Tahko Pihkala Collection

Professor Lauri “Tahko” Pihkala (1888–1981) was an enthusiastic athlete, a jack of all trades in sport and the inventor of Finnish baseball. In 1946, Pihkala was nominated as a professor for his accomplishments in sport, and in 1969 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in sports science.

In his will, Professor Pihkala donated a collection of Finnish and foreign sports literature from the late 19th century to the 1970s to the Jyväskylä University Library.

The collection consists of literature on sport and body culture, political history, military forces and the Nazi movement as well as a unique collection of items from America. In the books, one can see Professor Pihkala’s reading habits as well as read the remarks he made in them.

Besides literature, Pihkala’s collection includes magazines and correspondence.

The Pihkala Collection is being catalogued to the JYKDOK online catalogue.

The Pihkala photograph and item collection is located in the Jyväskylä University Museum and archive material in the National Archives Jyväskylä.