The Chicago Athletic Association Collection contains a number of governance records, including bound volumes of minutes from Board of Director meetings and annual reports dating back to 1890, committee meeting minutes, as well as bound ledgers with financial records.

Other financial and legal records include income statements, contracts, deeds of trust, safe deposit box records, and files regarding trademarks owned by the Association.

The collection also contains documents related to the Association’s acquisition and sale of art, largely oil paintings.

Additionally, the collection boasts a large number of membership materials. These include bound volumes of membership registers, as well as membership resignations and several binders addressing Association privileges and conduct.

The collection also contains typed correspondence, brochures and programs and historical information about the Association, as well as life membership records.

There is an extensive collection of member photographs dating back to the late 1890s.

Unique to the collection are materials related to Olympic athlete and Association member Joie Ray. These include a poster created in support of Ray, a scrapbook with newspaper clippings of his athletic achievements, photographs, race programs, his Association membership cards, a National Track and Field Hall of Fame certificate from 1976 and one of his race uniforms.