Credential card with lanyard used by the family of Special Olympian Marty Sheets
Social Media Share Tools
Object Details
- Description (Brief)
- Family credential card with lanyard is a white plastic card with "FAM" on the front. This was used by a member of Marty's family at the 1999 Special Olympics World Games. A purple lanyard is attached to the top of the card with purple plastic hooks and has several metal sponsor pins attached to it. This credential card was issued to each athlete and family member to provide access into the Special Olympic World Games and related events.
- Marty Sheets was born with Downs Syndrome in 1953 but through Camp Joy, a camp for kids with intellectual disabilities, he found a love of sports. Invited to participate in the first International Special Olympic Games in Chicago in 1968, Marty formed a life long bond with founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Over the course of the next 40 years Sheets won over 250 medals while competing in golf, swimming, Alpine skiing, tennis and power lifting. His favorite sport was golf and In 2006, he was the PGA’s national volunteer of the year for his work at the Wyndham Championship in his hometown of Greensboro, N.C. He is also included in the portrait of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and other Special Olympians which now resides in the National Portrait Gallery collections.
- From its beginnings as Camp Shriver in Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s backyard, to the first international games in 1968, Special Olympics has been about giving people with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to participate in sport. This participation builds confidence, provides emotional support and offers social opportunities for the athletes and their families. With state chapters and a global presence through its World Games, “Special Olympics is the largest sports organization for people with intellectual disabilities with 5 million athletes in 170 countries worldwide.”
- Location
- Currently not on view
- 1999
- ID Number
- 2017.0134.21.02
- accession number
- 2017.0134
- catalog number
- 2017.0134.21.02
- Object Name
- special olympics credentials
- credential card with lanyard, special olympics
- Physical Description
- plastic (overall material)
- metal (overall material)
- fabric (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 21 1/2 in x 5 in x 3 1/2 in; 54.61 cm x 12.7 cm x 8.89 cm
- See more items in
- Culture and the Arts: Sport and Leisure
- Sports & Leisure
- National Museum of American History
- level of sport
- Special Olympics
- Amateur
- Record ID
- nmah_1854723
- Metadata Usage (text)
- CC0
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b3-8f87-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.