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.

Button from the 1984 Summer Olympic Games held in Los Angeles, California

Round pin-back button with a printed design of "LA 84 / I'm A Part if History" in lavendar, pink, orange and green.
Description (Brief)
Round pin-back button with a printed design of "LA 84 / I'm A Part if History" in lavendar, pink, orange and green. Czech printed within an orange band at top.
The 1984 Summer Olympics, also known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad were held in Los Angeles, California with 140 countries, 5,263 men and 1,566 women athletes participating. These Games were boycotted by fourteen countries, including the Soviet Union because of America’s boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. American Carl Lewis won four gold medals in track and field while Joan Benoit won gold for the U.S. in the first women’s marathon. Mary Lou Retton dominated women’s gymnastics becoming the first American to win the gymnastics all-around competition and the American men won the gold in the gymnastics team competition. With the addition of women’s only events of rhythmic gymnastics and synchronized swimming and the addition of women’s events in track and field, shooting and cycling, women athletes were just beginning to see results from Title IX legislation of twelve years prior. The United States won the medal count with 174.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1984
ID Number
1985.0297.17.4
accession number
1985.0297
catalog number
1985.0297.17.4

Homemade Baseball

Handmade baseball made by previous owner's great aunt, Ida Clark. Ms. Clark covered and hand stitched this baseball for an unknown company.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Handmade baseball made by previous owner's great aunt, Ida Clark. Ms. Clark covered and hand stitched this baseball for an unknown company.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Clark, Ida
ID Number
1989.0665.02
catalog number
1989.0665.02
accession number
1989.0665

Tom Boerwinkle Basketball Card

This Tom Boerwinkle basketball card is number 68 in a series of 175 that was manufactured by the Topps Company Inc. for the 1970-1971 National Basketball Association season. The card is longer than standard cards, measuring 2½ inches by 4 ¾ inches.
Description
This Tom Boerwinkle basketball card is number 68 in a series of 175 that was manufactured by the Topps Company Inc. for the 1970-1971 National Basketball Association season. The card is longer than standard cards, measuring 2½ inches by 4 ¾ inches. The front of the card features a posed picture of the Chicago Bulls center on a yellow background. The card’s reverse features a small cartoon image illustrating the factoid that “At 7’-0” Tom is still growing,” as well as a short biography and career statistics.
It is apparent Boerwinkle is wearing his warm-ups on this card, which looks strange compared to modern cards but was common in basketball cards until the early 1970s. It is believed that the player’s would forfeit their fee to the team if the team name appeared so many players wore their jerseys backwards, wore their warm-ups, or posed in such a way to obscure the team name.
date made
1970
depicted
Boerwinkle, Tom
maker
Topps Company, Inc.
ID Number
1982.0568.382
catalog number
1982.0568.382
accession number
1982.0568

Golden Jubilee Cincinnati Reds Official Souvenir Score Card

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1919
associated institution
Cincinnati Reds
ID Number
1986.0830.01
accession number
1986.0830
catalog number
1986.0830.01

Powell Quicksilver skateboard designed by George Powell and used by Stacy Peralta

The Powell Quicksilver skateboard has as a hard rock maple core, laminated with aluminum. The aluminum Tracker trucks were designed by Larry Balma and the yellow polyurethane wheels were a Powell design.
Description (Brief)
The Powell Quicksilver skateboard has as a hard rock maple core, laminated with aluminum. The aluminum Tracker trucks were designed by Larry Balma and the yellow polyurethane wheels were a Powell design. George Powell designed and manufactured this board, which was used by Stacy Peralta, a pro skateboarder in 1977. The Quicksilver was the first deck Powell made and was a successful design, but the rapid changing market made it "out of style" less than a year after it was introduced. According to Powell, "the quicksilver utilizes very high strength 7000 series aluminum alloy skins very low elongation, epoxied to hard maple cores to achieve the best strength to weight ratio. The result was a deck that turned quicker than a fiber flex and was a little stronger and less resistant to breaking."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1977
user
Peralta, Stacy
maker
Powell, George
ID Number
1987.0738.01
accession number
1987.0738
catalog number
1987.0738.001

Bob Feller Pin

White metal pin featuring Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller. The pin is part of the 1938 Our National Game series.
Description (Brief)
White metal pin featuring Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller. The pin is part of the 1938 Our National Game series. The pin originally was affixed to a cardboard backing.
Pitcher Robert Bob Feller (1918-2010) played Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians from 1936-1941 and from 1945-1956, with the time in-between spent in military service. Compiling a lifetime record of 266-162 with an E.R.A. of 3.25, Feller led the American League in wins six times.
An eight-time All-Star, the right-handed hurler led the league in strikeouts for seven seasons, throwing three no-hitters in his career. In 1948 he helped lead Cleveland to a World Series championship.
Following his playing days, Feller was named the first President of the Major League Baseball's Players Association (1958.) He was elected into Baseball's Hall of Fame in 1962.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1938
depicted
Feller, Bob
Associated Name
Cleveland Indians
ID Number
1982.0566.24
catalog number
1982.0566.24
accession number
1982.0566

Stall and Dean Company Fall and Winter Sporting Goods Catalog

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
printer
Stall & Dean Mfg. Co.
ID Number
1986.0368.06
accession number
1986.0368
catalog number
1986.0368.06

1897 Champions, Mergantile Baseball League

mounted black and white photograph (possibly matte collodion) by J.B.
Description (Brief)
mounted black and white photograph (possibly matte collodion) by J.B. Wilson Studio, 389 State St., Chicago; image of 1897 Champions of the Mergantile Baseball League; team name is Mandel Bros.; nine men in baseball uniform with one man in black suit and white shirt sitting in center posing for photograph; players identified as 1. Werntz, Sec'y 2. Reker 3. Faulkner 4. Van Zandt 5. Wenig, G. 6. Litzinger, Capt. 7. Hebel, Mgr. 8. Wenig, F. 9. Burley 10. Alberts
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1897
ID Number
1986.3048.2168
catalog number
1986.3048.2168
nonaccession number
1986.3048

New York Yankees

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
referenced
New York Yankees
ID Number
1986.0368.05
accession number
1986.0368
catalog number
1986.0368.05

Button from the 1984 Summer Olympic Games held in Los Angeles, California

Round pin-back button with a printed design of "LA 84 / I'm A Part if History" in lavendar, pink, orange and green.
Description (Brief)
Round pin-back button with a printed design of "LA 84 / I'm A Part if History" in lavendar, pink, orange and green. Korean printed within an orange band at top.
The 1984 Summer Olympics, also known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad were held in Los Angeles, California with 140 countries, 5,263 men and 1,566 women athletes participating. These Games were boycotted by fourteen countries, including the Soviet Union because of America’s boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. American Carl Lewis won four gold medals in track and field while Joan Benoit won gold for the U.S. in the first women’s marathon. Mary Lou Retton dominated women’s gymnastics becoming the first American to win the gymnastics all-around competition and the American men won the gold in the gymnastics team competition. With the addition of women’s only events of rhythmic gymnastics and synchronized swimming and the addition of women’s events in track and field, shooting and cycling, women athletes were just beginning to see results from Title IX legislation of twelve years prior. The United States won the medal count with 174.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1984
ID Number
1985.0297.17.3
accession number
1985.0297
catalog number
1985.0297.17.3

Postcard of Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1898
associated institution
University of Pennsylvania
publisher
Arena
Mobius, E.
maker
Moebius, E.
Arena
ID Number
1982.0568.186
accession number
1982.0568
catalog number
1982.0568.186

Bob Feller Batting Certificate

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1980-06-09
signer
Feller, Bob
ID Number
1986.0830.04
accession number
1986.0830
catalog number
1986.0830.04

Washington Nationals

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
referenced
Washington Nationals
ID Number
1986.0512.02
accession number
1986.0512
catalog number
1986.0512.02

Baltimore Clippers

Button for the Baltimore Clippers hockey team.
Description
Button for the Baltimore Clippers hockey team. The Clippers name was used for Baltimore's representatives in the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (1944-1945) and Eastern Hockey League (1954-1955) before becoming the name of an American Hockey League expansion franchise in 1962.
The Clippers played in the AHL until 1976, where they moved to the Southern Hockey League for one season.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1986.0368.03
accession number
1986.0368
catalog number
1986.0368.03

Program for the 3rd Annual 1979 WPBA Pocket Billiard Championship

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1979
depicted (sitter)
Balukas, Jean
ID Number
1983.0580.05.1
accession number
1983.0580
catalog number
1983.0580.05.1

Western Bloomer Girls

date made
ca 1900
ID Number
1986.0020.01
accession number
1986.0020
catalog number
1986.0020.01

Kansas City Athletics

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
referenced
Kansas City Athletics
ID Number
1986.0512.01
accession number
1986.0512
catalog number
1986.0512.01

Annie S. Peck

ID Number
1986.0015.01
catalog number
1986.0015.01
accession number
1986.0015

Winning "HandsDown", with a Good Second.

A color print of a race track scene. The spectators in two grandstands and behind the fence cheer the winning horse as he crosses the finish line with his jockey, a full length ahead of the next competitor. A large pack of horses and jockeys follow.
Description
A color print of a race track scene. The spectators in two grandstands and behind the fence cheer the winning horse as he crosses the finish line with his jockey, a full length ahead of the next competitor. A large pack of horses and jockeys follow. The judge at the finish line observes with folded hands. Two American flags rise above the stands.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1887
maker
Currier & Ives
ID Number
DL.60.3241
catalog number
60.3241

Boobs Abroad, P.T. Barnum overlooked a few but they are well taken care of at Monte Carlo

Camera-ready art by Rube Goldberg for his two comic strip series Boobs Abroad, and I'm the Guy, titled P.T. Barnum overlooked a few but they are well taken care of at Monte Carlo, dated Wednesday August 13, 1919.
Description
Camera-ready art by Rube Goldberg for his two comic strip series Boobs Abroad, and I'm the Guy, titled P.T. Barnum overlooked a few but they are well taken care of at Monte Carlo, dated Wednesday August 13, 1919. Goldberg drew for the Boobs Abroad series between 1913-1914 and again in 1918. He drew for the I'm the Guy series between 1911 and 1934.
The artist pokes fun at gamblers, especially in Monte Carlo.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
Wednesday August 13 1919
date made
Wednesday, August 13, 1919
August 13, 1919
original artist
Goldberg, Rube
ID Number
GA.23494
catalog number
23494
accession number
1972.299186

Toy Fire Engine

Cast-iron toys, such as this fire engine from about 1900, reflect many commonplace but often forgotten aspects of everyday life.
Description
Cast-iron toys, such as this fire engine from about 1900, reflect many commonplace but often forgotten aspects of everyday life. The strength of the Museum's toy collection is an outstanding grouping of cast-iron and tinplate toys, 1870s to the 1950s, donated by Sears, Roebuck and Co. The collection was acquired by Sears, Roebuck and Co. from Kenneth Idle, a private collector. Gathered between 1915 and 1960, the collection numbers more than 1,400 cast-iron and tinplate examples of both American and European origins. Cast-iron toy manufacturers represented in this collection are Hubley, Kentontoys, and Kingsbury Toys. Subjects include the circus, horse-drawn vehicles, public transportation, mail delivery, home equipment, recreation, construction equipment, the farm, fire fighting, and police vehicles.
Cast-iron toys are essentially American. Small foundries and factories were mass-producing them towards the close of the 19th century. These toys were sold in novelty stores, department stores, or mail order catalogs. One can follow along with shifts in technology by recognizing the changes in the different models of Sears toys. During the first half of the 20th century, tractors almost completely displaced the horse on American farms—and on the toy counter. Toy motor trucks replaced horse-drawn vehicles. The toy manufacturers were alert to new models and designs of vehicle and appliance manufacturers.
Date made
ca 1900
ID Number
DL.295669.0749
catalog number
295669.0749
accession number
295669

Professor Butts (pencil sharpener)

Camera-ready pen and ink drawing by Rube Goldberg for his comic invention series The Inventions of Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts.
Description
Camera-ready pen and ink drawing by Rube Goldberg for his comic invention series The Inventions of Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts. Goldberg drew for the series between 1914 and 1964.
Cartoon text: Professor Butts gets his think-tank working and evolves the simplified pencil-sharpener. Open window (A) and fly kite (B). String (C) lifts small door (D) allowing moths (E) to escape and eat read flannel shirt (F). As weight of shirt becomes less, shoe (G) steps on switch (H) which heats electric iron (I) and burns hole in pants (J). Smoke (K) enters hole in tree (L) smoking out opossum (M) which jumps into basket (N) pulling rope (O) and lifting cage (P), allowing woodpecker (Q) to chew wood from pencil (R) exposing lead. Emergency knife (S) is always handy in case opossum or the woodpecker gets sick and can't work.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
Undated
original artist
Goldberg, Rube
ID Number
GA.23487
catalog number
23487
accession number
1972.299186

Our Handy Bottle-Opener

Camera-ready pen and ink drawing by Rube Goldberg for his comic invention series The Inventions of Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts.
Description
Camera-ready pen and ink drawing by Rube Goldberg for his comic invention series The Inventions of Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts. Goldberg drew for the series between 1914 and 1964.
Cartoon text: Elephant (A) eats peanuts (B) - as bag gets lighter weight (C) drops and spike (D) punctures balloon (E) - explosion scares monkey (F) - his hat (G) flies off and releases hook (H), causing spring (I) to pull string (J), which tilts tennis racket (K) - racket hits ball (L), making it spin around on attached string, thereby screwing corkscrew into cork (M) - ball hits sleeping dog (N) who jumps and pulls cork out of bottle with string (O) - my, how simple!
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
October 25 (no year date)
date made
October 25, unknown year
original artist
Goldberg, Rube
publisher
King Features Syndicate
ID Number
GA.23486
catalog number
23486
accession number
1972.299186

Trotting Cracks of Philadelphia Returning from the Race at Point Breeze Park

Color print of a large number of horse-drawn carriages on the road in front of a two-story brick road house (Turner"s Hotel).
Description (Brief)
Color print of a large number of horse-drawn carriages on the road in front of a two-story brick road house (Turner"s Hotel). Eighteen of the horses are numbered and indentified in a key below the image.
Description
A color print of a crowded road in front of a large roadhouse (Turner Hotel, Rape Ferry Rd.) filled with carriages and spirited horses. All of the carriages are occupied by fashionably dressed men. The buggies are without tops – they have flat floors and straight footboards. The roadhouse is in the colonial style. A two story structure stands with a large ring in the rear, three dormer windows above, and a veranda across the front. Here guests stand and watch. Stable boys wait outside the barn in the background. The grounds are well-kept with trees, shrubbery, and picket fences.
Point Breeze Park in Philadelphia was founded in 1855 and raced thoroughbreds for the first time in 1860. It was eventually converted into an automobile race course in the 1900s after trotting faded as a popular sport.
Pharazyn was a Philadelphia lithographer and colorist. He was born 1822 and died in 1902. He had offices at 103 South Street in 1856 and at 1725 Lombard Street in 1870. Made prints for different magazines, as well as fine prints for patrons. Created a large colored folio “Trotting Cracks of Philadelphia Returning from the Race at Point Breeze Park” in 1870. The horses are all named as usual in the subtitle, but the artists name isn’t given; this was normal as the horses were more important than the actual artists.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1870
maker
Pharazyn, H.
ID Number
DL.60.3557
catalog number
60.3557

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