Archival Athletes

From the Musee McCord Museum Archives, here are some terrific photographs of individual and team sports from the turn of the (past) century.  I love reprinting images of historical athletes as evidence of a time when athletic prowess was conflated with a snappy, well tailored presentation for the camera.  Here, in the McCord image set, both male and female athletes wear sporting garb that could easily double as street clothing.  I long for the days when heraldic emblems, plus fours, bowler hats, wool knits and striped tunics were de rigeur elements of the the amateur sporting uniform.

 

 John Lowe, 1931

  

 Frank Barnwell, 1891

Louis Rubenstein, 1893

  

 Rowing Crew, 1871

 

Fencers, 1925

  

 "Bonnie Lassies" group, 1891

Hurdle race on snowshoes, 1892

 

Trafagler Basketball Institute, 1928

 
 YWCA Water Polo Team, 1925

Bank of Montreal Hockey Team, 1895

 

 Kahnawake Lacrosse, 1867

Wesleyan Thelogical Basketball Team, 1916

Physical Education Hockey Group, 1925

Shopping from the 1950s: Sporting Goods

 

One of my primary time travel fantasies involves shopping from catalogs from the past.  For my Spring workout wardrobe, I'd love to order sportswear and gym equipment from the pages of these old Athletic Journals from the 1950s.  What I adore about this era of sporting garb is the emphasis on rugged construction, quality materials (virigin wools, pure orlons!), "glove smooth" fit and a tailored look ("neatness and uniformity").  Even the trampolines, gym mats and megaphones were made from super sturdy materials and promised to last for ages.  Take a look at some of these classic ads and tell me what you would buy now. 

 

 

 

 

Archival Through-Hiking

In 1977, a 19 year old Monte Dodge set out to hike the Pacific Crest Trail.

See many more of these wonderful pictures at Monte's gallery.

All pictures copyright Monte Dodge

From the Archives: Rugby Ephemera

In honor of the World Cup, I'm reposting selections from Frederick Humbert's awesome collection of historical rugby print ephemera. Humbert's flickr catalog and blog, Rugby-Pioneers, include photographs, programs, cigarette cards, advertisements and even hand painted lantern slides of vintage rugby action. Even if you don't follow rugby as a sport, study the photographs as a guide to looking stylish in a sports uniform (blazers and wool knits in lieu of track jackets and sweats).