Photographs
“If any section of this online museum is more important than another, it has to be this one. The equipment and history are great, but I don’t think anything is more important than seeing the players in action. The photographers were able to capture the essence, the excitement, and the feeling of what was going on during the early days of our sport. Much different from today, the players of yesterday revealed much more emotion and were much more diverse.
You will find that most of the photos were taken by Art Shay in black and white. Art is a Hall of Famer photographer that captured our sport in its early years. We are truly indebted to Art for his great work and allowing us to share his photos on our museum.
I grouped the photographs into, what I believe is, four fitting categories.
- Historical Photos are ones that provided the framework for what is now called Racquetball. People and equipment that took our game to the next level will be found in here. You will discover our founder, Joe Sobek, in both this category and the iconic category. Pictures of our first National Champions and the first portable court will also be included in this section.
- Iconic Photos are ones that need their own category. There are not many but these are ones that I feel will go down in racquetball history as truly game changing. You will certainly find the most famous player of all time, Marty Hogan. You will also notice a picture taken by Art of Jerry Hilecher flying through the court that brought Racquetball to the national interest level. Dr. Bud Muelheisen and Charlie Brumfield will be immortalized in this section.
- Women Pros will of course include all of the great women players that helped shape the sport. Expect to see the top-notch players Peggy Steding, Shannon Wright, Lynn Adams, Jan Campbell, and more.
- Men Pros will include multiple photos of the most amazing players such as Dr. Bud Muelheisen, Charlie Brumfield, Steve Keeley, Jerry Hilcher, and Marty Hogan, along with many more.
- Photos of Interest will show the wide and diverse history of racquetball. There will be pictures from all of the different eras that we enjoyed. It will consist of the great personalities that really brought a lot to our sport. It will show new players how the sport has evolved and hopefully one day they will become a part of our history.
These pictures that capture our sport in a moment in time are to be enjoyed by all. It will take some time to get them all online, so check back and see the updates as we will continue to go through the thousands of pictures we have to bring you the best of the best.”-Randy Stafford