They dominated their sports. They championed their country, race, or sex. They helped others to achieve. The names are instantly recognizable: Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King, the 1980 United States Hockey Team, Lance Armstrong. On and off the playing field, athletes have broken records for themselves and broken barriers. But he greatest champions stand for more than the records they break: They change the way we think about our world.

Sports: Breaking Records, Breaking Barriers brings sports history together with American history, examining how sports illuminate and transform a society, changing lives, affecting politics, fueling the economy, and shaping the culture.

Hank Aaron's Milwaukee Brewers uniform (3). He wore this uniform to finish out the last two seasons of his career. In photo six (6) it's a prototype roller skate from 1860, invented and patented by James L. Plimpton (5), and a rubber swim fin designed by Owen Churchill (4).

Seven (7), eight (8), and nine (9) belong to the greatest boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.). It's the robe he wore while training for his 1974 "Rumble in the Jungle" and autographed it in 1976. Over the span of 21 years, some of the milestones Ali achieved include an Olympic gold medal (1960), his first heavyweight title (1964), his refusal to serve in Vietnam on religious grounds for which he was stripped of his title (1967), his vindication by the Supreme Court (1970), his recapture of the title (1974), and a third title victory (1978).

Next up, is an autographed baseball (11) signed by Jackie Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1952, the year they took the National League pennant. Robinson was the first African American to play baseball in the Major Leagues. Geese Ausbie’s uniform is in photo thirteen (13). "Geese" was a member of

the Harlem Globetrotters for over 20 years, I still remember seeing him live when I was a kid.

In his 15 seasons with the Yankees, Babe Ruth and his team won seven pennants and four World Series. "The Sultan of Swat" hit more than 40 homers per season in 11 seasons, a record never equaled and 60 in one season. Before he retired in 1935, Ruth hit 714 career home runs, a record few players have even approached. The baseball pictured (14) was signed by Ruth and 26 other Yankees, this ball was a get well gift for Elliot Spencer, a young neighbor of the Yankees' manager.

Brian Boitano, Olympic Gold Medal Skater at 1988 Calgary Olympics, donated the skates (17) that he wore for all three events (compulsory, short program, and long program). While over in photo nineteen (19) is Sandy Koufaxs left-hander's glove during his career with the Dodgers. Pelé’s New York Cosmos uniform (21) from 1976. Pelé, the world's greatest soccer player in the world's most popular sport, joined the Santos soccer team in Brazil at the age of 15. He led the national team to World Cup championships in 1958, 1962, and 1970. With dazzling skill, speed, and ball control, Pelé set every scoring record in Brazil.

Finally, is the belt (23) that belong to heavy weight champion, John L. Sullivan. The “Boston Strong Boy” toured the world defending his title and burnishing his image. This son of poor Irish immigrants rose above the prejudice of his day, and his celebrity demonstrated a national shift towards the acceptance of Irish Americans.

Though boxing was illegal in most states, the press-savvy Sullivan won fans from every walk of life, including the president of the United States. At the high point of his career, Sullivan's supporters bought him a diamond-encrusted belt which was presented to him by the mayor of Boston. "The Great John L." lost only one of his nearly 50 career fights, falling to James "Gentleman Jim" Corbett in 1892.