I love this Wright & Ditson baseball, both for its graphics and for its place in the story of “the evolution of the baseball,” which has been a key theme of my collecting for 25 years.
Some background: In 1884, George Wright, former star of the Cincinnati Red Stockings, became an owner of the Boston franchise of the Union Association of Base Ball Clubs, a rival major league that named Wright & Ditson as the exclusive supplier of its official ball. When the Union Association folded after its inaugural season, so did Wright & Ditson's standing as a supplier of major league baseballs. The company was acquired some time prior to 1892 by Spalding, which continued to make baseballs using the Wright & Ditson name.
On a separate note, if you have a nice example of a Heydler ball from 1931-1933, please let me know.
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