What is the cork ball?

As I drove down the country roads of southwestern Missouri, I couldn’t help but notice the hand-painted “Good Food” signs that began appearing on fence posts. These road signs kicked my imagination into overdrive and visions of “Deliverance” to “Ma and Pa Kettle” started spinning in my head, and the idea of ​​a big greasy burger with lots of fries falling off the sides of the plate, made me sick to my stomach. I had to stop.

The interior of Greasy Spoon, although furnished with 1950s-style tables and chairs, some metal corn fertilizer signs hanging on the walls, I couldn’t see the correlation between food and fertilizer, but the place was spotlessly clean and the few customers seated at the tables all offered a friendly smile.

I finished ordering my food, went to the bathroom to wash up, and there I saw the old black and white photos of men playing cork ball hanging on the walls of the hallway leading to the bathrooms.

“Where were those photos taken?” I asked the bartender.

“Right out there,” he said, nodding toward the back door.

I was in awe of what I saw when I looked through the fogged glass pane of the door and couldn’t wait to get out for a clear view. Stepping out into the sunlight I saw the predecessor, the grandfather if you will, to the net batting cage of today.

Was a cork ball installation and looked brand new. He had not seen one of these facilities since he was very young, many decades ago, and he had completely forgotten that they existed until today.

On that subject, there are probably many of you who have no idea what I am talking about, so let me explain the game of cork ball.

Corkball was played between two opposing teams and the rules and goals were similar to those of baseball, in terms of counting runs, outs, and innings. The teams consisted of three players each, the pitcher, the catcher, and the outfielder.

The game was played inside a large net area, similar to today’s modern batting cage. There were many different versions of how the game was played, depending on the location, but the most well-known rules were as follows:

1. The defense consisted of a pitcher, a catcher, and an outfielder. The catcher wore a catcher’s mask and used a normal baseball glove to catch.

2. A pitching rubber was placed a specified distance from home plate where the pitcher followed the same rules as a baseball pitcher.

3. The outfielder played behind the pitcher, remember this is a tunnel ballpark. If the outfielder caught a fly ball or line drive, it was an out, if he grounded, it was a base hit, he missed a ground ball, and it was a double, a ball hit over his head, depending on where the ball was. he hit the back wall, it was a triple or home run.

4. The batter was allowed 1 strike, a swing and miss, or a strike called by the umpire that constituted a strike out. Two balls constituted a base on balls and a foul ball followed the rules of baseball.

The equipment, the bat and the ball, is what makes the game unique and very special.

1. The bat was @ the same length as a baseball bat, but more like a thick broomstick in size and striking surface. (perhaps the ancestor of today’s fungus bat).

2. The ball resembled a miniature baseball, made of stitched cowhide, but much smaller than a normal baseball.

The speed with which a pitcher could throw a corkball, the narrow hitting surface of the bat, and the fast pace of the game made it a very popular sport among older men, well beyond their high school playing days. .

Corkball leagues sprang up everywhere, and the most popular play areas were adjacent to a tavern or bar. The roar of fans sitting in the stands, the glare of lights and the clink of beer bottles could be heard late into the night on Friday or Saturday.

The game had been an American icon, played with fierce rivalries and filling the tavern owner’s coffers. I have no idea what led to the demise of sports, maybe we became addicted to television, but it held an important place, for a while, in American sports history.