It was the boxing match of the decade, perhaps even the century. In the summer of 1938, it was a symbol of freedom versus dictatorship. The heavyweight championship of boxing was held at Yankee stadium and was the second meeting for the two pugilists. African American Joe Louis and Caucasian German Max Schmeling faced off in front of a crowd of 70,000 with many more listening on the radio. In fact, the famous fight drew the largest radio audience in history at that time.

By 1938, Adolph Hitler had held power in Germany for five years and Nazi propaganda was rampant. Labeled as German socialism, the Nazi party had brought the country out of economic depression, organized the workers, created numerous social and civic organizations and even begun the indoctrination of Germany’s children through the Hitler Youth program. For the majority of German nationals, Hitler and his social programs actually improved their standards of living.

But of course, it was far from wonderful in Nazi Germany for a large minority population. Since Hitler’s rise to power German Jews had felt the full weight of economic discrimination and social isolation. In the five years before the famous match in New York, and just one year before the outbreak of World War II, ghettos, restrictive laws, concentration camps, secret arrests and disappearances was commonplace in the German Jewish community. American Jews were well aware of the racism that was spreading like a virus across Europe.

In America, racism between blacks and whites was still very much the order of the day. Black tenant farmers and white land owners were still locked in the age old cycle of dependency and hate and in the north, blacks fought hard against ingrained social formats and condescending deference. Life in the 1930s was full of depression, anxiety, economic woes and contrasting cultures. But despite all this, Joe Louis, a young black man from a small town just outside of La Fayette, Alabama had managed to snag the title of America’s champion and he was determined to seek his revenge against German great Max Schmeling.

70 million tuned in to hear the blow by blow account of the short match consisting of a single round that lasted only two minutes and four seconds. Because Joe Louis had wanted revenge and he got it. The pounding began almost immediately after the starting bell rang. Perhaps Joe was remembering everything Schmeling had said about him after that first meeting. Calling him amateur in his style and mocking his inexperience, Schmeling was unprepared for the man he met in the ring on June 22, 1938.

The fight was quick because Louis didn’t give Schmeling the chance. Americans both black and white, Jewish and non Jewish cheered Louis on as he struck the German with blow after powerful blow. Each time Schmeling tried to get back up, Louis knocked him down again and the crowd cheered for an American hero as they booed and hissed at the German. The fight was a distraction from the heavy burden of the depression and a focus for the growing resentment against Nazi Germany. And Joe Louis did his job well, forcing Schmeling into a knock out count situation he couldn’t return from. The referee reached “10,” the fight was over and the crowd roared in the stadium and across the land.

Joe Louis’ victory didn’t end the racial violence in America nor did it quell the ambitions of Nazi Germany. What it did do was unite Americans across cultural divides for one night for a few minutes so they could forget about the misery that surrounded them. He gave a country hope where none seemed available and he proved that the American dream can come true regardless of the color of your skin.

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With summer comes the baseball season and all the excitement of following a national pastime with a long history. The games and the players are closely followed and allusions are always made to great plays and champions of previous games. We may also follow with curiosity how the spectacle has altered over time and how the uniforms of our favored players have changed as well.

The first baseball teams took to the baseball field with uniforms comprised of flannel shirts with raised collar and wool pantaloons. These flannel and wool combinations remained a standard for baseball uniforms until the mid 1900’s, a remarkable detail considering the intensity of summer heat combined with the exertion of the game. A slight improvement to the comfort of the wearer may have been the 1868 Cincinnati Red Stocking’s introduction of altered pants when they developed knickers to expose their signature high red socks. Other variations that followed were the lace-up jersey versus the pullover jersey, the removal of the collar from the jersey top, giving the players a little more freedom from constraint and changes made to the hatwear worn by the players, which began as straw hat designs and were replaced by fabric hats not too dissimilar to the caps we know today.

Early baseball teams distinguished themselves from one another by the color of their stockings as opposed to distinct markings or insignia on their outfits. This did change over time as characteristics such as checks or pinstripes, monogramming, scripted lettering, numbers, player’s names, color trims, and other details evolved and were incorporated into the costumes. Over the last century the advent of television and its impact on popular culture has added to the hype of sports brands and their marketing. These influences have promoted some of the changes in the baseball uniform and extended the characteristics of the uniform further into our daily culture. Today baseball fans are extensions of their favorite teams by wearing their favored uniforms and exhibiting to the world the strength of their association with a monogram, a color, a number.

image: photograph, 1889, lace-up and checked jersey, Brooklyn Bridegrooms
image: photograph, 1890, jerseys and ties, Brooklyn Nationals

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There are people who collect coins and there are people who collect stamps and these days, as consumption and particularity have combined in some fashion circles people collect (or seem to collect) sneakers, an aspect of fashion that once might have been thought of as an afterthought or as an anti-fashion statement belonging more to the realm of sports and comfort.

In urban areas especially, sneakers have skyrocketed as fashion emblems and are often associated with street style and subcultures like gangs or skaters or graffiti artists who prefer the rubber-soled shoe over any other as they navigate their asphalt territory. In the last two decades or so sneakers have become both remarkably ubiquitous and sometimes remarkably refined and peculiar to particular tastes.

Shoes with rubber soles that could be considered the modern sneaker’s antecedent date from the end of the 19th century. An American company began mass producing canvas shoes with rubber soles towards the end of World War I and the popularization of the quiet, ’sneaker’, shoe began to spread from then. Initially, through sports stars like Chuck Taylor (who would endorse the Converse brand) and Jesse Owens (who would run track in Adidas and win the Olympics) sneakers were linked to athletics. The spill-over into popular fashion, though, began in the 1950’s when teenagers appropriated the rubber-soled shoe and forever changed its status. Today the sneaker is made by any number of different brands and comes in multiple varieties of colors, shapes, detailing and even technology. There is a sneaker for every type of runner and for every athlete, those who prefer tennis over basketball or vice verse, and there is a sneaker, as well, for every fashion type who is keenly aware of what it he or she is wearing that gives that extra bounce to their step.

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History Collectors: We offer a wide selection of museum quality replicas and authentic items representing nearly every century of the Common Era and the most significant civilizations of ancient history. Once you browse through our online catalogue, we are certain you’ll find the perfect gift for yourself or a loved one with an interest in history.

image: photograph, movie/fashion icon James Dean in Jack Purcell sneakers
image: photograph, Olympic track star Jesse Owens

Our notions of the display involved in horse racing apply both to the jockeys riding the thoroughbreds as well as to the audience enraptured by the spectacle. Jockey costumes, dominated by the jackets called racing silks, are easily identifiable in the color and patterning that distinguish them from one another and relay their association to owner and horse. Jockeys are also familiar for their knee-length jodhpurs, the high-cut riding boot, and their protective helmets.

The history of horse racing can be traced historically to centuries ago as can the use of colored cloth to distinguish rider. The evolution of the colored racing silks can be traced to the European medieval tradition of coats of arms associated with particular families and affiliations. In the late 18th century the English Jockey Club recorded the first resolution to establish a uniform code that would identify and distinguish rider and horse during a race. The tradition took hold and today, to enter races such as the famous Kentucky Derby, owners must register their silk colors with the authorizing body. A combination of color and pattern, such as circle, line, star, or square designs will comprise the unique detailing of the shirt and helmet cover and sometimes the horse’s saddle blanket.

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The display of costume is seen in the racing arena as much as in the audience where, particularly in previous eras or in races such as the Kentucky Derby, there can be a strong tradition of fashion flare and ceremony among the onlooking crowds. The show of hats and fashion at the Kentucky Derby is well known and celebrated in some circles and reflects upon the history of horse racing as a spectator sport for the elite classes. Media attention and the introduction of branding to the sport have opened it up and made horse racing a more accessible sport,

attractive to viewers from all backgrounds, but part of its image necessitates retaining an aura of privilege and elitism, as seen most clearly in the colored silks and the heritage they showcase.

image: jockey on horse print, 1800s
image: photography, jockey, 1970s