit for over .400 in a season, a feat he accomplished in 1941. The six time American League (AL) batting champion and four time RBI leader not only hit for average, but for power as well, leading the league in home runs four times. He twice achieved baseball's "triple crown," leading the league in all three major offensive categories (1942& 1947.)
Williams served as an aviator in the U.S. military, finding himself in active combat during the Korean War. In 1953 his plane was hit by enemy fire and forced to crash-land.
Williams was twice named the AL Most Valuable Player and was selected to 19 All-Star Games. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George H.W. Bush in 1991.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1955
user
Williams, Ted
maker
Tim McAuliffe Incorporated
ID Number
2017.0084.02
accession number
2017.0084
catalog number
2017.0084.02

Rollergirls Rule roller derby button

Roller derby button is black with white stick figures of a roller derby girl knocking off a boy's head in the center and "Rollergirls Rule" in white.
Description (Brief)
Roller derby button is black with white stick figures of a roller derby girl knocking off a boy's head in the center and "Rollergirls Rule" in white. As in skateboarding, buttons are an inexpensive and productive way to spread the roller derby culture throughout the world.
Modern roller derby began in 2001 after four teams were formed and founded under the Bad Girls Good Women Productions name. In 2002, the Texas Rollergirls were formed from 65 members of the first BGGW teams after a disagreement over management practices caused a permanent split. BGGW took the remaining 15 skaters and became the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls forming a banked track league. The flat track derby uses a not-for-profit organizational model with skaters running the leagues and using their own money to buy rink time, produce tournaments, print programs and putting any money earned back into the organization.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2016.3108.34
nonaccession number
2016.3108
catalog number
2016.3108.34

Special Olympics sports card featuring Jennifer Harrington in swimming

Special Olympics sports card featuring Jennifer Harrington of Massachusetts in swimming.From its beginnings as Camp Shriver in Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s backyard, to the first international games in 1968, Special Olympics has been about giving people with intellectual disabilities
Description (Brief)
Special Olympics sports card featuring Jennifer Harrington of Massachusetts in swimming.
From its beginnings as Camp Shriver in Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s backyard, to the first international games in 1968, Special Olympics has been about giving people with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to participate in sport. This participation builds confidence, provides emotional support and offers social opportunities for the athletes and their families. With state chapters and a global presence through its World Games, “Special Olympics is the largest sports organization for people with intellectual disabilities with 5 million athletes in 170 countries worldwide.”
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2018.3010.361
nonaccession number
2018.3010
catalog number
2018.3010.361

Original Skateboard Maneuver Chart

This large, fold out, “Original Skateboard Maneuver” chart is printed on brown paper with handwritten notes. It includes different skateboarding tricks and instructions on how to execute them.
Description (Brief)
This large, fold out, “Original Skateboard Maneuver” chart is printed on brown paper with handwritten notes. It includes different skateboarding tricks and instructions on how to execute them. Michael Hays created this chart and it represents, what he believes, is the first diagram of connectivity between skateboard maneuvers. This is what the "Street Survival" video's instructional format is based upon. The “Street Survival” video is an instructional video that teaches viewers rudimentary information about the sport & lifestyle of skateboarding and skateboarding tricks. This video was written, produced and directed by the donors George Leichtweis President and Producer of Reel Thing Productions, Inc. and Owner of Modern Skate and Surf Company and Michael Hays Vice President and Director of Reel Thing Productions. Inc. and Manager of Modern Skate and Surf Company.
Before video was common, skateboarders had to rely on skate magazines to learn tricks through photographs. Videos, such as “Street Survival,” revolutionized the way skaters learned tricks and increased the sport’s popularity worldwide. The star of the video is Bill Danforth also known as "The American Nomad" for his compulsion to travel anywhere to skate. A Detroit native, Bill Danforth began skating in the 1970s with his first skate deck issued in 1986. He became a member of Tony Alva's skate team in the late 1980s and skated in Thrasher’s King of the Road in 2005. Danforth still skates and teaches today, and is widely respected among old and new skaters for his resilience and natural ability.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1988
1980s
maker
Hays, Michael Alan
ID Number
2013.3045.06
nonaccession number
2013.3045
catalog number
2013.3045.06

CCS Catalog, 2002

CCS Catalog for the Holidays of 2002 has a color photograph of a skater grinding a stair rail and white printing.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
CCS Catalog for the Holidays of 2002 has a color photograph of a skater grinding a stair rail and white printing.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2002
ID Number
2019.3079.11.2
nonaccession number
2019.3079
catalog number
2019.3079.11.2

Poster from the Washington Capitals Stanley Cup Parade held in Washington, DC on June 12, 2018

Poster given to fans attending the Washington Capitals Stanley Cup Parade held in Washington, DC on June 12, 2018.
Description (Brief)
Poster given to fans attending the Washington Capitals Stanley Cup Parade held in Washington, DC on June 12, 2018. The Washington Capitals were founded in 1974 as an expansion team and are a member of the Metropolitan Division of the eastern Conference in the National Hockey League. They played at the Capitals Center in Landover, Maryland until 1997 when they made the move to the Verizon Center located in the heart of Washington, DC. Ted Leonsis bought the team in 1999, drafted high profile players and began winning. Since 2009 the Capitals have won eleven division titles, three President’s trophies and in 2018, finally won the elusive Stanley Cup Championship.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2018
depicted
Washington Capitals
ID Number
2018.3064.05
nonaccession number
2018.3064
catalog number
2018.3064.05

Tucson Roller Derby sticker

Tucson Roller Derby sticker.
Description (Brief)
Tucson Roller Derby sticker. As in skateboarding, stickers are an inexpensive and productive way to spread the roller derby culture throughout the world.
Modern roller derby began in 2001 after four teams were formed and founded under the Bad Girls Good Women Productions (BGGW) name. In 2002, the Texas Rollergirls were formed from 65 members of the first BGGW teams after a disagreement over management practices caused a permanent split. BGGW took the remaining 15 skaters and became the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls forming a banked track league. The flat track derby uses a not-for-profit organizational model with skaters running the leagues and using their own money to buy rink time, produce tournaments, print programs and putting any money earned back into the organization.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2016.0189.22
accession number
2016.0189
catalog number
2016.0189.22

Scrapbook page belonging to Special Olympian Marty Sheets

Scrapbook page belonging to Special Olympian Marty Sheets is one of forty taken from various scrapbooks made by his family over the many years of Marty's Special Olympic career.Marty Sheets was born with Downs Syndrome in 1953 but through Camp Joy, a camp for kids with intellectu
Description (Brief)
Scrapbook page belonging to Special Olympian Marty Sheets is one of forty taken from various scrapbooks made by his family over the many years of Marty's Special Olympic career.
Marty Sheets was born with Downs Syndrome in 1953 but through Camp Joy, a camp for kids with intellectual disabilities, he found a love of sports. Invited to participate in the first International Special Olympic Games in Chicago in 1968, Marty formed a life long bond with founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Over the course of the next 40 years Sheets won over 250 medals while competing in golf, swimming, Alpine skiing, tennis and power lifting. His favorite sport was golf and In 2006, he was the PGA’s national volunteer of the year for his work at the Wyndham Championship in his hometown of Greensboro, N.C. He is also included in the portrait of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and other Special Olympians which now resides in the National Portrait Gallery collections.
From its beginnings as Camp Shriver in Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s backyard, to the first international games in 1968, Special Olympics has been about giving people with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to participate in sport. This participation builds confidence, provides emotional support and offers social opportunities for the athletes and their families. With state chapters and a global presence through its World Games, “Special Olympics is the largest sports organization for people with intellectual disabilities with 5 million athletes in 170 countries worldwide.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1995
ID Number
2017.3064.05.20
nonaccession number
2017.3064
catalog number
2017.3064.05.20

John Campo

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1981-05-18
photographer
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2014.0112.227
catalog number
2014.0112.227
accession number
2014.0112

Black American Racers crew team patch for the 1977-1978 racing season

Black American Racers crew team patch for the 1977-1978 racing season. This new design used in the late 1970s eliminated the original design that incorporated the red, yellow and black of the Black Nationalist theme of the early 70s.
Description (Brief)
Black American Racers crew team patch for the 1977-1978 racing season. This new design used in the late 1970s eliminated the original design that incorporated the red, yellow and black of the Black Nationalist theme of the early 70s. Tommy Thompson was the driver for BAR featuring this design.
In 1969, Len Miller and his brother Dexter for Miller Racing to race hot rods on the drag racing circuit in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and the Northeast. With success on the racetrack he formed Vanguard Racing in 1972 and was the first African American to enter a car in the Indianapolis 500. He then went on to found the Black American Racers Association in 1973. The goal of the organization was to “unify African-American drivers in all types of racing – stock car, open wheel, and drag racing -- pave the way for greater success and introduce race fans to African-American’s history in motorsports.”
Later that same year the Black American Racers, Inc. (BAR) was formed with Benny Scott as their second generation African-American driver. Also in 1973, BAR became the first team to have an African American driver compete in England. In 1975, BAR driver Benny Scott would break the color barrier at the Long Beach Grand Prix, when the team entered a Formula 5000 car in the inaugural race. Len and Benny Scott were inducted into the Black Athletes Hall of Fame for their achievements in motorsports in 1976. In 1978, BAR experienced a setback when their driver Tommy Thompson was killed in an accident at the Trenton Speedway. Many of the team members took a break after this tragedy and in the 1980s the team turned toward stock car racing.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1977
ID Number
2016.3189.07
nonaccession number
2016.3189
catalog number
2016.3189.07

Depot 2 Kreuzberg roller derby sticker

Depot 2 Kreuzberg roller derby sticker.
Description (Brief)
Depot 2 Kreuzberg roller derby sticker. As in skateboarding, stickers are an inexpensive and productive way to spread the roller derby culture throughout the world.
Modern roller derby began in 2001 after four teams were formed and founded under the Bad Girls Good Women Productions name. In 2002, the Texas Rollergirls were formed from 65 members of the first BGGW teams after a disagreement over management practices caused a permanent split. BGGW took the remaining 15 skaters and became the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls forming a banked track league. The flat track derby uses a not-for-profit organizational model with skaters running the leagues and using their own money to buy rink time, produce tournaments, print programs and putting any money earned back into the organization.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2016.3108.26
nonaccession number
2016.3108
catalog number
2016.3108.26

Color photograph of Sam Hendel holding the handmade Stanley Cup

Color photograph of the donor's son, Sam Hendel, holding the handmade Stanley Cup trophy made by his mother Suzanne Tank and giving a 'thumbs up' sign, April 18, 2009.Curators often attend events in order to collect objects that pertain to a particular event.
Description (Brief)
Color photograph of the donor's son, Sam Hendel, holding the handmade Stanley Cup trophy made by his mother Suzanne Tank and giving a 'thumbs up' sign, April 18, 2009.
Curators often attend events in order to collect objects that pertain to a particular event. In this case, fan paraphernalia was collected from the Washington Capitals Stanley Cup Parade celebration in 2019 to document the whole sports experience. Fan objects can tell quite a story about the fan, the team, the sport and what’s happening in society at a particular time. It also speaks to what the user or maker of that object was feeling at the time. Why did they carry that particular object on that particular day. This trophy was born from superstition, to visualize the Cup and perhaps a win for the Captials in their first Stanley Cup playoff appearance in 2008. The photographs document the family's use of this prop throughout the years and their level of dedication to their team.
The Washington Capitals were founded in 1974 as an expansion team and are a member of the Metropolitan Division of the eastern Conference in the National Hockey League. They played at the Capitals Center in Landover, Maryland until 1997 when they made the move to the Verizon Center located in the heart of Washington, DC. Ted Leonsis bought the team in 1999, drafted high profile players and began winning. Since 2009 the Capitals have won eleven division titles, three President’s trophies and in 2018, finally won the elusive Stanley Cup Championship.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2009
referenced
Washington Capitals
ID Number
2019.0096.04
accession number
2019.0096
catalog number
2019.0096.04

Winter hat used by Special Olympian Marty Sheets at the 1977 Winter Special Olympics Games

Red knit winter hat with a white band at the bottom and the Special Olympics logo in white.
Description (Brief)
Red knit winter hat with a white band at the bottom and the Special Olympics logo in white. This was worn by Marty Sheets at the first Winter Special Olympics in 1977.
Marty Sheets was born with Downs Syndrome in 1953 but through Camp Joy, a camp for kids with intellectual disabilities, he found a love of sports. Invited to participate in the first International Special Olympic Games in Chicago in 1968, Marty formed a life long bond with founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Over the course of the next 40 years Sheets won over 250 medals while competing in golf, swimming, Alpine skiing, tennis and power lifting. His favorite sport was golf and In 2006, he was the PGA’s national volunteer of the year for his work at the Wyndham Championship in his hometown of Greensboro, N.C. He is also included in the portrait of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and other Special Olympians which now resides in the National Portrait Gallery collections.
From its beginnings as Camp Shriver in Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s backyard, to the first international games in 1968, Special Olympics has been about giving people with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to participate in sport. This participation builds confidence, provides emotional support and offers social opportunities for the athletes and their families. With state chapters and a global presence through its World Games, “Special Olympics is the largest sports organization for people with intellectual disabilities with 5 million athletes in 170 countries worldwide.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1976
ID Number
2017.0134.12
accession number
2017.0134
catalog number
2017.0134.12

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