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 4 items.
YoYoJam Rick Wyatt Mega SpinFaktor Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This Mega SpinFaktor yo-yo was used in April of 2001 by Rick Wyatt to set a world "sleep" record of 13 minutes 5 seconds. The yo-yo, made expressly for Wyatt's record attempt, has ceramic ball bearings, a weighted ring, and an adjustable gap. The goal of a sleeping trick is to keep the yo-yo spinning at the end of its line for an extended period of time.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 2001
- user
- Wyatt, Rick
- maker
- YoYo Jam
- ID Number
- 2003.0195.01
- accession number
- 2003.0195
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Yellow Jersey worn by Lance Armstrong in the 2002 Tour de France
- Description
- First awarded in 1919, the yellow jersey, also known as the maillot jaune, is worn by the race leader of the Tour de France. The origin of the jersey’s yellow color is attributed to either the yellow-colored newsprint of the race’s sponsoring newspaper, L’Auto, or the surplus of unpopular yellow-colored fabric available at short notice.
- A three-week long European bicycle race, or “Grand Tour”, the Tour de France is won by totaling the time each rider takes to complete the 20 to 22 individual stages. The rider with the lowest cumulative time at the end of each stage is awarded the yellow jersey and wears it during the next stage. The rider with the best cumulative time after completing all stages is declared the Tour de France winner and awarded the final yellow jersey.
- This yellow jersey was worn during the 2002 Tour de France by Lance Armstrong (b. 1971), who, prior to a 2012 investigation by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which resulted in a lifetime ban from competition and the annulment of all competitive results from August 1, 1998 onwards, was, at the time, the second American to win the Tour de France and, prior to the USADA decision, the only rider to ever win the race seven times (1999-2005). Armstrong took the lead in the general classification of the 2002 Tour after a, now-voided win, in Stage 11, a mountain stage that stretched from Pau to La Mongie in the Pyrenees of Southwest France. He also won the Prologue, Stage 12, and Stage 19, holding the lead on the general classification until the final stage in Paris.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 2002
- worn during
- 2002-07-18 to 2002-07-20
- user
- Armstrong, Lance
- maker
- Nike, Inc.
- ID Number
- 2004.0063.01
- accession number
- 2004.0063
- catalog number
- 2004.0063.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Trek 5500 bicycle used by Lance Armstrong in the 2000 Tour de France
- Description
- American professional racing cyclist Lance Armstrong (b. 1971) may have written a book called It’s Not About the Bike, but his seven Tour de France victories, now annulled as a result of a 2012 investigation by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), all benefited from increasingly advanced racing bicycles.
- For almost a century, race bikes used steel tubing construction. Steel was stiff and durable, but was also relatively heavy. High-quality steel frames without wheels or components weighed around 3.75 to 4.5 lbs. Because a lighter bike has a significant advantage on long climbs in the mountains, bike manufacturers attempted to reduce weight as much as possible. During the 1980s, modern manufacturers began experimenting with lighter and more versatile construction materials such as aluminum alloys, titanium, and most recently, carbon fiber. Armstrong’s, now-voided, first Tour de France victory in 1999 was on a carbon fiber Trek 5500. The 5500 frame was still comparatively heavy by modern standards, weighing around 3.85 lbs. At the time of his second tour attempt in 2000, Armstrong was riding both the 5500 frame, as well as a lighter and more advanced 2.75 lb Trek 5900 frame for the mountain stages. Other weight savings and technological improvements found on both bicycles include a larger 1 1/8” steerer tube, a threadless headset, and 9-speed Shimano Dura Ace components.
- Armstrong brought several bikes to the 2000 Tour de France. This particular bicycle was raced on some of the flatter stages, such as Stage 11 from Bagnères-de-Bigorre to Revel in Southwest France, as well as the final stage on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. During the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Armstrong used this bike as a spare, but did not ride it in competition.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 2000
- used during certain stages
- 2000-07-01 to 2000-07-21
- user
- Armstrong, Lance
- maker
- Trek USA
- ID Number
- 2005.0214.01
- accession number
- 2005.0214
- catalog number
- 2005.0214.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Ship Model, ms Zuiderdam
- Description
- This waterline model represents the ms Zuiderdam, a cruise ship owned and operated by Holland America Line. The Zuiderdam was built in Marghera, Italy, by Fincantieri, a firm specializing in modern cruise ships, and began service in 2002. The ship is the first in Holland America’s Vista-class series, the company’s new line of vessels featuring diesel-electric power plants for energy savings and an Azipod propulsion system for greater maneuverability. All Vista-class vessels are 81,769 gross tons and carry 1,848 passengers with a crew of 800. The Zuiderdam’s home port is Rotterdam.
- Holland America Line designs its ships and markets its cruises for what the industry considers the premium markets. The Zuiderdam features Venetian-themed artwork and offers a variety of suites, staterooms, restaurants, lounges, and cafes, as well as recreational facilities including a theater, a golf simulator room, a casino, and a spa. Like other large cruise ship companies, Holland America caters largely to American customers. It runs vessels in all of the major cruise markets, including the Caribbean, Alaska, Asia, the South Pacific, Europe, and the Mediterranean.
- date made
- 2000
- owned and operated
- Holland America Line
- firm who built the ship
- Fincantieri
- ID Number
- 2007.0172.01
- catalog number
- 2007.0172.01
- accession number
- 2007.0172
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center