Autographed souvenir football from Grambling State University: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Autographed souvenir football from Grambling State University.

There is a seam going horizontally across the long side of the football. There are eight golden-yellow stitches in the center of the seam at the top of the football. Three of the four sections of the football are white. The front has a golden “G” Grambling State logo printed on it. It is signed by some of the players in black marker. Some of the signatures include Nicholas Powell, Dawrence Roberts, and Edward Patterson. The fourth section of the football looks like a typical football. It is brown and textured. It reads [Signature] in black script. The printed text below it reads [MADE IN / CHINA / B] and [INFLATE / 13 LBS]. There is a black rubber circle where the football gets filled with air. There is gold text below it. The text has a black outline and reads [SPALDING]. There are some marks, smudges, and areas of discoloration in several places.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2011
• Manufactured by: Spalding, American, founded 1876
• Subject of: Bayou Classic, founded 1974
• Subject of: Grambling State University, American, founded 1901
• Type: footballs
• Medium: leather, paint, ink, rubber, and thread
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 7 × 12 × 7 in. (17.8 × 30.5 × 17.8 cm)
• Place depicted: Grambling, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
• Place used: New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Athletes
• Topic: Football
• Topic: HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)
• Topic: Sports
• Object number: 2015.75.14
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Dottie Belletto
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: No known copyright restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.