This story originally appeared in  WBGZ Radio

A traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian is making the rounds in Illinois. It’s called “Hometown Teams”, and it focuses on the connection between local sports teams and their fans. Mallory Laurel, the coordinator for the tour for the Illinois Humanities Council, says each of the host sites will add their own local history to the national exhibit.

“There are a lot of really cool stories that are coming out of these towns. The local exhibits are really interesting,” Laurel said.

At the exhibit’s first stop in Cobden, the focus is on the 1964 Cobden Appleknockers basketball team, which finished second in the state’s high school basketball tournament.

“Fifty years later, we don’t even bother to say that we didn’t win,” said Judy Travelstead of the Union County Historical Society in Cobden.

The schedule:

• Union County Historical Society, Cobden: Through April 14

• City of Mattoon Tourism & Arts Department, Mattoon: April 19-June 1

• Bottomley-Ruffing-Schalk Museum, Nokomis: June 7-July 20

• History Museum of Monroe County, Waterloo: July 26-Sept. 7

• Rock Island Public Library, Rock Island: Sept. 13-Oct. 26

• Friends of Hancock County, Carthage: Nov. 1-Dec. 14, 2014

(Copyright WBGZ Radio / www.AltonDailyNews.com)

 requested. To reserve a seat, email the IHC at events@prairie.org.

For more information, contact Matt Meacham at (312) 422-5589 or mwm@prairie.org. Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site is located at 30 Ramey Street in Collinsville.