These are artifacts from history': exhibition celebrates objects of sporting victory

Championship rings, medals, cups, and jewelry carry prestige and history that fans emotionally invest in for years. The hardware often remains out of reach, leaving bragging rights as the main reward. A new exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, titled For the Win, presents championship objects spanning nearly 150 years of U.S. sports history. Items include the 1877 NYPD Medal of Valor, Jesse Owens’s gold medals from the 1936 Berlin Games, and Breanna Stewart’s 2024 championship ring with diamond detailing and matching earrings. The display also includes victory photography and other talismans such as Joc Pederson’s pearl necklace from the 2021 World Series run.

"In sports, the ring is the thing and if not that then a medal, cup or some other decorative keepsake imbued with the history and prestige of a championship. Fans spend years emotionally investing in shiny baubles they'll likely never commune with beyond a fleeting glimpse at a victory parade or civic rally, even as these trophy quests shape their lives and identities. But in the end, bragging rights are the best they can hope for; the hardware itself remains out of reach."

"You're so used to seeing that moment of winning and holding up the trophy or medal, said Vikki Tobak, an author and cultural critic. You realize that they really are just proxies for this road to becoming great and being excellent at what you do and that is something we as human beings understand fully across all things and genres."

"A new exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, pegged to the upcoming World Cup, aims to give fans the contact high they've been missing. Titled For the Win, it showcases a selection of championship rings, trophies, medals and jewelry spanning nearly 150 years of US sports history. Highlights range from the 1877 NYPD Medal of Valor (whose interlocking N and Y are said to have inspired the New York Yankees' iconic logo), to one of Jesse Owens's four gold medals from the 1936 Berlin Games, to WNBA star Breanna Stewart's 2024 championship ring a diamond-encrusted jawbreaker that also houses a pair of matching earrings."

"Victory photography, most recently of the Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks, and other mystical talismans such as the pearl necklace outfielder Joc Pederson made fashionable during the Atlanta Braves' 2021 World Series run round out the exhibition."

Read at www.theguardian.com