The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-06-03
MAKING 4 BASEBALL
New tbs Regulates Professional Sphere
II Put Together.
MAJ York etsn

al
Now ths Regulates Psossssssnai sphere
u Pat Together.
New York Sun.
Del Seen the regulation bas eball OF today
snd We s0ft ball Of quarter OF century
go tneTe u - greats difference n between
sne Old stage coach and the modern loco
motive. Among the best-known OF base
Dali cFsnks and rooters 1t the ball games
tnefe are not few who remember how
tney nsed TO unraysi their mothers WOODEN
stockings to get material for winding .
Dali and how they went 70 the village shoe
maker and got him to cut out with
Ms knife four pieces OF leather to
sew on Tor . cover. Waxed ends
we're used 10 sew the four pieces
q leather on the ball. and the
boy who had y poll with the shoemaker
and could get him to sew on the cover. was
the most popular boy In that section OF the
country. Afserward came different stv IL
o. cover. which vas supposed 10 obviate
the tendency to rip. noticeable in the older
etyie on account OF the sharp points of the
leather sections Finally came the pattern
OF today, with curving edges SO gracefully
rounded that when firmly sewed il seldom
tears loose.
The building Of . League ball /, a most
careful and skillfuI Job, and il requires 4
nice Judgment TO follow accurately the
League rules e. TO the measure and weight
while the ball Il IN proceas OF building. II
must weigh exactly i've ounces and meas
ufe nine inches In circumference--no more
and no iess-otherwisc some cranky Official
or club vii kick and make his kick re-
specsed from the retailer back 10 tins lob
Der and the manufacturer The workssop
70 basebsli mandatory Is not tidy
place. The prettiest sight about il is that
q barrels Of balls ready for packing and
looking like some kind OF immaculate fruit
IN market stall. One of the most noted
baseball manufactures IL in Dey street. On
the door Of the third floor in the rear is
the legend. mo admittance.
Let MS step inside and watch the work.
man build ball. He is a quick, nervous
American. one OF many who stand beside
the windows at n funny little apparatus
which does duty as . work bench. IL is an
upright standard OF hardwood. wais; high
70 the workman. and about six inches
square 1t the top. In the top Of the stand
ard u . cup like the half Of sphere. 1t Is
not ~ large ss . baseball. Beginning the
building OF = ball the workman takes from
IN old peach basket full Of rubber spheres
one Of the little globes. II Is the nucleus
Of the ball. Il Is made in this country by
rubber company expressly for basenais.
years ago, the rubber balls we're
Imported from England, but there
Was complaint that the rubber was
too dense, and an American rubber COM
pany. after many experiments, made a
solid rubber ball with . liveiier rebound
than the imported. The rubber balls are
run into moulds like old-time musket balls.
and, - with them, . rim Is left around the
ball bv the failure Of the sides
Of the mold to exactly 1T together. The
rubber bali in his left hand the workman
holds Is ~ the ends Of his fingers. aud TAX
ing m end Of blue wooden yarn he winds il
on the ball with . motion Of his right hand
20 rapid that you cannot follow it, while
with the left hand, rs the ball grows larger,
he turns IL 80 slowly one way and another
that the ball can scarcely be seen 10 re-
volve. As the ball grows larger il is worked
down from the finger tips into the hollow
OF the hand The yarn Is the old fashioned
blue stocking yarn, and the players will
have blue yarn or they kick. Why they
the natural wool Is white. IL is bought by
the manufacturer ia lots OF o.oo0 or 1900
pounds.
Now the workman shows the use of the
standard with its cup-shaped hollow
Every minute, or sometimes every few
seconds, he puts the growing ball on the
standard aud with wooden mallet, fiat
ball. turning il about IN every way as he
hammers IL 10 make the bail more solid
the yarn Is dampened.
The bali Is approaching eight inches in
circumference, and he knows bv long prac-
ticc when he has wound enough yarn to
give II this circumference. The ball must
be eight inches In circumference. including
horse-hide cover. The horse hides are
bought In sides and In lots of 30 or 800.
The hind quarters of the sides. however,
are cut OF before purchase, ~ the skin is
too heavy for use in base balls.
For League balls the finest parts of the
side OF leather are selected. IL Is tanned
especially for the making of baseballs i'm
way 10 make the leather tough so that the
stitches will not break out The cutting is
not done by hand. liz Is done with steel
die, and boys work AZ nothing else all day
bat with q die and maIlrt over bench
aud leather. When the builder OF the hail
begins bis work he throws forty or ~
stamped pieces Of leather into tuo OF
water. The leather must he wet through.
so that when il dries IL will be as tight ~
the bark to a tree aud as hard as iron. The
workman takes two OF the curious shaped
rieces. fits them together over the bali 80
that the edges meet. and with . three-cor-
nered needle similar TO that used by
raovers. and threaded with Irish linen
thread, he begins anywhere an the seam
the circuit of the sphere.
The chunk is laid away 10 dry. The best
makers let them lie weeks TO dry. but the
workmen will take mp one Of the dry
chunks and finish a bali for us. He winds
the horse-hide covered ball with blue again
until il approaches the reputation siss.
Then GENES the last winding With camel's
hair thread. imported for the purpose.
The thread is dampened. and 10 winds far
more tightly around the bal than the finest
silk. The pounding of the ball Is continued
until il Is supposed 10 be heavy enough and
large enough. To make sure that the rules
are eeing observed, the workman from time
10 time Puts the ball into scale, something
ike q scale for Mitigating letters. The scales
hang on the side OF the window.
The final process of building Is putting
on the last coveF. IL Is necessary that the
cover shall he dsmpeneu. and about the
process Of dampenlng the workman says
there il = secret. and you mustn't ask him
how il is done. The cover mast be damp
enea so A. 20 stretch on tightly. and not
toe tightly. II IL is soe damp 10 wtll Re
spotted and went be pretty. The sewing
i With either red or white Irish fax linen.
mos; of the players preferflng red. III a
hail were cut through the middle IL would
hook like the the accompanying cat After
sewing on the cover there remains only
the wrapping Of the ball In tissue rare-
and afssrwara in finfosi and finally the
s,asksar III i. in sion, paper which il COM
forsahgy Its
haIl costs 10 1chbers 81 50 al retail
The manufacturers sell them Tor $taSo y
dozen. Its estimated BY Mr.. Brock. OF
Rrork & SON, manufacturers. that s. 30 40
is a small estimate on the amount spent
every year in this country on eAste&iis>
Trey are seat To South America. Austria
in, the West Indies and Canada. and an
active trsde has reeeasly srruns up with
GERMANY This il the busiest time at base