Super Bowl Sunday and Smithsonian Football

   

Touchdown Tommy Brown

Courtesy Smithsonian Institution Archives


This Super Bowl Sunday many of us will be eating delicious greasy food, laughing at commercials and cheering for the team of our choice. In honor of this fun event, I thought I would pay homage to the Smithsonian’s very own Touch football team. So while you are cheering on the Steelers or the Packers, or picking a team randomly because your beloved Giants are playing golf, you could add a little historical fact about the Smithsonian when the advertisement you are watching is not that entertaining.   

 



Tommy Brown
Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution Archives

1980 was an exciting year of Smithsonian Touch football. The team headlined by returning MVP Tommy Brown of the Office of Protection Services, Zeff Richardson of Natural History, and Carl Wheatley of the Castle, had high expectations for the season. After finishing third in the Washington D.C. Recreation League’s 1979 Fall season, the Smithsonian Touch Football Team was eager for a fresh start. Hot off their strong showing in the Brothers’ Spring League, the team opened up the new season with a 13-6 win over their arch-rivals, the Howard University Hospital team. Brown, showed why he was the MVP by scoring the winning touchdown.  The team hit a rough patch in the middle of the season, but finished strong with huge wins over the teams from Howard University Hospital (13-0) and Georgetown University Hospital (26-0). The team ended up with a 4-3 record, looking forward to the next seasons’ challenges.

In addition to having a team, the Smithsonian has a large array of football related materials including this set of historical football images in the Collections Search Center. Enjoy the game!

Courtney Esposito, Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives.