One thing Victorian America had quite a lot of was "outdoors." Small wonder, then, that Victorian outdoor sports and recreations tended to be on a larger scale than those of Britain. While Americans enjoyed sporting events such as football and baseball, American recreations also included such activities as canoeing on the Hudson, ice-boating, and hunting all manner of game in the wilderness.

Field Sports in Minnesota (Scribners, 1879B)

Ice-Boating in America, by F. Foster Long (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1883)

Americans at Play, by Edward Eggleston (Century Magazine, 1884B)

Camp Grindstone, by Henry Eckford (Century Magazine, 1885B)

A canoeing meet at a vacation camp in the Thousand Islands of the St. Lawrence River.

Cross-Country Riding in America, by Henry Cabot Lodge (Century Magazine, 1886B)

The American Game of Football, by Alexander Johnston (Century Magazine, 1887B)

Riding in New York (Harper's Monthly, 1887B)

Baseball for the Spectator, by Walter Camp (Century Magazine, 1889B)

The Summer Exodus, and What it Testifies (Century Magazine, 1889B)

The massive summer exodus from the city to country hotels and resorts suggests an improvement in the financial health of the nation, says this author.

Track Athletics in America, by Walter Camp (Century Magazine, 1890B)

Football in Armour, by Charles Emerson Cook (The Strand, 1897A)

A look at American football costumes of the 1890's.

Ice Boats and Ice Boating, by Beckles Willson (Cassell's, 1900)

Baseball, the American National Game, by Albert G. Spalding (Drapers' Self-Culture, 1913)

See also:

• Hunting in America

• Victorian Pastimes & Recreations