A cast of the sculpture Winged Victory of Samothrace on display in the center of the Stark Center's Reading Room.
March 13, 2026March 13, 2026
Curator's CornerBy
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The Goddess in Our Reading Room

We’ve been making moves at The Stark Center. On Tuesday, a goddess arrived in the Stark Center’s Reading Room, bringing a new look and a fresh sense of triumph to the students and scholars who work in it. From the Blanton Museum of Art’s Collection of Battle Casts, Winged Victory of Samothrace brings the feminine form to an area that had been previously dominated by male figures. The height of the body on display, which is headless, reaches beyond 8 feet, making it very noticeably the tallest object—mortal or immortal—in the room. The cast depicts Nike, goddess of victory, the...

Joe Bonomo on a boat surrounded by men, lifting one man over his head with one arm.
September 22, 2025September 22, 2025
News, Blogs & Updates, Reporting from the RecordsBy
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Strength in the Silent Era

How does a strong man make a living? For Joe Bonomo (1901-1978), his strength opened doors for several career paths, including work as a stunt man and actor in Hollywood. Thanks to the Victor (Vic) Boff collection at the Stark Center, we can all enjoy a glimpse into Hollywood’s silent era and early “talkies” through the photographs of Bonomo’s career over the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Vic Boff (1917-2002) was a strongman, athlete, editor, entrepreneur, author, and historian. Bonomo was good friends with Boff and gifted him two large, framed collages of photographs of himself throughout his career. An image...

July 14, 2025July 14, 2025
Horns and Heroes, News, Blogs & UpdatesBy
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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...

A sepia-toned photograph of a white male in early adulthood seated outdoors. He is wearing a white letter sweater with a T on the breast.
June 30, 2025June 30, 2025
Curator's Corner, News, Blogs & UpdatesBy
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The 1914 Football Team Goes Deep

Early in my career at the Stark Center, we developed an exhibit about the 1914 football team, an undefeated, national-championship-winning squad, which was an easy choice of subject given the 100-year anniversary in 2014, the team’s remarkable dominance (they outscored their opponents 358 to 21), and the way the roster had become a veritable “who’s who” in Texas history. Some notable figures include: legendary track coach and founder of the Texas Relays Clyde Littlefield; Louis Jordan, the first Texas officer killed in WWI combat, whose sacrifice was honored in the first dedicated name of this stadium––Texas War Memorial Football Stadium––and,...

A photo of the intramural and club sports wall from the Women First exhibit.
April 18, 2025April 30, 2025
Curator's CornerBy
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Literature, Philosophy, Rhetorical Theory . . . But Wait, This Is About Women First!

I feel obligated to assure you that this blog is in fact about our newest exhibit, Women First! But I want to start by telling you about the Literature and Philosophy lecture course that I took during my very first semester at Saint Edward’s University in the fall of 2006. It was one of four or five lecture course topics available to choose from as all of Saint Edward’s freshmen were required to take a lecture course during the fall semester (very likely the only lecture course offered to students on the Hilltop during that time) which tied in with...

Osborn- Three. Breaks world record in high jump. 6 ft 8 and 15/16 in. March 27, 1925. Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas.
April 7, 2025June 13, 2025
News, Blogs & Updates, Reporting from the RecordsBy
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The Texas Relays Hits A Century of Meets

From March 26 to March 29, 2025, the Mike A. Myers Stadium hosted the 97th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, a multi-day track and field meet that brings in athletes from all around the country to compete. The meet is the second largest in the United States and features athletes at the high school, college, and professional levels. Many different Olympic athletes have competed in the Texas Relays, such as Johnny “Lam” Jones, Maurice Greene, Gabrielle Thomas, and Ryan Crouser, to name a few. This year, 100 years after the founding of the meet, the Texas Relays was awarded the World...

A photograph of the Battle Cast, the Boxer at Rest
April 1, 2025April 7, 2025
Horns and Heroes, News, Blogs & UpdatesBy
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The Boxer at Rest

Last summer, I made the decision to expand my academic and professional horizons by pursuing a master’s degree in Sports Management at the University of Texas. The opportunity to learn from leading scholars in the field was too exciting to pass up—even if I do skew the average age of my cohort a bit higher. This semester, I’m enrolled in Ethics in Sport, a course taught by Dr. Charles Stocking. For those unfamiliar with his work, Dr. Stocking is an accomplished scholar who specializes in the history and philosophy of the body, sport, and physical culture from Ancient Greece to the present....

Dr. Charles Stocking, Michael Joseph Gross, Martins Licis, and Dr. Jan Todd look at an artifact on a wood table in the Stark Center reading room.
March 18, 2025March 18, 2025
Through the LensBy
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What do a Journalist, Two Professors, and a Couple of Strongmen Have in Common?

Reflections on the Stronger Release Party by Rachel Ozerkevich On a recent Tuesday afternoon, I found myself surrounded by paintings and sculptural reproductions of historical strength heroes, chatting with one of the strongest men in the world. We were discussing the challenges of teaching visual culture to undergraduate students in sport history classes, but I was also getting useful pointers on how to increase my back squat—a lift I’ve been working to improve for nearly a decade (it turns out that my back is likely too weak, and I need to improve my confidence). I’m at work right now, I...

Katie Sandwina and the Legacy that Inspired Jan Todd
February 21, 2025April 7, 2025
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Katie Sandwina and the Legacy that Inspired Jan Todd

Our Director, Dr. Jan Todd, has always had a special affinity for Katharina Brumbach, or as she is known by her stage name, Katie Sandwina. Dr. Todd began her weightlifting career in 1973 after accompanying her husband, powerlifting icon Terry Todd, to the gym. After deadlifting 225 pounds in her first workout, she asked her husband why there weren’t more women lifting (in 1973 there were no women’s powerlifting, bodybuilding, or weightlifting contests). This was when she first learned of Katie Sandwina, who’d been a center-ring attraction in Barnum and Bailey’s circus during the 1911 and 1912 seasons and possessed...