Sports

Articles

16 items

illustration of a light skinned man with short wavy light colored hair and a long, thick mustache. A rifle is pictured along the bottom of the image along with the words

Adam Bogardus, world champion wing shot

In the fall of 1875, at a shooting tournament in Bloomington, champion marksman Adam H. Bogardu...

Article

shortstop Bing Cosbey attempting to beat out a second-inning grounder

Bloomers had some success against big league clubs

On Jun. 23, 1916, the minor league Bloomington Bloomers hosted the major league Chicago White S...

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16 light-skinned men gather for a photo. All of them are in baseball uniforms and ball caps, with exception one man who is in a button-up white shirt and tie, no hat. On the border of the image each man is identified. One younger looking man in the lower center was possibly the ball-boy and not a player, he has a different uniform.

Bloomers photo features bevy of big leaguers

A single photograph can open a door into a lost world. This Bloomington Bloomers team photo, fo...

Article

portrait of a man wearing a baseball uniform getting ready to catch a baseball. He has bare hands extended in front of him, and is leaning on his right leg, left leg bent in the air behind him.

Bloomington’s Cliff Carroll 19th century baseball standout

With Major League Baseball’s spring training well underway in the warmer, sunnier climes of Flo...

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Buffaloes battled for respect on hardwood court

In late October 1921, the Bloomington Buffaloes, a “colored” basketball team, defeated a rival ...

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The Bloomington Bloomers pose for a team photograph at Fans Field during their 1919 pennant-winning Three-I League season.

Catcher’s mitt tells story of big leaguer ‘Butch’ Henline

The collections of the McLean County Museum of History include some 20,000 objects, and everyon...

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This 1938 photo shows 22-year-old Cuban catcher Chico Hernandez, then the best player for the hometown minor league Bloomington Bloomers.

Cuban ‘Chico’ Hernandez star of 1938 Bloomers

Well before Jackie Robinson broke the Major League Baseball color line in 1947. Latin Americans...

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Digitized photos recall Thanksgiving Corn Bowl

The not-for-profit McLean County Museum of History recently celebrated a remarkable milestone: ...

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Halloween 1945 followed world war’s end

World War II still loomed large over American life during the Halloween season of 1945. The sur...

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Harry Forbes, champion boxer, once made Bloomington home

Regarded as one of the greatest pound-for-pound boxers of his era, world bantamweight champion ...

Article

Located at the corner of Roosevelt and Front streets, the Bloomington Coliseum was the Twin City's premier venue for indoor baseball. This fieldhouse-type building was torn down in 1961. The advertisement in the upper right appeared in the Feb. 7, 1908, Pantagraph.

Indoor baseball once popular winter pastime

Part of baseball’s attraction as the National Pastime is the sport’s inextricable connection to...

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An active shot of a tackle being made on the football field. in the foreground is a man dressed in regular clothing, holding a stick.

Last local Corn Bowl held in 1953

Sixty-six years ago this week—Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26, 1953—a disappointingly small crowd was...

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Scrappy Ironmen earned state berth in ’42

Three months after Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entry into World War II, Normal residents found th...

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Thrilling World Series captivated nation back in 1926

Football, it’s been clear for several decades now, is the national pastime, having assumed the ...

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‘Pop’ Dillon of Normal found baseball success in LA

Bloomington-Normal’s ties to the national pastime are long and deep. Most famously, National Ba...

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‘Pop’ Horton organized campus circus fraternity in 1929

Today marks the 38th anniversary of the death of Dr. Clifford E. Horton, one of the titans of I...

Article

Biographies

8 items

Eyer, Lloyd

Lloyd Eyer served as physical director of the Bloomington YMCA for twelve years from 1905 to 19...

Biography

Green, Fred -"The Flying LaVans"

“The Flying La Vans,” were first known by the name the “La Van Brothers” or the “Brothers La Va...

Biography

Green, Harry -"The Flying LaVans"

“The Flying La Vans,” were first known by the name the “La Van Brothers” or the “Brothers La Va...

Biography

Harris, Carter

Carter Harris was born April 15, 1856 on a small plantation in Red Bank, Mississippi. A so...

Biography

Kirkpatrick, Charles

Much of the information about Charles Kirkpatrick’s life comes from an autobiographical intervi...

Biography

Radbourn, Charles "Old Hoss"

Charles Radbourn was born on December 11, 1854 in Rochester, New York. He was the son of Charl...

Biography

Sanders, Isaac

Isaac Joshua Beasley Sanders was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on January 17, 1878. He was the ...

Biography

Wunderlich, Gerald “Jerry” White

Gerald “Jerry” Wunderlich (sometimes spelled Wonderlich) was born on August 25, 1889 in Chicago...

Biography

Blog

34 items

"Gridley High, January 1953 County Hoops Champs"

Here’s Gridley High School Coach Clarence “Merk” Kyger readying his varsity squad for the 1953 ...

Blog Post

BHS Athletic Field Undated Aerial

This undated view of Bloomington High School’s Athletic Field is looking southeast. “A” signifi...

Blog Post

Beich Bowlers, 1942

Not much is known about this photograph, including the reference to “Merry-Go-Round.” We do kno...

Blog Post

Bloomington Bloomers Fans Field, 1913

For the better part of four decades Bloomington fielded a team in the well-regarded Illinois-In...

Blog Post

Cooksville Ball Club 1908

Back in the early 20th century baseball was not only the National Pastime but the National Obse...

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En Garde! Fencing Comes to Wesleyan April 1941

In the spring of 1941, fencing became the newest sport on the Illinois Wesleyan University camp...

Blog Post

Fall Means College Football ISNU ‘Teachers,’ 1907

Back in 1907, the Illinois State Normal University Teachers (the nickname would be changed to “...

Blog Post

Fans Field, South Bloomington Aerial, 1938

This photo recalls the Bloomers, Bloomington’s professional minor league team that played in th...

Blog Post

Holiday Hoops Pontiac, Dec. 30, 1948

The Pontiac Holiday Tournament is the nation’s oldest such Christmastime classic, dating as it ...

Blog Post

I beg to differ … Waterloo v. Bloomers, July 6, 1938

From 1901 to 1939, Bloomington was home to the Bloomers of the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League. He...

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Illini Coach Ray Eliot, 1942 Young Men’s Club luncheon

On February 10, 1942, new University of Illinois head football coach Ray Eliot (that’s Eliot wi...

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McHistory: Baseball ban a dark day for some in Bloomington

McHistory goes back in time to explore big moments and small stories from McLean County history...

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McHistory: Bloomington’s Unsung Baseball Great

McHistory goes back in time to explore big moments and small stories from McLean County history...

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McLean County Basketball Tournament Championship Game, Jan. 24, 1959

Gene Durham (22) of Saybrook-Arrowsmith High attempts a layup during the 1959 county tournament...

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McLean County Basketball Tournament Championship Game, January 21, 1966 Octavia 68, Lexington 48

For many years the biggest sporting event on the local calendar was the McLean County Basketbal...

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Normal Sanitary Dairy baseball uniform donated to Museum

The Museum recently received a Normal Sanitary Dairy baseball uniform worn during the late 1930...

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Photo of the Week, 12: Fore!

Incorporated in 1919, Maplewood Country Club stretched southeast of Linden St. and Jersey Ave. ...

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Photo of the Week, 15: Play Ball!

Seen here is the Junior American League baseball team sponsored by J. Stern Furniture Co,. som...

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Photo of the Week, 1: Bowling Association Tournament

In late January 1963, Bloomington-Normal hosted the 34th annual Illinois Women's Bowling A...

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Photo of the Week, 24: Seven ball in the corner pocket . . .

Students at the Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's School (ISSCS) play p...

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Photo of the Week, 26: On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

Olympic Speedster Jesse Owens Visits Bloomington Famed Olympian Jesse Owens visited Bloomington...

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Photo of the Week, 32: Are you ready for some football?

Pictured here is the 1915 University High School football team. The “U Men" (the school n...

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Photo of the Week, 41: We’re Number One!

Museum to Sell Replica Redbird Cap from 1969 Championship Season On June 6, 1969, Illinois St...

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Photo of the Week, 49: Church League Hoops, ca. 1916

This photograph, circa 1916, shows the church league basketball team from Grace Methodist Episc...

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Photo of the Week, 64: Redbirds Crowned National Champs in 1969

Get Your Replica Cap Today! Illinois State University's baseball team captured the NCAA C...

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Photo of the Week, 69: Ready, Set, Go!

Bloomington High School baseball team, 1947The district champions charge off the bench for a wa...

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Photo of the Week, 82: 'Starr' Attraction at Normal Chamber Banquet, 1969

Famed Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr was the keynote speaker at the March 26, 1969 No...

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Play Ball! Cooksville, 1909

McLean County’s smaller communities, including the Village of Cooksville, once fielded competit...

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Put Up Your Dukes Small Fry Boxers, March 1958

Billy Kletz (left) and Jim Heafer get ready for the upcoming Small Fry Boxing Championship at t...

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Rockets, mid-1940s Twin-City Recreation Center

The Rockets were an informal team connected to the Twin-City Recreation Center, 318 S. Main St....

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Titans Thump Redbirds February 1953

On February 11, 1953, Illinois Wesleyan beat visiting Illinois State Normal 98-66 at the old Me...

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Twin Cities Bowler Peggy Schultz February 1942

This photograph comes from the Museum’s expansive Pantagraph Negatives Collection. Unfortunatel...

Blog Post

Winter Wonderland Miller Park Ice Skating, 1958

Ice skating was once popular at Miller Park on Bloomington’s west side. Fifty-seven years ago, ...

Blog Post

‘Brick’ Young, March 1936 Pantagraph Sports Editor and Official

Normal resident Doug Rosenbaum served in the officiating crew as field judge for last weekend’s...

Blog Post

Finding Aids

26 items

Baseball Collection

View the finding aid for our archival baseball collection...

Finding Aid

Bloomington-Normal Black History Project

Finding aid for the 6-box archival collection ...

Finding Aid

Bloomington-Normal Women’s Golf Association

After a hiatus from 1968 to 1974, the Bloomington-Normal Women’s Golf Association returned to p...

Finding Aid

Charles (“Old Hoss”) Radbourn

Charles (“Old Hoss”) Radbourn was born in Rochester N.Y. December 11, 1854. In 1855, the Radbou...

Finding Aid

Collins, Doug

Doug Collins was born on July 28, 1951 in Christopher, IL and grew up in Benton, IL. He went on...

Finding Aid

Constitution Trail

Constitution Trail is a “linear park” that provides more than 37 miles of trails for biking, hi...

Finding Aid

Corn Bowl

A true “Middle West” tradition: college football on Thanksgiving Day. The Corn Bowl was sponsor...

Finding Aid

CornBelters

The Normal CornBelters are a professional baseball team. They began play in May 2010 as a membe...

Finding Aid

Dunn, Mark Collection

The collection includes research manuscripts, genealogical research, newspaper articles, and co...

Finding Aid

Floyd, Arthur Softball Collection

Arthur Floyd (1900-1988) was an insurance agent for the Industrial Casualty Co. In private life...

Finding Aid

Highland Park Women’s 18 Hole League

The Highland Park Women’s 18 Hole League was started in July of 1932 at the Highland Park Munic...

Finding Aid

Hockey

Bloomington has been the home to two indoor recreational ice rinks—The former “Skatium,” now AR...

Finding Aid

ISU Athletics

The collection includes Illinois State University football guides, basketball guides, football ...

Finding Aid

Intercity High School Tournament

An Intercity High School basketball competition was begun in Bloomington and Normal in 1968. In...

Finding Aid

Lake Bloomington Association

The Lake Bloomington Association formed to improve the Lake Bloomington Area and the surroundin...

Finding Aid

Lake Run Club

The Lake Run Club was founded by two running enthusiasts who, due to a race cancellation in an ...

Finding Aid

McLean County Basketball Tournament

One of the longest-running tournaments in the state, the McLean County Basketball Tournament is...

Finding Aid

Moraine View State Recreation Area

This collection includes newspaper clippings from 1941 through 1985, plus manuscript histories ...

Finding Aid

Morgan, Raymond “Doc”

“He was a humble person, a fine golfer and a great gentleman.” So opined Bloomington Country Cl...

Finding Aid

Packard Duck Pin Bowling Alley

W.C. Packard originally entered the tenpin business in Ohio and later moved to Evanston, IL. Ab...

Finding Aid

Pistole, Richard

Richard “Dick” Pistole was born in Heyworth, IL. After graduating from Heyworth High School, Pi...

Finding Aid

Softball Collection

The collection includes yearbooks, programs, scorebooks, schedules, and other items relating to...

Finding Aid

Sports Cards

The collection holds commercially printed sports (or trading) cards featuring individuals assoc...

Finding Aid

State Farm Classic

One of the largest co-ed holiday basketball tournaments in the nation, the State Farm Classic b...

Finding Aid

University High School Athletics

This collection includes fall, winter, and spring programs, as well as individual programs for ...

Finding Aid

Vogel, Joe Baseball Scrapbook

See the finding aid for our Joe Vogel Baseball Scrapbook...

Finding Aid

Oral Histories

2 items

Fernando Garza

Oral History

Wilbur Barton

Early Normal family, ISNU grad & athlete, WWII veteran, teacher/principal....

Oral History

Videos

2 items

Ballists, Dead Beats, and Muffins: Inside Early Baseball in Illinois

Video

Charles “Old Hoss” Radbourn performed by Rhys Lovell

Video

Working for a Living

1 item

Circus Performers

Troupes of circus performers arrived in Bloomington as early as the 1860s. It wasn’t long after...

Digital Exhibit