The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1959-12-25
Scientists PrOUe
Baseball Cures
BY Lou Fabro
Times Sports Editor

Spring baseball practice is still some months away
but the diamond sport is a year-round discussion topic.
Having settled this little matter, let's talk about a
vital aspect of the game-the curve ball.
WHEN KIDS ARE old enough, they love to throw
the baseball hard. Their next greatest ambition is to
throw the ball so that it will curve.
In facf, when a y~oungsfer aceomplishes rms skill
ful task, he becomes somewhat of q celebrity among
his buddies who beseeeh him TO teach them no" to
throw a curve ball.
authority announced to the world that a baseball
doesn't curve. This source declared that the ball
travels in a straight path and what batters, pitchers,
catchers and everyone else saw was an optical Illusion
Their eyes we're Just playing tricks on them.
WELL, EAR READER, you can imagine the
shock this statement caused, especially when others
(also in "authority'0 expressed the same opinion,
After all, these fellows we're experts and who would
think to question experts? Don't these expert fellows
ever make mistakes?)
At any rate baseball players, fans and others
struck back at these experts. From the highest ranking
major Lacquer to the kid down at the corner, came
severe criticism of these experts. No doubt about 1t,
these experts had struck out as far as players and
lovers of baseball were concerned.
However, The only proof that players could pre-
sent was what they saw. And the means OF obtaining
this proof the players eyes were being attacked
as unreliable.
Well, after a proper amount of discussion, this
big controversy sort of died.
EARLY THIS PAST SEASON. a fellow by the
name of Hoyt Wilhelm of the Baltimore Orioles, was
capturing the headlines with his "knuckle ball" also
called a "flutterball."
The ball was doing such weird things when Will
helm fired it, that not only we're the batters b~efuddled.
but the Baltimore catchers nearly wore themselves out
trying to snare it.
1T WASN'T LONG after Wilhelm's performances,
that several articles appeared in newspapers and maya
zines about scientific studies being made on the curv-
ing ball. Results of these studies: the ball does curve.
Professor FINN. Brown, head OF the aeronaufieaf
engineering department at the University of Nofre
Dame, NOT only proved The ball does curve, but how
much under different circumstances.
WHAT MAX THE ball curve? Well dear reader,
it's a force called the "Magnus" effect. This force gets
its name from German scienticst Heinrich G. MagnuS
who advanced a theory 100 years ago to account for
the curved flight of a cannon ball.
THE THEORY: when an object moves through
the air, certain factors cause the air to move faster
across one side of the object than the other. Since air
is lower on the fast" side, the object will bend in that
direction.
Professor Brown proved this effect with the use
Of a wind tunnel. Direction of the wind, relation Of
the baseball seams to the wind and other factors de-
termine the amount Of curve.
incidentally, Professor Brown made his study on
eurving basebslls as a part of his research on missile
design for the government. Other scientists have made
similar studies with the same results.
So kids when the friendly warm breezeS Of spring
come again, YOU can practice throwing curve balls
with the confidence that a baseball does break"