Collection inventory

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James A. Ridlon Football Memorabilia

An inventory of his collection at the Syracuse University Archives

Finding aid created by: Emily Banach
Date: 2021

Revision history:

Biography

James A. "Jim" Ridlon is an artist and was a football player, coach, student, and professor at Syracuse University. Ridlon played on the Syracuse University football team from 1954 to 1956 and graduated with a bachelor's degree in sculpture in 1957. After college, Ridlon was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers and played there as a safety for six years. He was then traded and played for the Dallas Cowboys for two years before announcing his retirement in April 1965. That year, Ridlon returned to Syracuse University to receive a master's degree in sculpture, teach courses in what is now the College of Visual and Performing Arts, and coach the defensive backfield of the football team under Head Coach Ben Schwartzwalder. Ridlon retired from coaching in 1973 to focus on his teaching career and become a fully tenured professor at Syracuse University. He retired in 2000 as an Emeritus Professor. While working on campus and since then, Ridlon has become an internationally recognized artist and has had his artworks featured in museums, universities, and other collections around the globe. He has also won several awards in recognition of his artwork. Ridlon continues to work as an artist in his studio in New Woodstock, New York.

Scope and Content Note

The James A. Ridlon Football Memorabilia consists of buttons, pennants, tickets, and other memorabilia related to the Syracuse University football team. There are some particularly interesting items as well, such as a turtle shell with the 1927 season statistics carved into it, an intramural football sweater, and the handle of the shovel used at the Carrier Dome's groundbreaking ceremony in 1978.

The items in the collection were originally part of the "100 Years of Syracuse Football" display designed and constructed by Ridlon to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the football program. The display was installed in the Carrier Dome in 1989 and remained there until 2020, when renovations to the stadium called for the display to be dismantled. The collection contains only a portion of the original items that made up the complete display, but by the time of their removal many items had either been damaged over time or could not be removed from the glue used to attach them to the display's backing. However, the items in the collection still provide a valuable glimpse into the football tradition at Syracuse University.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

Please note that the collection is housed off-site, and advance notice is required to allow time to have the materials brought to the Reading Room on campus.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from the Syracuse University Archives and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

The University Archives holds a clippings file on James A. Ridlon as well as the James A. Ridlon Papers.

More records about the Syracuse University football team can be found in the Syracuse University Men's Football Collection.

Selected Search Terms

Names

Ridlon, James A., 1934-
Syracuse University -- History.
Syracuse University.

Subjects

Football.
Football players.
Higher education.

Types of Material

Buttons (information artifacts)
Footballs (balls for sports)
Memorabilia.
Pennants.
Photographs.
Sweaters.
Tickets.
Turtle shells.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

James A. Ridlon Football Memorabilia,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Transferred from the Carrier Dome to the University Archives in 2020.

Processing Information

Materials were placed in acid-free folders and boxes.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged alphabetically.

Table of Contents

Memorabilia

Inventory