Discovering Our American Spirit: Finding Common Ground in the National Pastime

Description

This Electronic Field Trip uses the history of early baseball as a window into American life in the 19th century. Watchers journey back in time to discover a young land as its enterprising soul comes of age in the villages and towns of 19th-century America and follow the exploration of a western frontier after an anguishing Civil War to see how natives and naturalized citizens forge a familiar pastime while learning each other's customs and cultures.

African American Athletes in History

Description

From the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website:

"In this lecture, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard University, gives a brief and entertaining tour of African American athletes throughout American history. From Bill Richmond, a bare knuckles boxer in eighteenth century New York to the barn storming all-black baseball leagues of the late nineteenth century and finally to Jackie Robinson and Jesse Owens in the twentieth, Gates uncovers both well known and long forgotten figures who changed American sports both on and off the playing field."

Jim Thorpe Home [OK]

Description

The Oklahoma Historical Society, with its affiliate, the Jim Thorpe Foundation, preserves and displays the former home of the 1912 Olympian containing exhibited artifacts from Jim Thorpe and his family.

The home offers tours.

National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame [MI]

Description

The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame exhibits a collection of historic artifacts at the American Polish Cultural Center in Troy, Michigan. Many of the items are one-of-a-kind. Visitors can see the uniforms worn by such greats as Steve Gromek, Carol Blazejowski, and Ed Olczyk; the boxing gloves used by the 1940s world middleweight champion, Tony Zale; and basketballs, baseballs, footballs, and bowling balls used and signed by Mike Krzyzewski, Whitey Kurowski, Ted Marchibroda, and Ed Lubanski. Among other items is a football signed by NPASHOF inductee Bob Skoronski, Vince Lombardi and many other members of the 1967 Super Bowl I Champion Green Bay Packers.

The hall offers exhibits.

Lighthouse Field State Beach and Santa Cruz Surfing Museum [CA]

Description

Also known as Point Santa Cruz, this beach forms the northern boundary of Monterey Bay. It is one of the last open headlands in any California urban area. Housed in the Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse, the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum traces over 100 years of surfing history as it relates to Santa Cruz. Visitors to the museum can enjoy a spectacular view of Santa Cruz and the Monterey Bay while overlooking Steamer Lane, an internationally known surfing site. Museum displays include surf boards ranging from redwood "planks" to modern high-tech designs, early wetsuits, photographs showing Santa Cruz surfers and wave riding from the 1930s through today, and continuous videos illustrating surfing's ever-changing styles.

The museum offers exhibits and occasional recreational and educational events.

International Tennis Hall of Fame [RI]

Description

The Museum's galleries chronicle the rich history of tennis through interactive exhibits, dynamic videos, and popular memorabilia from historic champions and the superstars of today. Set in the original club rooms of the Casino, visitors of all ages delight in Stanford White's architectural detail as well as the state-of-the-art gallery experience. In Enshrinee hall, plaques commemorate the great players, coaches, administrators, and writers that have been inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

The hall offers exhibits, tours, tournaments, research library access, and recreational events.

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