In 1993, skeptics said Richard Hendricks wouldn’t be able to fill the building.
Now, sports memorabilia surrounds visitors of the 13,000 square foot Oklahoma Sports Museum, leaving little of the cement, brick and woodpaneled walls visible.
Even in the men’s room.
The museum in downtown Guthrie, also known as the Territorial Capital Sports Museum, houses one of Oklahoma’s finest collections of autographed, game-worn and unique historical sports items.
Former OKC Thunder player Steven Adams’ game-worn shoes are on display. The orange size 18’s fill an impressively large section of a rectangular glass case. There are Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant jerseys. Autographed jerseys of three Heisman Trophywinning OU quarterbacks hang from wooden beams in the ceiling.
There are old objects, like a 1940 baseball used in the first night game held at Polo Grounds in Manhattan, New York. Young items such as a CC Sabathia-signed baseball are nestled with yellowed baseballs bearing Jackie Robinson or Ted Williams’ signature.
Memorabilia pervades almost every inch of the building. Three mustardyellow metal sports lockers hold supplies in the men’s room. They seem straight out of the Hoosiers movie.
The newest addition preserves the recent history of one of Oklahoma’s most dominant teams, the 2022 Oklahoma softball team.
“We’ve been fortunate to have national champions,” Hendricks, the museum director, said. “Patty Gasso has done a tremendous job at OU. When they had back to back championships, I went to Patty and I said we need some things. We got some things from them last year and then they added to that this year.”
A game-used Sooner batting helmet from the Women’s College World Series, complete with dirt and scratches picked up on USA Stadium’s championship field. Blue bats that Jocelyn Alo, the Sooners’ star, used accompany the helmet. Museum visitors can see the bat’s sweet spot with smudges of unfortunate softballs plastered on it.
Autographed WCWS softballs and a visor Gasso autographed are also on display. All were used in games early last month.
Hendrocks says getting new items is a common occurrence. He already has some Jackson Holliday items on the way for an exhibit on the Stillwater product picked No. 1 in the MLB Draft two days ago. There is a spot next to Holliday’s father Matt’s St. Louis Cardinals jersey.
“We’re looking every day,” Hendricks said. “Every week we add to our displays.”
When Hendricks, 81, and others see something notable in the Oklahoma sports scene that would benefit from being in a museum, they reach out to players and coaches. Hendricks went to the WCWS in OKC to watch the championship series and, like many donors, Gasso was receptive to requests.
“It’s been a labor of love and labor of dedication to get this kind of stuff put together,” Hendricks said. “But one of the main things is to save the sports history of Oklahoma.”
Starting in 1976, Hendricks coached basketball at Guthrie High School. He was an assistant coach in baseball and football as well. He said the museum contains many items that even lifetime Oklahomans do not expect to see.
“You’ll be amazed if you look through here of how many people have Oklahoma ties,” Hendricks said. “Either born in Oklahoma, live in Oklahoma or went to college or university here and went all the way professional.”