WASHINGTON, DC.- The Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum launches its new featured collection “Playing to Win: American Sports & Athletes on Stamps” on its award-winning Web site Arago at www.postalmuseum.si.edu/ARAGOSportsOnStamps.

Baseball has been considered the American pastime, but sports, in general, may have taken over that title. For the avid football fan or the fair-weather watcher, “Playing to Win” taps into the importance of sports in the popular culture of America. It features baseball heroes Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson, golfer Bobby Jones, boxer Joe Louis, tennis player Hazel Wightman, thoroughbred racehorse Secretariat and many others. Widely acclaimed coaches Knute Rockne and Vince Lombardi as well as Olympians Jesse Owens, Wilma Rudolph and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team are also highlighted.

In the spirit of the upcoming 2010 Olympic Winter Games, visitors to the Arago Web site can explore “Playing to Win: American Sports & Athletes on Stamps” to learn more about the sports and athletic activities Americans participate in and enjoy every day.

The National Postal Museum is devoted to presenting the colorful and engaging history of the nation’s mail service and showcasing one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of stamps and philatelic material in the world.