Joe Louis Barrow, known as “The Brown Bomber,” was arguably the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. His career spanned from 1934 to 1951 and he reigned as the Heavyweight Champion of the World from 1937 until his temporary retirement in 1949. During that time, he successfully defended 25 consecutive title defenses, a record for...
The Chicago Park District Recreation Division published this Weightlifting Instruction Manual originally in 1939 and followed it up with a second printing in 1940, and then with this third printing in 1950. Norbert B. Grueber, the Editor for Body Builder Magazine, published this manual under the supervision of the Division of Recreation of the Chicago...
The Stars of the Mat booklet is part of the Ottley Coulter Collection. Ottley was an American strongman, circus performer, weightlifter, wrestler, and police officer. He was a co-founder of the American Continental Weightlifting Association, and the author of a book about strength athletics. The booklet features well known bodybuilders and wrestlers and contains photos...
The University of Texas has hosted many interscholastic championship events over the years in every sport imaginable. This booklet, generously donated by Waneen Spirduso, is from the 1913 interscholastic championship track meet for the state of Texas. This was a massive event attended by public and private high schools and held at Clark Field on...
Early pioneer of professional tennis, University of Texas Longhorns Hall of Honor member, and U.S. Davis Cup Coach, Bruce Barnes, published this fun and informative pamphlet to introduce people to tennis. Barnes went undefeated in dual match play his entire career at the University of Texas, dominated singles and doubles play in the Southwest Conference,...
Bruce Parkhouse Barnes was an American tennis pro whose career bridged top-flight college play and the early professional tennis tours of the 1930s and 1940s. Born November 24, 1909 in Austin, Texas, Barnes attended the University of Texas and was a part of Dr. Daniel Penick’s powerhouse teams. He dominated the Southwest Conference and was...
Max MacLevy rented the property from James L. Ewell and moved to the old 65 acre Babylon Westminster Kennel Club estate around 1915. MacLevy was well-known for his vaudeville boxing exhibitions and gymnasium in Brooklyn. In addition, “Professor” MacLevy was a health mentor to Teddy Roosevelt. As a physical culturalist, MacLevy turned Westminster’s once-glorious clubhouse...
The origins of Swedish Massage are credited to a Swedish physiologist named Per Henrik Ling, who lived from 1776-1839, and was a highly respected master fencer and gymnast. He believed that the therapeutic massage technique that consisted of gliding strokes and gentle touch promoted relaxation and well-being by encouraging circulation in the body and softening...
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....
