Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-07-09

, gagged more men for the work. Finally we
invented machine 20 wind the balls. That
saved time wonderfully In the old days.
when men wound the balls by hand. a fast
worker might turn out a dozen and a half
balls day, but never more than that.
Now we can wind several hundred balls
on one machine In an hour. And the old
balls we're mere beanbass by the side OF the
new, well-made article.
During the past thirty years we have
been constantly experimenting to improve
the base bali. That's a part Of the game
that neither the fan nor the player know
much about But MIR. Reach and my father
and have watched closely for years to find
out which kind Of bali the players liked
best and which kind the fans liked. And
we have found II is impossible to satisfy
them all entirely, Several years ago We
made the balls with rubber oenters. There
was some complaint because OF lack OF
hittine SO we started TO use a small piece
OF cork inside the rubber. Constantly we
changed the size both Of the rubber and
the cork eenters. Not year passed that
we aid not make some slight change
The "Cork'' Bali.
Last season we got out the cork ball We
are now making and they were used In
both the American and the National leagues
after August But you didn't hear much
about extra base hitting then. Now. this
year we have complaints from some OF the
pitchers Brown Of the Cubs told me the
other day he couldn't locate the plate with
locate the plate ne oughtn't to blame the
ball.
There IL no doubt. though, that the cork
center does increase hitting wonderfully In
one way. II player hits a grounder the
new ball acts about the same at the old
one 1t does not bound much faster or
harder as far as can see. But II the man
at bat hits a fly II travels farther That
accounts for the great number OF doubles
! triples and home runs this year. And why
shouldn't the ball be that way7 For the
past few years the crowds have been de-
msnding more hitting In the game and base
ban writer's have devoted columns to the
subject"
Here Mr., Shibe turned 10 a tray con-
tanning a dozen old balls. stained and
scratched, some with the covers ripped
| off He picked UP one Of the oldest of
them and said: There's one we used
several years ago The kind we make
| nowadays lasts twice as long and holds
its shape Whenever we get q new ball
we have the boys that work here try IL
out In the lots nearby to see how II wears
and the way II acts. You know a base
ball is delicate piece of mechanism. The
least change makes a big difference In It's
| behavior. The balls vary slightly in
weight from five to five and a quarter
ounces The difference is because OF the
difference In thickness OF the horse hide
| covers.
Now let us go through the factory
said Mr.. shibe, rising. Wen go to the
top Of the building. where you'll see this
| first stage in the making OF a ball"
The elevator moved slowly and when the
sliding door was at last thrown open
roar OF machines close by could be heard
Back OF each machine stood a dust-coy-
cred man skilfully winding. First the rub
ber-covered center. weighing one ounce, is
placed on machine. Swiftly IL revolves
and the gray wooden Irvine is wound around
II by the unerring machine. When il
! comes off It weighs three ounces Then It
goes to another machine. and an ounce
OF white Irvine is added and, lastly, a
change to gray Irvine is again made The
ball comes from the final winding machine
as hard as q bullet.
High and Low Priced Balls.
| III It happens to be a high-priced ball Il
is sent to the second floor OF the factory
/ r.
II is one Of the cheaper grades it goes
to the third floor. where women and girl
sewers do the stitching
Most OF the women sewers we're girls OF
Is or 20 years. Al long tables feminine
heads, blonde, brown and brunette. were
bent over their work. The balls were held
In little wooden vices and the girls. using
long. cleaning needles. drew the covers
neatly together. II takes from eight to
nine minutes TO sew a ball
On the second floor we found the men
at work. They sew a biz faster than ths
girls, finishing a ball In from seven to
eight minutes. Before the balls are sewed
they are weighed carefully TO the first
floor they go after they have been sewed
They are OF all sizes. ranging from six
inches IN circumference 10 nine and a
quarter inches the size of the league bali.
There they are carefully labeled by men
and boys, wrapped in tinfon and packed
In pasteboard boxes by a machine.
In the basement OF the factory the cheap
est balls are made by entirely different
methods The oenters are filled with
ground carpet rags In a pressure machine.
and slight amount OF string Is wound
about them. Then the covers are sewed
on by women, who take the balls homo
and do the work.
After We had gone through the factory
Mr.. shibe returned TO the office and con-
tinued the interview.
Each major league ball team uses about
100 dozen balls year. The home team
generally furnishes the balls Visiting
teams are supposed to carry balls with
them for practice. but they don't do IL.
The major leagues use comparatively
few balls when you consider the thousands
OF balls We sell outside There are five
cheap balls sold for one high-priced bail.
The boys and men who play in back lots
In che cities and towns throughout the
country buy thousands OF them every
year."-Philadelphia Record.