As collectors of vintage collegiate material, we are always on the lookout for interesting collections of material. What we find fascinating are the specific areas of focus and the depth to which collectors can build their expertise.

Antique sports collector has agreed to let us share their extensive collection of Cornell memorabilia, including nice sports related items, including baseball, football and crew programs and pictures:

The picture of the early Cornell athlete on the right shows a student wearing a "letterman sweater," which were given out to those who played on the school's varsity teams. 

Below, a nice collection of rare Cornell mugs:

Crew and rowing related items are some of the most desirable for the Cornell collector. As the university itself notes, "The Cornell Crew was also referred to as the Cornell Navy, or rowing team, but should not be called the crew team." Especially prized are items from the tenure of Charles "Pop" Courtney, who coached the Cornell Navy from 1899 to 1916 and won 14 intercollegiate championships during those years. He was considered the greatest collegiate coach of his time, across all sports. Crew was a major sport during this era and some 50,000 people would show up to the annual intercollegiate races in Poughkeepsie, New York.

The crew member pictured below is F. D. Colson, who rowed during the late 1890s for the Cornell Navy. He would go on to coach crew at Cornell and Harvard:

A nice vintage picture of scrappy Cornell athletes wearing various uniforms. We presume the "AA" stands for Athletic Association.

A very rare (probably 19th century) Cornell pennant:

A game ticket from one of college football's most renowned rivalries, played on Thanksgiving Day at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. The 1898 game was only the 4th one played at Franklin Field and an unused ticket in this condition is very rare.

Befitting Cornell's early status as a crew powerhouse, many early items depict the Cornell Navy:

A nice selection of vintage Cornell pins and Cornelliana:

Our congratulations to Joe Kirschner who has amassed one of the most impressive collections of Cornell materials in the world.