Sports and museums go together like chicken wings and Earl Grey tea.
Bah, you could reasonably argue that halls of fame are museums in sheep’s clothing. Yet hall directors in places like Cooperstown, N.Y., and Canton, Ohio, know well the power of one word.
Hall? O come, all ye yokel.
Museum? Eggheady stuff.
I went anyway. To the Boulder History Museum, that is, to check out its newest exhibit. “Ready … Set … Boulder: Colorado’s Sports Mecca” opened Oct. 9.
The museum is located at the corner of 12th Street and Euclid Avenue, just a few blocks from the University of Colorado campus. I popped in Wednesday afternoon to find the exhibit occupying a two-room wing on the main floor.
At first glance, I thought I’d gone astray. A sports exhibit with scant reference to a ball? Alas, Hooters without the … er … chicken wings.
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| Courtesy / Scott Schumaker |
| Boulder History Museum executive director Nancy Geyer: “These are all Olympic and world-class athletes that actually came to our opening event Oct. 9. We had about 25 of them who ended up coming to the opening,” which drew 230 people. “It’s definitely been a draw for people to come and visit,” said Geyer. |
I should have seen this coming, I thought. Having taken classes at CU, I knew more than a few folks in town marched to the beat of a different conguero. Boulder’s elite athletes are no different, I quickly learned, and the exhibit soon had me changing my tune.
In an experience that broadened my concept of sports, the exhibit celebrates not only great achievements, but also the great outdoors.
Skiing. Rock and ice climbing. Running. Kayaking. Cycling. These are just a few of the sports — with only the sun for a ball — that are honored at the display.
“There are so many different kinds of sports,” said Boulder History Museum executive director Nancy Geyer. “So we focused more on individual-type sports — so not team sports. Not CU, football teams and things like that.
“Outdoors — because that seems to be part of what, I think, draws people and draws athletes to Boulder. The climate here is just so conducive to being outside and being active. And a lot of the elite athletes come here to train. So the other thing is the altitude, which is also really conducive to that.”
The exhibit, which Geyer said was “about a year in the making,” culled contributions from the region’s athletes as well as local businesses.
“There are 68 Olympic athletes that live in Boulder County,” said Geyer, and “equally as many world-champion athletes.”
Among the exhibit’s attractions: a bike Tyler Hamilton rode during the 2003 Tour de France, the red Raleigh bicycle of Connie Carpenter (who in 1984 became the first American cyclist since 1912 to win an Olympic medal) and the gear Frank Shorter wore during his gold-medal performance in the marathon at the 1972 Olympic Games at Munich.
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READY … SET … GO!
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The exhibit not only celebrates locals’ athletic achievements, but also sports-related events and businesses that have sprung in the area in recent decades. There are photos and relics from the now legendary 10K road race, The Bolder Boulder, which The Bank of Boulder president Steve Bosley started in 1979 with 2,700 participants. There are photos and relics from the Red Zinger Bicycle Classic Race, which was started by Celestial Seasonings in 1975 and morphed into the Coors International Bicycle Classic five years later. And there are design-stage sketches from 1982 of a ski-race sweater by Spyder, a Boulder-based company that has been an official supplier to the U.S. Ski Team since 1989.
So, if you find yourself in town, mosey on over to the Boulder History Museum for a buffet-style taste of the region’s sports history. If nothing else, you’ll gain an appreciation for how far the tools of the sporting trade have come.
For instance, imagine a turn down the slopes of Eldora in a 9 ½-foot pair of skis. Imagine navigating a Columbia high-wheel bicycle (circa 1889) down University Hill. I, for one, can’t imagine walking a mile in Shorter’s Adidas.
An online exclusive that runs each Friday, Wide State of Sports examines the memorable, less visible and lighthearted aspects from the High Plains to the Western Slope. DenverPost.com sports producer Bryan Boyle can be reached at bboyle@denverpost.com.
From the columns
“The Denver Post game of the week will head slightly out of the area for a Saturday matchup that will decide the 1A South Central championship. It will be two-time defending Colorado champion Limon, winner of 34 consecutive games, vs. Byers at 1 p.m. in Strasburg between the Nos. 1 and 8 teams, respectively, in The Denver Post/9News 1A poll.”
From the mailbags
“The Broncos believe they have more talent on defense, more patience on offense and more stability on special teams this year. There is also more depth on both sides of the ball.”
From the message boards
“We lost the Giants game when … the offense failed to capitalized on the Champ Bailey interception. … What a failure that was, I mean come on, the defense gives you the opportunity to put the game away and you go three and out?!?!?! I mean come on!” — mattDVM2000
From the online exclusives
That was fast. To review the Chicago White Sox’s sweep of the Houston Astros, click the image. You’ll find a blog from AP sports writers, interactives and photos. For more on the Sox’s first World Series title in 88 years, check out Denver Post staff writer .
A look back
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| AP / Dave Martin |
| “One great sports moment, or era, I would love to see featured is the back-to-back football championships accomplished by coach Joe Glenn and the . Much like the great games between CSU, Air Force and Wyoming, there is some great college football happening in Greeley.” — Brian Crandall, Evans |
