Baseball Stitching Machine Projects
name: label: Collection Creator
content: United Shoe Machinery Corporation
setName: label: See more items in
content: United Shoe Machinery Corporation Records
label: See more items in
content: United Shoe Machinery Corporation Records / Series 5: Research and Development Department Records
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1949 - 1973
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0277, Subseries 5.12
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: This subseries contains documentation for three experiments to create a baseball stitching machine: EX#16002, EX#16116, and EX#16279. These three projects document experimental work in the area of baseballs, specifically of automatic controls, component inserting, and stitching. The objective of the experimental projects, according to a July 11, 1950 work request, was "to develop a suitable baseball covering equipment for mechanizing to the greatest practical extent both parts of the present discretionary hand lasting-lacing operation." The full development included an analysis of the hand procedure and how each portion of that work would be handled. The ball starts as a round cushioned cork center called a "pill," then is wrapped tightly in windings of wool and polyester/cotton yarn, and then covered by stitched cowhide. The process of assembling a baseball involves two types of workers: assemblers (who assemble the core parts of the baseball) and sewers (who stitch the cowhide covers onto the baseball by hand). There are 108 stitches in the cowhide leather of each ball, and each is done by hand.

Research personnel at USMC recognized that this development would be extremely difficult and expensive. Indeed, from July 1950 to November 1961, the total expense of the project was $343,000. In 1950, the economics of baseball stitching were detailed in a cost chart. The labor rate for lacing was fifteen to twenty cents per ball, with a production rate of five to six balls per hour. Clearly, mechanizing would increase the production dramatically.

The initial work order EX#16116 was opened to study and model work necessary to illustrate a method for preparing baseballs prior to stitching. A December 5, 1949 memo from W.L. Abel of the USMC Research Division stated that "very little consideration has been given to the mechanization of conditioning and preparation of baseball covers for machine stitching (this being the case both inside and outside the company). All attempts that we know of have been principally with the mechanization of the stitching."

Engineers at USMC broke down the problem into five areas: cover assembly (lasting); needle threading; start of stitching (anchoring the first stitch); stitching or lacing; and lastly, final stitching (final thread anchoring). Previous automated machines exhibited two serious problems: they were unable to start or stop the stitching process without manual assistance, and they were unable to vary the tension of the stitches. From 1950 to 1955, the basic model work was conducted, resulting in equipment which demonstrated the operations. In 1955, formal design and detailing were initiated to resolve existing engineering and design problems and to record, in drawing form, several pieces of equipment necessary to accomplish the overall objective.

The baseball stitching project was a team effort that involved,  Sidney J. Finn, who introduced the idea in 1949, Otto R. Haas, and Joseph Fossa.

In 1972, Robert H. Bliss, Planning Director of USMC, wrote to R.B. Henderson, Vice President of Research and Development at AMF Voit, "Our development program was curtailed in March, 1961 when the Baseball Manufacturers Committee of Athletic Goods Manufacturing Association declined to support further development, and our management made a decision not to further fund the program without industry support." Bliss further noted that the baseballs stitched on USMC's model machine "were more uniform in appearance than a hand-laced ball, but there was some speculation that a major league pitcher could tell the difference and would prefer a hand-laced ball." While the economics of the time were considered good, the company could not justify spending more money on the project. Other than increasing the company's knowledge in the area of stitching technology, there was little likelihood that a broad application would result.