1858.60

Natick MA Company Introduces the "Figure 8" Base Ball Stitching

Salience	Noteworthy
Tags	EquipmentEquipment
Location	New EnglandNew England
City/State/Country:	Natick, MA, USA
Modern Address
Game	Base BallBase Ball
Immediacy of Report	Retrospective
Age of Players	AdultAdult
Holiday
Notables
Text	"In 1858, H.P. Harwood and Sons of Natick, MA (c/o North Avenue and Main Street) became the first factory to produce baseballs. They also were the first in the production of the two-piece figure-eight stitch cover baseball, the same that is used today. The figure-eight stitching was devised by Col. William A Cutler and a new wound core was developed by John W. Walcott, horsehide and then cowhide were used for the cover."
Sources	From Eric Miklich, “Evolution of Baseball Equipment (Continued)” By Eric Miklich at http://www.19cbaseball.com/equipment-3.html, Accessed 6/21/2013
Warning	Peter Morris' A Game of Inches finds other claims to the invention of the current figure 8 stitching pattern. See section 9.1.4 at page 275 of the single-volume, indexed edition of 2010.
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External Number
Submitted by	Richard Hershberger, John Thorn, Eric Miklich
Submission Note	19CBB Posting, 6/21/2013
Has Supplemental Text

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