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To celebrate FIFA World Cup 26 coming to Kansas City, the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum has put together a new exhibit that explores Truman’s love of athletics.
It’s called “United We Play": Kickin' It With the Trumans, and it highlights how Harry and Bess Truman were, in some ways, typical Kansas City sports fans.
“It's really great to tell that story that's a little untold,” Truman Library Director Mark Adams said.
The exhibit opened Wednesday and runs through the end of the year.
“The inspiration was certainly the World Cup and the countries that are coming to play here,” Adams said. “But once we started to look into that, we wanted to look at the connection that Harry and Bess Truman had to sports. They were both big fans.”
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Whether it was Harry’s effort to woo Bess through tennis, building a bowling alley at the White House, offering Chiefs Hall of Fame coach Hank Stram play-calling advice, or throwing out the first pitch at a baseball game, “all of them are featured in this exhibit. So I think there's something for everybody,” Adams said.
“Truman's bathing suit — that is amazing,” Katy Owens, who visited the exhibit Wednesday morning, said. “The hats, that's a lot of fun, and then the fishing stuff.”
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum loaned memorabilia from the Royals' visit to the White House.
“They presented Ronald Reagan with a jacket (and) a hat and a baseball bat was given to him by George Brett,” Adams said. “For the first time since 1985, those items are back here in Kansas City and on loan in this exhibit. We're really proud of that connection we have with the Reagan Library, and they look spectacular in this exhibit.”
The Chiefs, Current, Royals and Sporting KC also loaned pieces for “United We Play.”
“Our professional sports teams here in town have come through and loaned us some incredible artifacts that we're very proud to show off, opening our exhibit today,” Adams said.
The exhibit gives visitors a glimpse into Kansas City’s passion for sports, no matter who you are.
“I am very excited about the World Cup,” Owens said. “I love Kansas City sports. I follow Sporting Kansas City and the Current, so getting to see all of this in one place is fantastic.”
GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium will host six World Cup games — including Argentina’s group-stage opener, a Round of 32 clash and a quarterfinal — and four team base camps this summer.
“I've watched the World Cup over the years,” Owens said. “I'm excited for it to be in Kansas City. I'm excited to get to go to some games, even if they're not the teams that I traditionally root for. I'm so excited to get to be there and be part of it.”
Truman also seemed to understand the unique role sports diplomacy could play, occasionally entertaining visiting heads of state at sporting events. That includes Queen Julianna of the Netherlands, one of three teams with a base camp and at least one game in Kansas City this summer, along with Argentina and Algeria.
England will also base camp in Kansas City, while Austria, Curaçao, Ecuador and Tunisia play group-stage matches there.
“Finding those connections, the connections to the seven countries playing here in the World Cup, Truman had a connection to each one of those seven countries,” Adams said.
The new exhibit is included in the price of admission at the Truman Library and Museum.
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