Baseball ID Help

[thecatspajamas]

Okay, so the title was mainly to lure Brandon in to pick his brain, but if anyone else can help as well, please chime in:

I've got a couple of "miniature" baseballs (approx. 2-1/4" diameter if I'm eyeballing them right) that I picked up on the cheap and am having trouble dating them due to the wear and flaking shellac on each. On other mini baseballs I've had, the printed markings matched up to their regular-sized counterparts, so I'm hoping that is the case here as well.

First one is a Reach, and the second is a Spalding, possibly dating to the same time period as I picked them up as a pair.

And no, I did not perform the aftermarket paperweight transformation. I've seen a couple of others in the past with gaping holes in them, and now I know why :(

[steve B]

That's really neat.

Are you sure the paperweight bit is aftermarket?

Here's why I ask.
I can't think of a use for a mini baseball other than decorative. Even for autographs it seems odd especially given the age.

I have a similar track and field item. It's a pencil holder made from a section of fiberglass pole vault pole. The side is printed with the history of the pole vault record up to when it was made. It was given to my father by a sporting goods dealer when he coached High school track and field. I haven't looked at the dates, but for sure before 73, and probably 1960's when fiberglass poles were fairly new.

So maybe the paperweight is a salesmans giveaway?

Steve B

[thecatspajamas]

I don't think they were manufactured as paper weights. For one thing, the bases are very generic and free from any markings. And in the case of the Reach ball, attached to the ball a bit off-center. I could be wrong, but I have seen more of them in their unmodified state than repurposed.

I haven't yet seen a definitive write-up of their original intended purpose, but have always taken them to be promotional items of some sort, not intended for game use of any sort (unless maybe midgets with mini bats...?) I've had 3 different recognizable specimens in the past (Frick, Harridge and Cronin) along with a couple that were either unmarked or had been played with enough to wear the markings off. These are somewhere in between, with just enough of the markings showing to tantalize me :p

[BrandonG]

Hey Lance, very interesting pieces here. The Reach ball I have seen before, but not as paper weights. The markings should be a bit smaller and the sweetspot stamp appears to be a William Harridge 3 star which would date it within the 1945-1959 range. Even though it is the older style Reach logo on the bottom (1910's) it is a later ball.

The Spalding ball is very interesting in the fact that the bottom logo is the Spalding logo used in the 1890's. I'm not saying it's that old, just interesting they'd go back that far. From the little bit of stamping left on the sweetspot it appears to be a Giles ball and would fit the same era of your Reach ball.

All of that being said, looking at the quality of the stitching, type of thread, and the punch holes in the horsehide I would date them to be early 1950's. Some people say these miniature baseballs were salesman samples, but I do not agree with that, especially having the stamping different. I think they were just promotional giveaways, novelty gifts, or simply just a paperweight! :D

Hope that helps!

[thecatspajamas]

Brandon,

Even more info than I had hoped for. Thank you very much for the help, and as always, looking forward to the book!

(Maybe then I'll only have to bug you about every other unusual ball I come across...)