Manufactured by

Wilson Sporting Goods Co., American, founded 1914

Worn by

Smith, Tommie, American, born 1944

Date

1968

Medium

synthetic fiber, metal, and cotton (fiber)

Dimensions

H x W x D (on form): 31 1/4 × 20 1/2 × 10 1/2 in. (79.4 × 52.1 × 26.7 cm)

H x W (flat): 30 × 19 in. (76.2 × 48.3 cm)

Description

A warm up tack suit jacket worn by Tommie Smith at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.

The jacket is navy blue and has a stand up for fold over collar made out of a rib knit fabric. There is a zipper down the center front of the jacket that can go all the way up the collar.

There is a 4" thick cuff on each sleeve and a 4" thick band around the bottom of the jacket, all made out of the same rib knit fabric as the collar. There are two red stripes going around both cuffs and the waistband, and two thite stripes going around each of the red stripes.

On the front of the jacket there is a white piece of rectangular fabric sewn on the upper waist area, 2/3 of it on the proper right and 1/3 on the proper left side. There is black text printed on the fabric. The numbers "30" are on the proper right side of the zipper and the number "7" is on the proper left side of the zipper. The words "JUEGOS DE LA XIX OLYMPIA" are printed in black under the "30" and the words "MEXICO 68" and the Olympic logo are printed in black under the number "7".

On the proper left side of the jacket there is a 1" thick 4" long pocket 3" above the waistband. There is a gold metal zipper. The letters "USA" are sewn on in red and white, going diagonally down the proper left upper chest area.

The same piece of white rectangualr fabric is sewn on the reverse of the jacket in the center of the upper back. The words and numbers are printed with black ink and read "307/JUEGOS DE LA XIX OLYMPIA MEXICO 68" with the Olympic logo.

There is a white manufacturer's label inside the jacket, below the collar. The words "Wilson/MADE IN U.S.A./M" are in red thread and the machine washing instructions are in black thread. There is another small white label with the letter "M" in black thread.

Place used

Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico, Latin America, North and Central America

Classification

Clothing-Historical

Type

jackets

Topic

Activism

Black power

Civil rights

Clothing and dress

Men

Olympics

Sports

Track and field

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number

2015.231.2.1

Restrictions & Rights

No Known Copyright Restrictions

Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

GUID

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd58295c007-bcd7-4783-a4cf-dadb6f0023c1