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 8 items.
Baseball, signed by the 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers
- Description
- Baseball signed by the 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers. That season the Dodgers finished 97-65, 1st in the National League, winning the World Series over the Minnesota Twins 4 games to 3.
- Autographs include Ron Fairly; Nate Oliver; Howie Reed; John Kennedy; Sandy Koufax; Don LeJohn; Maury Willis; Ron Perranoski; Hector Valle; Bill Singer; Jim Lefebvre; Derell Griffith; Jeff Torborg; Bob Miller; Lefty Phillips; Nick Willhite; Claude Osteen; Wally Moon.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1965
- associated institution
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- maker
- Spalding
- ID Number
- 1984.0228.01
- accession number
- 1984.0228
- catalog number
- 1984.0228.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Baseball, signed by the 1963 New York Mets
- Description
- Autographed baseball signed by the 1963 New York Mets. That year the Mets finished 51-111, 10th in the National League.
- Autographs include Tim Harkness; Larry Burright; Ken Mackenzie; Cliff Cook; Larry Bearnarth; Casey Stengel; Jim Piersall; Clarence Coleman; Jim Hickman; Al Jackson; Jay Hook; Chico Fernandez; Galen Cisco; Frank Thomas; Roger Craig; Duke Snider; Cookie Lavagetto; Ron Hunt; Carlton Willey.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1963
- maker
- Stall and Dean
- ID Number
- 1999.0265.072
- accession number
- 1999.0265
- catalog number
- 1999.0265.072
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Baseball, signed by the 1963 St. Louis Cardinals
- Description
- Autographed baseball signed by the members of the 1963 St. Louis Cardinals. That year the Cardinals finished 93-69, 2nd in the National League.
- Autographs include Bobby Shantz; Charlie James; Ed Bauta; Ron Taylor; Stan Musial; Johnny Keane; Billy Shantz; Charlie James; Ed Bauta; Ron Taylor; Stan Musial; Johnny Keane.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1963
- associated institution
- St. Louis Cardinals
- maker
- Spalding
- ID Number
- 1999.0265.073
- accession number
- 1999.0265
- catalog number
- 1999.0265.073
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Baseball, autographed by Hubert Humphrey
- Description
- Baseball signed by former United States Vice-President Hubert H Humphrey (1911-1978). Humphrey, who served as V.P. during Lyndon B. Johnson's first term (1965-1969) autographed the ball for Washington Senators announcer Charlie Brotman.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1966
- signer
- Humphrey, Hubert H.
- maker
- Spalding
- ID Number
- 2002.0124.07
- accession number
- 2002.0124
- catalog number
- 2002.0124.07
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Baseball, signed by Stan Musial
- Description
- Baseball signed by St. Louis Cardinal great Stan Musial (b.1920) in 1963. Nicknamed "The Man", Musial played for the Cardinals from 1941 to 1963, finishing his career with a .331 batting average. He won three MVP trophies and led the Cards to three world championships. He is a member of baseball's Hall of Fame, and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1963
- signer
- Musial, Stan
- ID Number
- 1983.0347.02
- accession number
- 1983.0347
- catalog number
- 1983.0347.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Baseball, signed by the 1969 Spokane Indians
- Description
- Autographed baseball, signed by the 1969 Spokane Indians of the Pacific Coast League. At this time, the Indians were the AAA affiliation of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
- Autographs include Leon Everitt; Jim Campanis; Jason Barbieri; Dick Egan; Bill Heath; John Ellis; John Miller; Jack Cullen; Tommy Dean; Tom Hutton; Mike Strahler.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1968
- maker
- Stall and Dean
- ID Number
- 1999.0265.077
- accession number
- 1999.0265
- catalog number
- 1999.0265.077
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Royal Thunderbird Yo-Yo
- Description (Brief)
- This wooden "Thunderbird" model yo-yo was made by the Royal Tops Manufacturing Company in 1962. It features Royal's crown and chevron logo. The yo-yo is in a blister pack that reads “Precision designed by the original Filipino yo-yo experts to rigid tournament specifications,” and “Be a Champion…and win a Prize!” Eight different tricks are listed on the back of the card.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1962
- maker
- Royal Tops Manufacturing Co.
- ID Number
- 2007.0158.01
- accession number
- 2007.0158
- catalog number
- 2007.0158.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Baseball, signed by the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates
- Description
- Baseball signed by the 1960 World Series Champion Pittsburgh Pirates. That season the Pirates won the National League with a record of 95-59. They defeated the New York Yankees in the World Series 4 games to 3.
- Autographs include Bill Mazeroski; Don Hoak; Elroy Face; Dick Groat; Hal Smith; Vinegar Blend Mizell; Harvey Haddix; Smoky Burgess; Bob Skinner; Bill Virdon; Dick Stuart; Roberto Clemente; Bob Friend; Vern Law.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1960
- signer
- Clemente, Roberto
- associated institution
- Pittsburg Pirates
- maker
- Spalding
- ID Number
- 1983.0347.03
- accession number
- 1983.0347
- catalog number
- 1983.0347.03
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center