Sports, Recreation, and Outdoors

"Jack Dempsey's Broadway Restaurant. The Meeting Place of the World." Printed on the back of this linen postcard: "Come in and say Hello! Jack Dempsey's Broadway Restaurant on Broadway bet. 49th & 50th Sts., New York City." Postmarked: Philadelphia, Pa., March 27, 1944. Handwritten message on the back: "Having a swell time, am half drunk. Love, Francis."

"Backus, the Clothing Row hatter and gent's furnishing goods, 799 Broad St., Newark, N.J."

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of: save that one for the holiday letter (A photo where the subject is enjoying some achievement or significant life event worthy of the annual holiday brag mailing. The best one I ever received: "This is our Katey, addressing the U.N. General Assembly.") . " . . . So to conclude, despite Jim's bout with kidney stones during our month-long vacation to Borneo, we did arrive home in time to see Suzy crowned queen during homecoming--she's been 'Our Queen' for four times now! Happy Holidays, Gladys and family."

"Curtis Candy Co. Mixed Bowling League. 1948. 1949. Sheridan Recreation, Feb. 3, 1949." Group photo of the participants in a Curtiss Candy Company bowling league. Games took place at Sheridan Recreation, a bowling alley and pool hall located at 1002 Wilson Avenue in Chicago.

Handwritten message on the back of this real photo postcard: "This was the name of our camp at Cooks Mill where we was the last ten days of August." These seven campers have enough firepower--a couple of shotguns and a rifle--to "raise hell," as their sign suggests, but it's more likely they used their guns and rods for hunting and fishing (I'm not sure why the one woman is holding a tin horn, though). Their camping trip, which took place during August sometime in the 1900s or 1910s, is documented in these three photos (the one above and two more below). The location--Cooks Mill--was a small settlement in rural Bedford County, Pennsylvania, that was described in 1900 as having one store, a grist mill, and ten dwellings.

Handwritten message on the back of this real photo postcard: "This is the table where we had a many good meal those ten days. The lady at the end was a visitor. She brought 1 gal. of ice cream along." The seven Raise 'ell campers and a visitor are seated around the table where they had "a many good meal" during their stay. Perhaps they're eating the ice cream that the woman at right brought with her. Next to her are two milk cans, which were probably used to store water. The stream that's visible In the background is Wills Creek , which is still a popular fly-fishing destination today. Is that a Buster Brown outfit that the boy is wearing in this photo and the previous one ?

Handwritten message on the back of this real photo postcard: "To yous all. This is a view of our tents. Rhoads and two of the clerks came down one night. Hunter." The seven Raise 'ell campers are sitting in front of their tents. What appears to be a quilt or coverlet is visible in the first open tent, and the man seated in front of that tent is still holding the shotgun he posed with in the first photo . Charles R. Rhoads was a pharmacist in the nearby town of Hyndman , Pa., in the 1900s and 1910s. Could he have been the Rhoads who--along with two of the clerks in his pharmacy--visited the camp? And how ironic is it--considering the guns that are visible in the photos and the hunting that presumably took place during the camping trip--that the writer's name is "Hunter"!

A camping/tents photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. There wasn't any message or other information on this real photo postcard to indicate the date or location of Bob White Camp, unfortunately.

A photo of tents, including wigwams, yurts, etc. for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A photo from the early days of automobile camping.

The tradition of holding football games on Thanksgiving Day in the United States goes the whole way back to 1869, according to Wikipedia's article on American football on Thanksgiving , which uses a copy of this postcard to illustrate the topic (Wikipedia's version of the card is dated "circa 1900," but mine is postmarked November 25, 1914). For two other early Thanksgiving football postcards, see 'Rah, 'Rah, 'Rah, Thanksgiving!!! and A Wingless Steed Will Take the Winner to a Fine Thanksgiving Dinner :

"'Rah, 'rah, 'rah, Thanks-giving!!! HBG." Is it a tussle on the football field? Post-game hugs? Or something else? I'm not sure what's going in this scene created by postcard artist H. B. Griggs and dated November 26, 1912, on the other side. There's no football visible, but the "rah, rah, rah" certainly sounds like a typical college football game cheer (see the chants in North American sports section of Wikipedia's Cheering article for examples).

"Thanksgiving. A wingless steed will take the winner to a fine Thanksgiving dinner. C. Beecher. Copyrighted 1908 by Fred C. Lounsbury. 2088-4." From what I can determine, Tom Turkey is driving the winning football team to a victory meal. But does Tom know what main dish is traditionally served at a Thanksgiving dinner?

And the winner is . . . (a person or a team winning or with an award/medal/prize) --a photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. The athlete in this real photo postcard is standing next to a pedestal that holds a trophy, and nine medals are pinned to his chest (mouse over the photo to see a close-up of the trophy and medals). Unfortunately, I haven't been able to figure out the inscription on the trophy (except for a possible identification of the year—1914 or 1919), and the medals haven't yielded much information either. Judging by the man's clothing and the outline of a runner in the design of one of the medals, however, I take it that he participated in running competitions or other track and field events. Anyone else recognize this fellow (if he happens to be a famous athlete) or the type of medals he's wearing?

For more information, see the full version of this photo:

One in a series of sports trading cards printed on the back of Wheaties cereal boxes in 1952. For another Wheaties card, see Gretchen Fraser, Sun Valley Skiing Champion .

A Valentine's Day postcard dated 1909 on the front and postmarked Burlington, Vt., Feb. 13, 1911, on the back. Cupids play football with hearts, as we see here (above), but they also use them in bowling (below). And, of course, cupids need to maintain their stock of hearts, which may require sweeping, netting, weighing, and mending, as we can see in this selection of early twentieth-century postcards (below).

"You will succeed according to your wishes, my valentine."