1869.15
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
 |
| Prominent Milestones |
| Misc BB Firsts |
| Add a Misc BB First |
| About the Chronology |
| Tom Altherr Dedication |
| Add a Chronology Entry |
| Open Queries |
| Open Numbers |
| Most Aged |
Teams Hassle Over Choice of Game Ball
| Salience | Noteworthy |
|---|---|
| Tags | Equipment, The BallEquipment, The Ball |
| Location | Philadelphia, PAPhiladelphia, PA |
| City/State/Country: | Philadelphia, PA, United States |
| Modern Address | |
| Game | Base BallBase Ball |
| Immediacy of Report | Contemporary |
| Age of Players | AdultAdult |
| Holiday | |
| Notables | |
| Text |
"Over a quarter of an hour’s time was wasted in a dispute as to what ball should be played with, the Athletics insisting that a lively elastic Ross ball should be used, whilst the Cincinnatis claimed that as they were the challenging party, they had the right o furnish the ball, and therefore proposed to use a ball made expressly for them, of a non-elastic nature, by which they hoped to equalize any advantage that the Athletics might possess over them in batting. The dispute was finally decided by the Cincinnatis agreeing to play with the ball furnished by the Athletics, as it always has been the custom for the club on whose ground a match is played to furnish the ball." The game was Cincinnati vs. Athletic 6/21/1869.
|
| Sources | Philadelphia Sunday Mercury, June 27, 1869 |
| Warning | |
| Comment | Richard Hershberger explains (email to Protoball, 12/17/2021): "The elasticity of balls varied wildly in this era. Typically clubs that were better hitters than fielders preferred more elastic, i.e. lively, balls, while clubs that were better fielders preferred less elastic, i.e. dead, balls. This was a frequent source of dispute before games. The problem was eventually solved when the National League adopted an official league ball for all championship games." Edit with form to add a comment |
| Query | [] Was the official NL ball relatively elastic or relatively inelastic, compared to the range in available base balls? Were cricket balls, which had very similar dimensions and weights, more or less elastic than period base ball? [] Prior to the NL, was the convention that the home club furnished the ball? [] Were there many "championship games" in the early NL? Edit with form to add a query |
| Source Image | [[Image:|left|thumb]] |
| External Number | |
| Submitted by | Richard Hershberger |
| Submission Note | Hershberger Clippings Collection |
| Has Supplemental Text |
1869.15 Teams Hassle Over Choice of Game Ball"
Comments
<comments voting="Plus" />