Tag Archives: sports

Here’s the Earliest Known Image of Women’s Hockey, ca. 1890

This 1890 photograph is the oldest-known picture of women playing hockey, taken at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. Isobel Stanley, daughter of Lord Stanley, is seen wearing white. Lord Stanley of Preston’s daughter, Lady Isobel Stanley, was a pioneer in the women’s game and was one of the first females to be photographed using puck andContinue reading “Here’s the Earliest Known Image of Women’s Hockey, ca. 1890”

Queen of Muscle Beach: 20 Vintage Portraits of Abbye “Pudgy” Stockton From the 1940s

Abbye Eville, more commonly known around the world as Pudgy Stockton, was born August 11, 1917 in Santa Monica, California. During her childhood she acquired the nickname, “Pudgy” and it stuck with her; little did she know it was a name soon to be known all around the world. After graduating high school, she startedContinue reading “Queen of Muscle Beach: 20 Vintage Portraits of Abbye “Pudgy” Stockton From the 1940s”

Vintage Photographs Show German Women Practicing Swedish Gymnastics in Hamburg From the Early 20th Century

These photographs were taken between 1902 and 1910 by Heinrich Hamann in Hamburg, Germany. As a keen gymnast, Hamann portrayed many athletes in action. Here, German women exercising Swedish Gymnastics in a sports hall and on the Heiligengeistfeld (German: “field of the Holy Spirit”) in Hamburg’s St. Pauli quarter. During the 19th century, Swedish GymnasticsContinue reading “Vintage Photographs Show German Women Practicing Swedish Gymnastics in Hamburg From the Early 20th Century”

In the 1912 Olympics, Jim Thorpe, a Native American, Won Two Gold Medals With Shoes Someone Had Thrown in the Trash

This is Jim Thorpe (May 22 or 28, 1887 – March 28, 1953). He was the first Native American to win a gold medal for the United States in the Olympics. Considered one of the most versatile athletes of modern sports, he won two Olympic gold medals in the 1912 Summer Olympics. Look closely atContinue reading “In the 1912 Olympics, Jim Thorpe, a Native American, Won Two Gold Medals With Shoes Someone Had Thrown in the Trash”

20 Amazing Vintage Photos Showing the Spirit of Early 20th Century Athletics

acques Henri Lartigue was fascinated by the ascent of sport in the early 20th century as a fashionable pastime for the middle classes, and was himself a keen sportsman. Lartigue’s entirely unposed photographs, presented album-style in this gorgeous, luxurious and delightful volume, capture both the joyous exuberance of amateur sports––racing, skiing, tennis, gymnastics, hang gliding––andContinue reading “20 Amazing Vintage Photos Showing the Spirit of Early 20th Century Athletics”