"Football! The Exhibition" at Reagan Library June 6, 2015 through January 18, 2016

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Football! The Exhibition opened June 6, 2015 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.  Running through January 18, 2016, Football is a 5,000 square foot exhibition featuring over 600 artifacts, including some of the rarest, historic and iconic football memorabilia in the country.

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The exhibit displays remarkable artifacts from the legends of the game, as well as sections on the LA Rams, USC and UCLA, and scores of other historically important players and organizations.  The exhibit is in partnership with Gary Cypres and the Sports Museum of Los Angeles.

Also featured are rare artifacts related to Ronald Reagan and football – from his days playing high school and college football, to memorabilia playing George Gipp in “Knute Rockne: All American,” to signed balls and jerseys he received while President, to his honorary Heisman Trophy – the first and only person to ever receive one.

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“I couldn’t play baseball, because I couldn’t see the ball good enough,” President Reagan remarked in 1981 at the opening of the Champions of American Sport Exhibition.  “That’s why I turned to football.  The ball was bigger, and so were the fellows.”

The exhibition showcases the glory days of football – from the first balls, helmets, and jerseys ever used, to bringing together iconic pieces of football history, such as the prototype for the Heisman Trophy, signed Lombardi Trophies by Super Bowl MVP recipients, and dozens of game-worn jerseys by the sport’s best.

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Featured items on display in Football! The Exhibition include:

  • Game-worn jerseys, some autographed, by football’s greats, including Peyton Manning, John Elway, Tom Brady, Kurt Warner, Drew Bledsoe, Joe Montana, Troy Aikman, Johnny Unitas, Terry Bradshaw, Brett Favre, Drew Brees, Dan Marino, Steve Young, Ben Rothlisberger, Joe Theisman, Eric Dickerson, Jim Kelly and Fran Tarkenton
  • Signed Lombardi Trophies from Joe Namath, Eli Manning, Bart Starr and more
  • Heisman trophies from Doug Flutie, USC’s Marcus Allen, and UCLA’s Gary Beban
  • Special sections featuring the Los Angeles Rams and the rivalry between UCLA and USC
  • Some of the first footballs, cleats, helmets, uniforms, and folk art as well as an unmatched collection of football cards and photographs of the astonishing athletes who played the game
  • And so much more

The Reagan Library is located at 40 Presidential Drive in Simi Valley.  Public hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.  The Museum is closed only on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Years Day.  For Museum Admission fees, please visit www.reaganlibrary.com.  Museum exhibit tickets may be pre-purchased at www.reaganlibrary.com/tickets.  For more information, call (800) 410.8354 or visit www.reaganlibrary.com/baseball.  

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