The Complete History of Baseballs and Their Development

by Richard Janvrin, July 09, 2025

While we see the neat, standardized white balls used in Major League Baseball games today, baseball balls weren’t always this pristine.

We may spend time on the top baseball betting sites to wager on MLB games, but one thing we certainly take for granted is the development and history of baseball balls.

From balls being amalgamations of melted shoe rubber wrapped in yarn and leather to those made of cork, rubber, and natural cowhide or horsehide, the production and history have changed significantly.

When was he first baseball made? What was the first baseball made of?

Below, I’ll examine those two questions, the history of baseballs, including the 1800s, Spalding and Rawlings, the “dead-ball era,” “live-ball era,” and more.

• The 1800s and Spalding
• Dead-Ball Era
• Live-Ball Era
• Mid-20th Century and Standardized Specs
• Rawlings Boom
• Global Baseballs
• Modern Day Baseballs

The 1800s and Spalding

The history of baseball can be traced to about the late 1850s. Shoemakers like Ellis Drake (and later, William Cutler and Will Harwood) popularized the figure-8 stitching that’s still used on baseballs today.

The stitching consisted of sewing two leather pieces together, known as the “saddle.”. Having this strong cover made it ideal for baseball to sail better.

The first factory-made baseballs came in 1858 in Natick, Massachusetts. The evolution of baseballs was happening rather quickly.

Then, in 1876, the new National League adopted A.G. Spalding’s design for its official ball. Spalding was a pitcher who later became an entrepreneur.

The rubber core became a staple in baseball for decades in the 19th century, and by the 1890s, 116 stitches per ball were commonplace.

Dead-Ball Era

If you look up “baseball ball history,” you’ll find that between about 1900 and 1920, this was known as the “Dead-Ball Era” in baseball. It was known as this due to the incredibly low number of home runs hit. Pitchers have the upper hand thanks to Spalding’s rubber-centered ball, which simply did not travel the way we see balls today.

Between 1901 and 1910, teams averaged less than four runs per game, and barely any homers were hit.

In 1910, balls were “secretly” switched to a cork-centered core.

With this change, offenses saw a brief spike, but pitchers then learned ways to doctor the baseballs, such as spitballs, scuffing them up, and more.

No two baseballs were the same, and it was common for years that games still used the same ball throughout each game.

Then, in August 1920, pitcher Carl Mays struck shortstop Ray Chapman. This led to the shortstop’s death, resulting in baseball banning doctored pitches and requiring that balls be replaced regularly. This was a dark day in baseball ball history.

From here, offenses in baseball were back up, and we went into the live ball era, marking a massive evolution of baseballs.

Live-Ball Era

During this era, baseball underwent significant changes. Manufacturers began winding balls tighter with machines and with high-quality Australian wool yarn. This all began in about 1920.

As a result, balls were tougher and denser. This meant when a batter connected, it would fly off the bat that much harder.

By 1925, teams averaged more than five runs and nearly 0.5 home runs per game.

The ball policies differed by league, but by 1930, Major League Baseball had 16 teams combined for a batting average of .296 and 1,565 home runs.

However, in 1931, the National League made a quiet change to a slightly heavier yet tighter ball to slow the “oomph” that came off the bat. Batting averages and home runs dropped in 1931 compared to 1930, but the American League balls favored hitters still.

So, both leagues were under the Major League Baseball umbrella but using different types of balls.

Mid-20th Century and Standardized Specs

Up until 1934, the two leagues used whatever kind of balls they wanted, but then Major League Baseball began standardizing what balls were used.

It was official: the new ball had a “cushion cork” center. This meant it was a cork core wrapped in layers of red and black rubber. There were also four plies of wool yarn, a layer of rubber cement, and a horsehide leather cover.

The composition of baseballs has remained largely unchanged since this period. The history of baseballs has seen very few changes since.

There were some changes, though, due to shortages including during World War II. This was due to a shortage of rubber. Instead, balls used balata for the outer shell. Batting averages waned massive with this change, but there was no choice.

Another change came in 1974. The white cover went from horsehide to cowhide due to a horsehide shortage.

Rawlings Boom

During the 1976-77 season, Major League Baseball switched from Spalding to Rawlings after 100 years together.

That partnership remains and this marks a massive evolution of baseballs.

The balls are made in Costa Rica and follow this formula: cork-and-rubber pill, several layers of yarn, and tightly stitched cowhide.

Each ball possesses 108 double stitches (216 total).

Global Baseballs

Beyond Major League Baseball, there are other professional leagues, such as Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). That league has used multiple manufacturers, but that changed in 2009.

In 2009, Mizuno became the go-to manufacturer of NPB balls. These balls are slightly smaller, with lower seams and slightly worse leather.

There’s also the KBO in Korea. The league allowed teams to use different types of balls, but that has since changed to a single supplier. These balls are different than both the NPB and MLB.

Modern Day Baseballs

The overall design of baseballs today in 2025 remains mostly the same since, meaning baseball ball history has been relatively the same since the 1930s. However, in 2019, due to a surge in home runs, there were some adjustments, including the winding tension and seam height. This was due to some manufacturing errors. A study was done on the balls to determine they weren’t juiced intentionally. The 27-page reported concluded that inconsistent baseball seam heights and hitters focusing more on launch angle led to the massive surge in balls sailing for home runs.

Also, teams like the Colorado Rockies use humidors to store balls and reduce bounce in high-altitude games.

In 2019, over 6,700 home runs were hit. In 2021, the next full season of play, there were just under 6,000.