The American Museum of Natural History’s “For the Win: Objects of Sports Excellence” exhibition will open May 15, featuring famous jewelry and trophies in sports history. The Philip F. Anschutz MLS Cup Trophy, won by New York City FC in 2021, will be on display. (Image courtesy of New York City FC)
New York—The American Museum of Natural History is hosting an exhibition to highlight some of the most famous pieces of jewelry in sports history, including Super Bowl and NBA Championship rings.
“For the Win: Objects of Sports Excellence” will open May 15 in the Melissa and Keith Meister Gallery, within the Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals.
The exhibition will feature championship rings, trophies, medals, and jewelry from legendary athletes and teams over the last nearly 150 years.
It shows how sports prizes have evolved over time, from traditional medals and trophy cups to elaborate rings.
There will be more than 70 objects on display from more than 15 sports, including basketball, baseball, football, soccer, tennis, boxing, and golf.
Highlights include one of Jesse Owens’s Olympic gold medals from the 1936 Summer Games in Berlin. He won four gold medals that year in a moment that went down in Olympic history.
Visitors can also see an Olympic torch from the 1968 Summer Games in Mexico City. It was the first time a woman, track and field athlete Enriqueta Basilio of Mexico, lit the Olympic cauldron.
Baseball fans can see Yogi Berra’s Babe Ruth Crown, which was awarded to him in 1975 for his lifetime batting achievements with the New York Yankees.
Yogi Berra was awarded the Babe Ruth Crown in 1975 in honor of his lifetime batting achievements with the New York Yankees. (Credit: Alvaro Keding and Daniel Kim/AMNH)
Seen here is the New York Liberty 2024 WNBA Championship ring. Breanna Stewart’s ring will be on display at the exhibition.
The ring opens to reveal a pair of earrings.
The Brooklyn, New York-based basketball team partnered with Jason Arasheben, founder and CEO of Jason of Beverly Hills, and Brooklyn-based designers Dynasty Ogun and Soull Ogun of L'Enchanteur, to create the championship rings.
Kevin Durant’s 2017 Golden State Warriors NBA Championship ring will also be there. It marked his first NBA championship win for which he earned NBA Finals MVP.
Football fans can see Justin Tuck’s 2008 and 2012 New York Giants Super Bowl rings, which feature diamond-set Vince Lombardi trophies.
Justin Tuck’s 2012 New York Giants Super Bowl ring (Credit: Alvaro Keding and Daniel Kim/AMNH)
Several trophies will be on display as well, including one of the National Football League’s Vince Lombardi trophies, crafted by Tiffany & Co. since 1967.
The Philip F. Anschutz Trophy, Major League Soccer’s highest honor, awarded to New York City FC after its 2021 title win, will also be there.
Ali Krieger’s 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup medal, representing one of her two championship wins with the U.S. National Team is also featured in the exhibition.
Katie Ledecky’s 2025 Golden Goggles Award, presented by USA Swimming after she was named “Female Athlete of the Year" for a record tenth time, will be there.
Boxing fans can see Claressa Shields’ 2019 WBO Middleweight Championship belt, inscribed with her nickname, “T-Rex.” Shields is the first female boxer to hold all four major world titles and the first American boxer to win consecutive Olympic gold medals, in 2012 and 2016.
Claressa Shields’ 2019 WBO Middleweight Championship belt will be on display as well. (Credit: Alvaro Keding and Daniel Kim/AMNH)
“Every object in this exhibition honors what it means to be great, what it means to win,” said Tobak.
“A ring, a medal, a trophy—each one marks the moment an athlete, a team, a dream defied the odds and made history. For the Win invites us to look closer at the things we've made to honor greatness, and what we find is the story of modern sports itself.”
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Boardroom CEO Rich Kleiman, NBA star Kevin Durant’s manager and co-founder of Thirty Five Ventures acted as senior advisor. Kate Kiseeva, associate curator in the Division of Physical Sciences, is the curator of the Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals.
“I grew up an obsessive sports fan on the Upper West Side. To be able to play a part in putting this exhibit together in walking distance from my childhood home is a true honor,” said Kleiman.
“The American Museum of Natural History is iconic, and this exhibition has been a perfect collaboration in the celebration of winning at the highest level in sports. I’m excited for people to experience it.”
Entry to the exhibition is included with general admission. It is designed and produced by the museum’s Exhibition Department.
For the Win will open ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026, which will take place in June, and kicks off “World Cup, World Cultures: Celebrating the Community and Science of Sport,” a series of programming at the museum.
"For The Win brings together an extraordinary collection of objects that commemorate the defining moment of victory in sports, meticulously crafted from spectacular gems and minerals, and explores how athletics can resonate far beyond the field of play,” said AMNH President Sean M. Decatur.
“With the excitement of the World Cup building, the exhibition will also mark the launch of a series of fun, interactive experiences at the museum that enable visitors to engage with the science, global community, and culture of sports.”
There will be two additional spaces offering all-ages interactive soccer activities and media installations that highlight iconic moments in global sports history.
There will also be live FIFA World Cup match viewings, hands-on educational programs that explore the biomechanics of athletes’ performances and the cultural significance of sports, and a block party.
The schedule of events will be available on AMNH’s website.
