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Basketball Game and Original Box
Basketball Game and Original Box

Basketball Game and Original Box

Original Owner (American, 1907 - 1972)
Date1940s
MediumBasketball game (a-c): White metal, with red, yellow, black, green, blue, and brown paint. Box: Cardboard printed with yellow, black, red, green, and blue ink.
DimensionsComponent (height x width x depth of game): 9 5/8 x 6 1/4 x 12 13/16in. (24.4 x 15.9 x 32.5cm)
Component (height x width x depth of box): 1 1/8 x 12 1/4 x 7 1/4in. (2.9 x 31.1 x 18.4cm)
ClassificationsEquipment
Credit LineGift of Robert Grant Irving
DescriptionBasketball game and original box. The game consists of three metal parts: a base (a); a backboard (b); and a basket or hoop (c). The base has a metal shooting arm at the front end; the cup that would hold the basketball is missing from the arm. The opposite end of the base has a red rubber knob on which the back board is inserted vertically. The backboard is a narrow red cylinder attached to a rectagular piece that is painted yellow with red trim. A slot in the center of the rectangular portion allows the red basket to be inserted.

The base (a) is painted with a red background. A green star over a black circle is in each corner of the background. Within the red area, two young men in basketball uniforms jump for a basketball within a black-painted key. The man at left wears a yellow jersey with the number "8" on it, a yellow belt, green shorts, brown kneepads, red socks, and green shoes. The man on the right wears a red jersey with the number "10" on it, blue shorts, brown kneepads, yellow socks, and red shoes. The man on the right reaches his right arm over his head; he controls the basketball with his right hand. The end of the key, behind the yellow foul line, is printed with a white "B" in a rectangle. Printed in white letters around the rectangle is, "MADE IN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / BY BALDWIN MANUFACTURING CO. Inc."

The box is a single piece of cardboard open at each short end, so the game can be slid in and out. The background of the box is yellow. A black section running along the bottom is printed "BALDWIN" in yellow letters and "Basketball" in red letters. Above that section, the box top has a scene of a basketball game in action. Two players wearing yellow "STATE" jerseys play against two players wearing red "BALDWIN" jerseys, with a referee at left. A Baldwin player had just scored a basket, as the ball drops through the hoop at right. Fans are in the bleachers in the background. The narrow sides of the box are printed with black circles, each with a different basketball player inside. The underside of the box is printed with instructions at left, a diagram of the game illustrating shooting in the middle, and scoring rules at right.
Object number2000.61.6a-d
On View
Not on view
The Newman S. Hungerford Museum Fund, 2006.93.16  © 2008 The Connecticut Historical Society.
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