H.J. Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports

An aerial photograph of Texas Memorial Football Stadium in 2024 fades into an aerial photograph of Texas Memorial Football Stadium in 1924

A black and white photograph of University of Texas Longhorn women's basketball coach, Jody Conradt. Conradt stands center holding a microphone with her players in a row behind her, many photographers and camera operators record what she is saying.

Stark Center director Jan Todd stands in the Stark Center reading room, holding a framed photo of her late husband, the founder and director of the Stark Center, Terry Todd.

Volume 17 Issue 1
Now available online. Read past issues in our full article archive.

A horizontal lineup of digitized Stark assets: Texas Relays program, a page from Chris Dickerson's development pamphlets, Health and Life Magazine Cover, A page from Clyde Littlefield's scrapbook, Physical Culture Magazine Cover, The 100-Up Exercise Book Cover.

OPEN HOURS

Weekdays: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Weekends & Holidays: Closed

CHECK OUT THESE COLLECTIONS & EXHIBITS

Within the white outline of a rectangle with rounded corners, text reads,

Doctors Curtis Jackson (Shorty) & Mary Evelyn Boice
Alderson Collection Muscle Beach Health and Life Magazine

Collections

Digital Library

Galleries

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.

UPCOMING CLOSURES – HOLIDAY SEASON
Friday, 20 December 2024 — The Stark Center will close early at 2pm.
Monday, 23 December 2024 through Friday, 3 January 2025 — Winter Break, we will re-open Monday, 6 January 2025.
We apologize for any inconvenience. During closures, you can still contact us by emailing info@starkcenter.org.

It's a Good LifeBy Jan Todd

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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...

Curator's CornerBy Kyle Martin

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Remembering Igor Galanin

I recently learned that the artist Igor Galanin passed away this fall on Saturday, November 16. I was so sorry to hear of his passing and know that there are many who will miss him dearly. Although I was not part of the team that traveled to New York to collect or return the paintings Igor loaned to the Stark Center in 2022, his life and his art still had a significant impact on me and my work at the Stark Center. I like to picture Igor as I knew him, at 85 years old, still eagerly painting in his...

Iron Game History

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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