The Joyce Sports Research Collection

The Joyce Sports Research Collection, named in honor of Notre Dame's Executive Vice President Emeritus, comprises all the University Libraries' sports related materials. These include a circulating collection of close to 10,000 volumes located on the upper floors of Hesburgh Library, and a non-circulating collection occupying 2,900 linear feet of shelf space in the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, 102 Hesburgh Library. Significant holdings also exist in Current Periodicals, (Room 111of the Hesburgh Library) and Microform (Lower Level); close to one hundred serial titles are currently received.

The Joyce materials in Special Collections include those items best housed in a closed, climate controlled environment, whether for reasons of format, fragility, or scarcity. While many types of materials are represented, including older monographs, manuscripts, photographic items, audio/video, and realia, the emphasis is on ephemeral printed matter — guides, programs, yearbooks, magazines, and the like. Subject emphasis is on modern American athletics, with the individual areas of boxing, baseball, football, basketball, wrestling, golf, and the Olympic Games being particularly well represented. The greatest quantity of materials derives from the years 1935-1970, though the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are well represented in specific areas. Among many specialized collections, several of the most noteworthy are the library, files, and memorabilia of the sportswriter Red Smith; the papers of the wrestling promoter Jack Pfefer; and the Winkler Collection of photographic materials on boxing.

The Joyce Collection as a whole functions as a resource for scholarly, journalistic, and grass-roots research; inquiries are always welcome, and may be directed to the curator of the collection, George Rugg.

Finding Aids to Joyce Collection Materials

Among the features of this website are guides to the Libraries' holdings in five subject areas: Baseball, Basketball, Boxing, American Football, and Wrestling. An important characteristic of these subject area guides is their inclusion of many materials not yet searchable in the University Libraries' Online Catalog. Consequently, patrons pursuing research on topics relating to baseball, basketball, boxing, football, and wrestling may profit by using this webpage as a supplementary finding aid, thereby ensuring that no significant Joyce Collection resources are overlooked. Guides for a number of other subject areas of strength will be added as completed; these will include General Athletics, the Olympic Games, Golf, Physical Culture, Ice Hockey, and Sports Journalism. For additional information on sports related searches in the University Libraries, see Subject Area Guides: Introduction and Search.

• Subject Area Guides: Introduction and Search

• Baseball Subject Area Guide
• Basketball Subject Area Guide
• Boxing Subject Area Guide
• Football Subject Area Guide
• Wrestling Subject Area Guide

Joyce Collection Exhibits:

• Autographed Baseballs in the Joyce Sports Research Collection

• Selections from the Harry E. Winkler Collection of Boxing Photographs

Names and Numbers: Contacting the Joyce Collection

Location: The Joyce Sports Research Collection includes materials located throughout Hesburgh Library. The Collection is administered from the Department of Special Collections, 102 Hesburgh Library, located at the west end of the library's first-floor concourse.

Curator: George Rugg (e-mail)

Address: Joyce Sports Research Collection, 102 Hesburgh Library, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556-5629

Phone: (574) 631-6506  |  Fax: (574) 631-6308

Hours: Those wishing to consult Joyce materials in the Department of Special Collections may do so between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday (except for the week between Christmas and New Year's). Patrons travelling to South Bend who anticipate spending significant time in Special Collections are requested to inform the curator in advance. Those wishing to consult sports materials outside Special Collections (i.e., in the circulating collection, Current Periodicals, or Microform) may generally do so evenings and weekends as well as weekdays.