Welcome to the H.J. Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports.

The Stark Center is a research center housed within the Department of Kinesiology & Health Education.  We are a unique combination of library, archive, and gallery/exhibit space.

An Unexpected Pleasure: Kissing the Ground in Equilibrium—A Search for the Origins of the Pushup

One of the things I enjoy most about the Stark Center are the requests we often get for information about some aspect of the history of physical culture. Most of those requests are handled by our incredible Stark Center staff but every now and then a request will make its way to my inbox and I find myself so intrigued that I end up doing research that wasn’t planned because the question made me curious too. This past Sunday was one of those days. I got an unexpected email from Denis Blinov, whom I’ve never met. “May I ask if you...

Colorful bird powerlifting from the Taiwan Chering Cup in 1990

The Visual Legacy of Jack H. Hughes

The H.J. Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports is a nonprofit that receives the funding to preserve and provide access to archival materials in the fields of physical culture and sports through the generosity of private donors. This being said, there are so many wonderful collections that are inventoried but not completely processed. While we are mighty in spirit, enthusiasm, and dedication, there is only so much our little band can accomplish. In an effort to share these amazing pieces of history, we photograph and upload artifacts into our online catalog system so that we can use them...

Browse the Complete Journal Archive

The Stark Center features collections from around the world related to all aspects of physical culture and sports.

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