Free to Use and Reuse: Athletes
Athletic skill and talent are essential in many physical sports, games, and artistic performances. This selection of rights-free pictures highlights athletes in more than forty different professional and recreational activities. All pictures are from the Prints & Photographs Division unless otherwise credited.
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Althea Gibson, U.S. and Wimbledon tennis champion, gives some pointers on the game. Photo by Ed Ford, 1957 -
“Ball play”—Choctaw stickball, forerunner of lacrosse. Book illustration by George Catlin, 1844. Rare Book and Special Collections Division -
Auto polo. Photo by Bain News Service, 1910-1915 -
Soccer game, San Pedro, California. Photo by Ken Light, 1989. Italian Americans in the West collection, American Folklife Center. -
Cornelius Johnson, winner of the gold medal at the 1936 Olympics, in a high jump -
Pair figure skating. Photo by Angelo Rizzuto, 1953 -
A mountain biker at the Winter Carnival in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2016 -
Rowing Squad, Columbia. Photo by Bain News Service, 1908 -
Men and women climbing Paradise Glacier, Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington. Photo by Curtis & Miller, 1910s -
Equestrian: Ann Taylor on a horse as it jumps over an obstacle, Colorado. Photo by Toni Frissell, 1967 -
Sumo wrestlers. Photo by Stillfried & Andersen, about 1877 -
Athletes wrestling. Photos by Eadweard Muybridge for "The Attitudes of Animals in Motion," 1881 -
Gymnastics: Athlete with wand, National Turn Verein, Newark, N.J. 1894? National Audiovisual Conservation Center -
Acrobats: Adam Forepaugh and Sells Brothers, America's greatest shows combined. Circus poster by Strobridge, 1898' -
Cycling: Orient quad, 1898. -
Curling in Central Park, New York. Photo by Byron, 1900-1906 -
Hiking: Anvil Rock, Alaska. Photo by Lomen Bros., 1900-1930 -
Hammer thrower, Yale. Poster by Edward Penfield, 1908 -
Women fencing at Professor O. Malvido’s. Photo by Bain News Service, 1908 -
Lacrosse. Photo by National Photo Co., 1909-1923 -
Boxing: Jack Johnson, 1910 -
Diving, Annette Kellermann, Fifth Avenue Theatre, New York. Poster by Frederic G. Cooper, 1910s -
Race car driver Joan Newton Cuneo. Photo by Harris & Ewing, 1910s -
Sam Luzofsky (one leg) and Lon Young (one arm) boxing, 1910s -
Horse racing: Jockey Danny Maher. Photo by Bain News Service, 1910s -
Football player Jim Thorpe. Photo by Harris & Ewing, 1910s -
Army rifle shooting, Olympic games, Stockholm, Sweden, 1912. Photo by Bain News Service -
Polo. Photo by Harris & Ewing, 1915 -
Field hockey: Vassar College, 1915 -
Japanese wrestlers. Photo by Bain News Service. Photo by Bain News Service, 1915-1920 -
Archery meet, National Archery Tournament, Jersey City, New Jersey. Photo by Bain News Service, 1916 -
Gymnastics. Formal exercises are just as essential for the maintenance of the health of those who have lost their sight as for those who see. American Red Cross, 1919 -
Surf riders, Honolulu. Woodcut by Charles W. Bartlett, 1920 -
Tom Armour wins U.S. golf title by defeating Harry Cooper. National Photo Co., 1927 -
Alice Marble playing tennis at Forest Hills, New York, 1937 -
Student with recreational director during basketball game, Prairie Farms, Montgomery, Alabama. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott, 1939 -
Bowling. Clinton, Indiana. Photo by Arthur Rothstein, 1940 -
Volleyball, “Manzanar Relocation Center,” California. Photo by Ansel Adams, 1943 -
Rita Phillips, majorette. Photo by Wm. C. Greene, 1939 -
Cricket: One man with a bat and the wicket keeper on a cricket pitch. Photo by Harris & Ewing, 1920 or 1921 -
First American Olympic ice hockey team, 1920 -
Women competing in low hurdle race, Washington, D.C., 1920-1930 -
Hawaiian swimming team at Wardman Park Pool, Washington, DC, 1924 -
Woman playing golf. Photo by Theodor Horydczak 1930s or 1940s -
Greenbelt, Maryland. Handball courts behind the swimming pool. Photo by Marjory Collins, 1942 -
Judo: Various forms of wrestling were favorites at the centers. Photo by Signal Corps, U.S. Army, 1942 -
Baseball: Front cover of the Jackie Robinson comic book, with Robinson wearing a Brooklyn Dodgers cap, 1951 -
Dance: Alvin Ailey. Photo by Carl Van Vechten, 1955 -
Skiing at Aspen, state of Colorado--Travel a new world--See the U.S.A., 1962 -
Babb Indian Rodeo, Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana. Photo by Tom McBride, 1979. Montana Folklife Survey, American Folklife Center -
Karate class, Korean School, Silver Spring, Maryland. Photo by Lucy Long, 1982. Ethnic Heritage and Language Schools in America Project, American Folklife Center