1935 National League Spalding baseball ~ Canada

[Ribbens]

Came across this 1935 NL Spalding baseball made in Canada. I am interested in knowing more about these baseballs made in Canada from any baseball collecting experts.

[dspuria]

I collect blank balls but I don't consider myself an expert. I have a couple of Giles balls made in Canada that were produced before there were MLB teams in Canada. They are both in blue ink instead of NL black ink. Since there was no MLB in Canada at that time, they (i) were made for the retail market, and (ii) they didn't need to conform to the NL black/AL blue ink color conventions.

I believe that when MLB came to Canada, for consistency, they used the same Haiti/Costa Rica balls that all the US teams used. So all the Canadian made balls were for retail sale only (before and after MLB came to Canada).

Your ball seems to have the black NL ink, but it is 20 years older than my blue ink balls, so maybe they made them black back then.

The Canadian balls seem scarcer, which makes sense given Canadian demographics. But they seem to be worth about the same at US blank balls.

[Ribbens]

Thanks for this detailed assessment. I won this ball in an auction and expect it in my possession within a couple of weeks

[dspuria]

No problem. Nice pick up, congrats.