Turning Points
in Wisconsin History
The Rise of Professional Sports
Throughout most of human history, men and women have worked too hard to enjoy much leisure time. Leisure was a privilege for the affluent or a reward for hard work rather than a right in itself. For most people, only the weekly Sabbath days, which already had specific purposes, broke up the incessant struggle for food, shelter and clothing. Indeed, the Sabbath day of rest was the cause of a persistent social conflict in nineteenth and early twentieth century Wisconsin: Yankee Protestants often tried to impose laws regulating the conduct of Catholic immigrants who enjoyed beer gardens, picnics, sports, and... more...
Original Documents and Other Primary Sources
 | Early baseball in 1860s Baraboo |
| A Beloit baseball team has a record-setting season in 1867 |
| An 1897 bamboo bicycle |
| "Ikey" Karel leads the Badgers to victory in 1894 |
| Janesville baseball player becomes assistant secretary of war |
| La Crosse's first bowling alley built in 1846 |
| Men in La Crosse form a Toboggan Club, 1885 |
| Programs and scorecards from the Kenosha Comets |
| Milwaukee gymnasts take the world by storm in 1880 |
| The Black Hawk Country Club golf course nears completion in 1921 |
 | Memorabilia from the Milwaukee Braves, 1953-1965 |
| Baseball uniform of Wittenberg's own Bill Gates, 1922 |
| An Aqualand water ski used for slalom skiing |
| Brett Favre jersey, 2005 |
| "Red" Schoendienst's World Series bat, 1957 |
 | An 1897 bicycling guide to Wisconsin |
| Yearbooks from the Milwaukee Braves |
| Pre-season media guides to the 1966-1967 Green Bay Packers teams |
| Green Bay Packers Yearbooks from the Lombardi Era |
| Green Bay Packers game programs, 1939-1965 |
| A celebration of the Lombardi Era, 1959-67 |
| Bowling souvenir from the 1895 tournament season |
| A review of the 1878-79 curling season for Milwaukee and Portage |
| The Pneumatic, a progressive monthly paper for cyclists |
| The Oshkosh Base Ball Club from 1872-1913 |
| Yearbooks and scorecards from the Racine Belles |
| The sports and games of Indians |
 | Photographs of Wisconsin golfers |
| Photographs of Wisconsin bowlers |
| Memorabilia from the Green Bay Packers, 1944-1968 |
| Pictures relating to the Green Bay Packers |
| A women's curling team in Madison |
| A performance by members of the Madison Turnverein, 1939 |
| Images of baseball in Wisconsin, 1900-1965 |
.