2024 Holiday Gift Guides: Gifts for the Sports Fan
We've rounded up our favorite gifts for your favorite sports fan! Surprise them with vintage football posters, autographs from their favorite players and coaches, rare books, or sport collectibles to decorate the home and office. From golf, baseball, and football, to hunting and fishing, we have something special for everyone on your list- no matter the sport!
“Harvard Radios vs. Princeton Aviators” Vintage War Effort Poster, Circa 1918
This is a very scarce WWI Work Relief Fund college football poster featuring the Harvard Radios competing against the Princeton Aviators. The game, held on November 23, 1918, was a benefit football game to raise money for the war effort. The poster dynamically depicts two football players mid-action. Below, the names of the teams are printed in yellow, with the date, location of the game, and ticket information printed in contrasting white. The Harvard Radios, composed of both Harvard and Boston College students, were victorious over the Princeton Aviators 28-0. Such a cool find, this poster is handsomely presented in a leather-wrapped frame.
Walter Johnson Signature Collage
This is a really impressive and attractive piece of baseball memorabilia. This collage features a typed letter signed by baseball’s Walter Johnson, a reproduction scorecard from the 1924 World Series, and a photo of Johnson in his uniform. All elements are framed and matted together in a custom-built frame. Walter Johnson was one of the original "Immortal Five", the original inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936. An impressive and accomplished athlete, he established numerous pitching records, some which still hold today.
The Crack Shot; or, Young Rifleman's Complete Guide by Edward C. Barber, Illustrated, 1868
This 1868 printing of Edward C. Barber’s The Crack Shot; Or Young Rifleman’s Complete Guide offers young readers instruction and guidance on rifle shooting, for hunting and sport. It has detailed lessons on American and foreign rifles, American and European breech-loaders, how to choose, use, clean and care for a rifle, target practice, and the use of hounds in hunting. Barber also covered the tactics used for hunting specific game, with individual chapters for bison, moose, caribou, deer, and turkey shooting.
Exclusive to The Great Republic, this Leather Golf Log allows you to capture the meaningful details of each unique golfing experience. With it, you can record where you played and who you played with, the weather you played in, course difficulty, and most importantly, your score for each hole. A more detailed round summary at the end of each entry helps you evaluate your game, least and favorite holes, and your round highlights. Small enough to fit in your pocket or golf bag, this Golf Log can go with you anywhere– always on hand to help you to capture and encourage more golfing outings.
Knute Rockne Autographed Letter Collage
Presented is a typed letter signed by one of the greatest football coaches of all time, Knute Rockne. Dated October 20, 1927, this signed letter is typed on Rockne’s personal letterhead and was written while coaching the Fighting Irish in Notre Dame, Indiana. Thanks to Rockne’s coaching efforts, he established the school as a major player in college football. In his 13 years as the leader of Notre Dame, his teams went 105-12-5, making his .881 winning percentage one of the highest in history. Rockne introduced the box formation and influence blocking, and made the game more exciting for spectators with a strategy that emphasized deception and speed. Fans of Notre Dame and Knute Rockne will all go crazy for this piece of college football history.
The Bicester & Warden Hill Fox Hunting Print, Signed by Frank Algernon Stewart, Circa 1935
This 1935 print by Frank Algernon Stewart depicts one of England’s most famous fox hunting events, the Bicester and Warden Hill Hunt. Beginning in the1790s, the Bicester and Warden Hill Hunt has attracted frequent visits from royalty, dukes, ambassadors, and top tier hunters for centuries. Stewart’s renderings of horseback hunts are some of the most celebrated and collected in the world.
The Compleat Angler was first published in 1653. Izaak Walton continued to add to the original book for a quarter of a century. Though intended in part as a practical guide for fishermen, the lasting influence of The Compleat Angler stems from its qualities as a work of literature: it is arguably the best long prose-pastoral in English. The discourse between Piscator and Venator as Piscator teaches Venator how to bait a hook, catch varied species of freshwater fish, and cook them, is enriched with songs and poems, folklore, recipes, anecdotes, moral meditations, quotes from the Bible and from classic literature, and lore about fishing and waterways. Published in 1887 by Chatto and Windus in London, this beautifully bound volume was the fourth edition to be edited by Sir Harris Nicolas and is ready to gift to your favorite fisherman!
"A Difficult Bunker" by Douglas Adams, Photogravure, Circa 1894
For the golfing fan, consider this handsome photogravure of "A Difficult Bunker" by Douglas Adams. "A Difficult Bunker" is one in a famous trio of three paintings depicting the links at the Conwy Golf Club, in North Wales. The other two in the series are titled "The Drive" and "Putting Green." Adams decided to paint the series after a trip to the golf course to Wales in 1893. The three paintings, completed in 1893, were published as photogravures the next year, 1894, by Henry Graves & Co.
