Wheelchair Sports Photographs Collection (c. 1969-1975)

Collection

Identifier: MSSP_10109

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection includes 438 photographs of international, state, and unidentified wheelchair sports competitions and unidentified wheelchair athletes in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Pictured competitions include the second biennial 1969 Pan American Wheelchair Games held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the 1972 Paralympic Games held in Heidelberg, Germany, the 1973 and 1974 third and fourth Ohio Wheelchair Games competitions, and several other unidentified competitions. Many different sports are documented in the collection including track and field, table tennis, billiards, bowling, swimming, archery, basketball, lawn bowling, fencing, and weightlifting. The collection includes images of opening ceremonies, medal ceremonies, and awards banquets. There are also candid images of athletes relaxing, talking, resting, and socializing between events. The photographs were taken by an unknown photographer or unknown photographers, and the individual athletes are not identified.

Dates

Creation: c. 1969-1975

Conditions Governing Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright status for collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Biographical / Historical

Wheelchair sports became popularized at United States Military hospitals after World War two as a means to provide physical education to injured veterans. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the popularity of athletic competitions for people with disabilities grew, and more people engaged in these sporting endeavors. Organized international, state, and local competitions became more frequent by the late 1960s and early 1970s.