This early homemade baseball, commonly referred to as a "belt" or "belted" ball, is so named due to the design of the stitching, which resembles an "H" in the center. Normally comprised of just one strip of leather, the offered "belt" ball is a variation of that design and was crafted using four separate pieces of leather, with cross seams between the traditional figure-eight stitching. In the late 1850s, the National Association of Baseball Players changed the standard specifications of a regulation ball. The new rules required that the baseball weigh 6.25 ounces (up from the previous standard of 5.5 ounces), and have a circumference of 10.25 inches (as opposed to the earlier measurement of 9 inches). The offered ball measures a bit more than 10 inches in circumference, but weighs just 4.6 ounces, which might indicate that it is a transitional sphere from the time. The ball displays considerable wear, including a number of abrasions, but the brown leather remains supple, and all of the lacing remains intact. In addition to employment during baseball's formative teen years, this ball type is also cited as having been used in the earlier game of Town Ball, which was part of baseball's evolutionary trail. This is both an outstanding and rare relic dating from the adolescence of our national pastime.


Opening Bid $500.