Baseball

Application filed Decenilel- 24, 132'6. Serial No. 156,949.

This invention relates to baseballs of the type that are known commercially as “official league” balls.

Balls of the kind referred to consist of g a spherical-shaped core surrounded by a wrapping or layer of tightly wound yarn, which, in turn, is encased in a leather cover, the core usually consisting of a small ball constructed of solid rubber or cork, or a 10 solid spherical-shaped cork member encased in a rubber shell. Due to the fact that such a core is relatively soft, it is the general practice in winding the yarn around the core to start the winding operation with 18 yarn maintained at a sufficiently loose tension to prevent the core from being squeezed out of its original spherical shape, and increase the tension on the yarn as the winding operation proceeds so as to .impart the 20 proper degree of hardness to the ball and make it of the proper weight and size.

One serious objection to a baseball constructed in this manner is that the relatively loose yarn immediately adjacent the core 25 and the relatively soft or easily compressible material from which the core is constructed, permits the core to shift slightly, deform or tend to flatten when the ball is struck a blow with a bat, thus throwing the ball out ₃₀ of balance.

Another objection is that the ball is apt to become soft when in use, due to the uneven tension of the yarn and the shifting or deformation in the shape of the core, and .,₅ still another objection is that the relatively soft core absorbs so much of the shock which the ball is subjected to when it is struck with a bat, that the full force on the ball is. not utilized to produce the result which it is desired to obtain, i. e., speed and great distance.

I have discovered that if a baseball of the general type mentioned, i. e., one having a body portion constructed principally from 45 tightly wound yam or other suitable fibrous material, is provided with a core, which, in addition to having some resiliency, is also relatively hard, that the above-mentioned inherent objections of the conventional “official 50 league” ball now in general use are overcome.

To this end I have devised a baseball which is distinguished from conventional baseballs:

(1) In that the spherical-shaped member 55 at the center of the ball is formed from a relatively hard and practically incompressible substance that has some resiliency; and (2) In that the fibrous wrapping which surrounds the core is of uniform density 60 ' throughout its entire area and is wound around the core with a uniform tension throughout the entire winding operation.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate the preferred form of my invention, 65 and in which Figure 1 is a view of the complete ball in elevation and Figure 2 a cross section on the line 2-—2 of Figure 1. A designates a solid, spherical-shaped member that constitutes the center of my improved 70 ball, which member is constructed from material that has a high degree of hardness and also some resiliency. One material that I have discovered to possess these two characteristics is vulcanized sponge rubber, sub- 75 jected to pressure or treatment so as to make it very hard, and accordingly, I prefer to construct the center member A of the ball from vulcanized sponge rubber, treated so as to make it hard. , In the preferred form _soof my invention, as herein illustrated, the center member A is encased in a shell B of pure gum rubber that is vulcanized around the member A, but I wish it to be understood that my broad idea is not limited to ₈₅a baseball provided with a core of this exact construction. A layer or wrapping C of yarn or other suitable fibrous material is wound tightly around the core of the ball so as to produce a ball of the proper size, 90 weight and degree of hardness, and in the winding operation the yarn or other material that is used to constitute the wrapping C is maintained at a uniform tension throughout the entire winding operation so 95 that this portion of the ball will be of uniform density throughout its. entire . area. The fibrous wrapping C is encased in an outer cover D which usually will be formed from tanned horse hide or some other suit- xoo able flexible material.

A baseball of the construction above described will retain its hardness, due to the fact that the fibrous wrapping immediately

1,671,237 adjacent the core is of the same density throughout its entire area; it will not lose its balance or shape, because the core cannot shift out of position, and is so hard that it 5 wilLnot deform or tend to flatten when the ball is subjected to a sharp blow, and it will travel a greater distance and at a higher speed than the conventional “official league” ball, on account of the fact that very little 10 of the shock or blow to which the ball is subjected when it comes in contact with a bat is taken up or absorbed by the core of the ball which the fibrous wrapping surrounds.