Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 87, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 April 1915 — NOUN INVENTED CURVE BALL [ARTICLE]

NOUN INVENTED CURVE BALL

Pitcher for Indianapolis Independent Team in 1876 Was First to Use Deceptive Bphere. “The first curve ball I ever saw was thrown by Only Nolan, pitcher for an Indianapolis*’ independent team in 1876,’’ says George a former catcher. “The Louisville' team, of which I was a member, played Indianapolis a game that year. We had heard of Nolan’s curve but doubted his ability to throw one. When we faced him we got the surprise of our lives. He hooked the ball over the plate in a manner that made our eyes pop wide open. , “Henry Chadwick, now called the father of baseball, was writing baseball for a newspaper in Brooklyn at the time. He wrote stories denouncing the reports that Nolan could curve the ball. “Nolan went east to show his curves to Chadwick. He used two posts, in demonstrating that he actually could curve the sphere. Chadwick admitted Nolan’s power, but said it was in his arm —that no other man could possibly curve a ball. “But it wasn’t long until every youngster could throw better curves than Nolan.”