The idea of a sports museum was born in the 1930s, when Kārlis Vītoliņš (1872-1953), renowned circus artist and jeweller, gave over his private collection of sports trophies and bicycles to Voldemārs Šmidbergs (1893-1975). After World War II, Šmidbergs, who worked as a photographer and collected sports relics as a hobby, exhibited several thousand testimonies about the history of sports in his private home. In the 1970s, the number of relics, such as posters, photographs, medals, cups and different sports gear, reached 10 000. In 1974, Šmidbergs bequeathed his collection to the future Sports Museum.

Latvian Sports Museum was formally founded on 1 January 1990. Since 7 February 1992, the museum has been located in Alksnāja Street, Old Rīga, the part of the Old Town comprised of 16th to 19th-century residential buildings and warehouses.

On 14 November 2018, Latvian Sports Museum acquired a new display – “The Hall of Fame of Latvian Olympians. Gold. Silver. Bronze”. We are proud of the past century of achievement by Latvian athletes – Olympic, World and European champions. At various points in history, over 600 Latvian Olympians have won 94 Olympic medals in gold, silver and bronze in the summer and winter Olympics, representing both their nation and their country. With this exhibition, contributed to by all sports enthusiasts and the International Olympic Committee, we pay homage to our Olympians from the distant Stockholm to the modern Games in Rio de Janeiro and Pyeongchang. The display is publicly available until autumn 2021.