It all began in 1938 when an umpire complained to Lena Blackburne, a third base coach for the old Philadelphia Athletics, about the sorry condition of the baseballs used by the American League. A can of Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud was donated to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1968 and was part of the Museums Evolution of Equipment exhibit for many years. Heres the dirt on baseball rubbing mud: One can trace its history and its secret location back to the 1938 season, when American League umpire Harry Geisel complained during a game about the job of taking the slickness off new baseballs. Two streams come together where I get my mud. Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. Lena Blackburne was a third base coach for the Philadelphia Athletics when he used Burlington County mud to create a compound that became standard for removing gloss from new baseballs throughout the big leagues. Then the precious product rest in barrels until the next spring when its packed and shipped to each of the major league teams, minor league teams, most independent leagues and many colleges in time for opening day. Having been in professional baseball dating back to 1908, either as a player, coach, scout or manager, Blackburne often marveled at his new role in the game being in the mud supply business. The compound, sold in small plastic containers, is actual mud harvested from a secret location on the banks of a tributary of the Delaware River somewhere in New Jersey. Lena Blackburne - Wikipedia Burns in turn passed it on to son Jim and his family. The balance would be ruined, and pitchers would make the ball perform the aerobatics of a horsefly under a lampshade.. Baseball Rubbing Mud - Lena Blackburne National Baseball Hall of Fame . Other kinds of mud and even mechanical methods have been tried to de-slick baseballs, but they couldnt make the grade. What counts is that the muck, described as resembling a cross between chocolate pudding and whipped cold cream, really works! It was an odd career. I wish I could raise my prices in proportion to what the ballplayers get in salaries. Worcester Red Sox Lena Blackburne baseball rubbing mud Polar Park Taldykorgan (Kazakh: /Taldyqoran; Russian: ), known as Taldy-Kurgan until 1993, is the capital (called an administrative center) of Zhetysu Region, Kazakhstan. According to the official Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud site, it is now used by Major League Baseball, the minor leagues, most independent leagues and many colleges. He ran as though he had poled the ball to the center field fence. They would wreck a ball. The experimental ball "would change things" for Lena Blackburne, Bintliff said. Its better than tobacco juice and far superior to everyday mud. Soon the entire American League was using the amazing gunk. Used by MLB and MiLB Teams! In a league in which every team has at least a few pitchers who throw in the mid-to-upper 90s, you don't really want them armed with slippery baseballs. Lena Blackburne played eight years in the major leagues during a career that spanned from 1910 to 1929. "More than a few dozen colleges using it.". Photo of Lena Blackburne (center) with Eddie Collins (left) He revisited the spot andscooped up some mud from the creek. Per Yahoo, Staumont said of the new balls, "I really didn't notice a difference. This page was last edited on 22 July 2022, at 21:50. Go outside and find some mud. He appeared in one game for the White Sox in 1929, inserting himself as a pitcher for a third of an inning on June 5th in what was both the only pitching appearance and final game of his major league playing career. Each July the Bintliff crew heads a boat out to the "ole mud hole" and scoops up hundreds of pounds of the "Magic Mud", enough for one season. Not all the players on the South Side team would have kept going. - Chicago Day Book, August 8, 1914. Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. But he may be most remembered for what he did off the field when he developed a business dredging mud from the bottom of a Delaware River tributary. Soon afterward, as the story goes, every American League team was getting a supply of the odorless, greaseless, and as smooth as pudding mud from Blackburne at a very reasonable price. A trip to the secret New Jersey mud hole where Lena Blackburne's Blackburne broke into the majors with the White Sox in 1910, appearing in part of five seasons, and split the 1919 season with the Braves and Phillies. Once properly aged, containers get filled and sit on a drying rack until they're ready to be sealed and labeled. The umpires were happy, and Lena Blackburne was in the mud supply business. Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of Hidden Game Sports. But the ballpark-made mud was often too coarse, thus putting marks on the cover of the baseball, which would allow pitchers to get their fingernails in those marks and make the ball travel in an unnatural path. Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud is used throughout Major League & Minor League Baseball to rough up the six or seven dozen new balls prepared for every game. Before Blackburnes death in the late 50s, his baseball rubbing mud was being used by every major and most minor leagues in the United States. Taldykorgan Airport services Nur-sultan. The biggest issue with Rawlings' first attempt at an easier-to-grip ball was that the substance sprayed on the leather wore off too quickly. "It's aging like wine," he says. He says the mud contains Feldspar, which he describes as "a super, super fine abrasive" that doesn't scratch the leather. The silt-based mud doesn't scratch the leather. Others have tried to replicate the mud's unique consistency, but to date, nothing has come close. Each July the Mud Crew heads a boat out to the ole mud hole and scoops up hundreds of pounds of the Magic Mud, enough for one season. The change was announced by President Tokayev on 16 March 2022 and officially came into force on 8 June 2022. A total of 143,000 people live in the city. Russell Aubrey "Lena" Blackburne (October 23, 1886 February 29, 1968) was an American baseball infielder, manager, coach, and scout in Major League Baseball (MLB). He returned to the minors as a manager of the A's farm team, the Lancaster Red Roses, in 1944 and 1945 and then coached for the parent team again in 1947 and 1948. Day trip or a week-long adventure. Soon enough, the National League would be using it as well. "It's just enough to buff the slippery coating off the ball," he says. Has anyone here tried mudding a football? : r/footballstrategy - Reddit The town was founded in the 19th century as the village of Gavrilovka and developed into the present city on the same site. The special connection between America's favorite pastime and the Delaware River Basin continues to live on. The location of the mud's origin is a highly guarded secret. Bintliff says he's proud that his family has been making the mud all this time. As a manager in the major leagues, he posted a 99133 record for a .427 winning percentage. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Legendary LENA BLACKBURNE Original Football and Baseball Rubbing Mud Since 1939 at the best online prices at eBay! About 370mm (14.57in) of precipitation falls annually. (National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum). Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. Then the precious product rest in barrels until the next spring when it's packed and shipped to each of the major league teams, minor league teams, most independent leagues and many colleges in time for opening day. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. Let sit for a day or so. Taking a batch to the Athletics field house, he rubbed some balls with the stuff. It worked like a charm! It's called Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud, named for its creator. Reserve your tickets, map your route, and work out all the details for your arrival in Cooperstown. Or write about sports? Other than that, its none of your business. He batted and threw right-handed. Other times it was a mixture of dirt and tobacco juice. He missed the entire next season with a knee injury that plagued him the rest of his career. Besides, what I get I share with my wife. What's more, it had no odor and didn't turn the balls black. Each new baseball is rubbed with Lena Blackburne Baseball Mud to remove the gloss. While with the U.S. Army's 115th Engineering Group during World War II, future Hall of Famer Warren Spahn signed this ball along with his teammates. In 2018, a four-pound container of Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud could be purchased online for $100 from Baseballrubbingmud.com. The most likely explanation for why La Russa didn't have the umps check Rogers is that La Russa's pitchers did the same thing and he didn't want his guys checked. Major League Baseballhas asked Rawlings to create a baseball with more tack and it could mean the end of a nearly 80-year-old tradition. Blackburnes mud business, along with the secret of the muds source, was willed to a close pal, John Haas, who had worked with Blackburne on his mud-finding exploits. Keep up with headlines and events at the Baseball Hall of Fame, and see who will be taking their place in history next. Everybody has their own idea where it comes from. Haas eventually turned over the enterprise to his son-in-law, Burns Bintliff. Pitchers cant get a good grip on new, shiny baseballs and hitters are sometimes blinded when the sun or indoor lighting hits the too-white surface. He didn't even try to hide it and the whole world watching on TV could see it. Rather than enforce the rules, MLB is considering a different idea: using baseballs that allow for a better grip. Learn How to Mud a Baseball with Former Phillies Pitcher Cole Irvin! WORCESTER Baseball is played on a diamond, but more than any game, it comes . Does Lenas Group wave a magic wand over the mud during the winter, or add some mysterious ingredients to it? Theyre too shiny to play with. For nearly Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. Take a little out of the tub, wet it with a few drops of water and rub it into a soupy paste. He later scouted for the Philadelphia/Kansas City Athletics from 1948 to 1955, briefly serving as interim manager of the Red Roses again in 1954. All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. Delaware River Basin Commission|Baseball Rubbing Mud Has anyone here tried mudding a football? Google - Pixel 6 128GB Unlocked - Very Good, Beats by Dr. Dre Powerbeats3 PowerBeats 3 Wireless In-Ear Headphones Collections, 6.5 x 9.25 Padded Bubble Mailer Color Logo, Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 2 Intel Laptop, 14" FHD IPS LED Backlight, i5-1135G7, JBL Live Free NC+ TWS True Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds Sweat & Water Proof, Sony WH-1000XM5/B Wireless Industry Leading Noise Canceling Bluetooth Headphones, Skullcandy JIB TRUE XT2 Wireless In-Ear Earbuds (Certified Refurbished), US For Iphone 6 6S 7 8 Plus X XR XS Max 11 12 Pro LCD Touch Screen Digitizer Lot, Harman Kardon FLY TWS True Wireless Bluetooth In-ear Headphones, Black, eufy RoboVac 25C Robotic Vacuum Cleaner Wi-Fi Smart Automatic Sweeper Robot APP. Something was needed to take off the shine but not soften the cover. Mike Thompson, an executive vice president at Rawlings, said they are testing different methods to make a better ball, including a spray on application and a material that is tanned right into the leather. "It was always something special to me," he says. They were too white. A trip to Cooperstown has something for baseball fans and everyone else. rest assured, good New Jersey mud will be part of the game. (Charles M. Conlon/National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum) Royal Petrol Hotel Taldykorgan. He's Baseball's Only Mud Supplier. It's a Job He May Soon Lose. All MLB game balls have been rubbed down before the game using a special mud from a top-secret location somewhere in New Jersey. Next time he returned to his home in Burlington County, he checked out the mud along tributaries of the Delaware River until he found some muck (the whereabouts of the mud hole is still a dark secret) with a texture he felt would do the job. It created the perfect texture and took off the bright white shine without discoloring the ball too much. In each case he was hired as a mid-season replacement. willed the secret to aclose friend, whose family has been collecting and providing mudto teams ever since, https://www.wilson.com/en-us/blog/football/how-tos/how-prep-football-pros, DRBC and the Iron Pigs Team Up, Teach Baseball's Muddy Connection to the Delaware River, Lena Blackburne Rubbing Mud a Secret of the Game, "Art of Aging: Atlantic County man making mud that helps pitchers throw the heat", "He's Baseball's Only Mud Supplier. Blackburne took on the challenge. Lena returned to the minors with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1916 and 1917 before earning cups of coffee with the Cincinnati Reds, Boston Braves, and Philadelphia Phillies in 1918 and 1919. Jim. Its train station services Central Kazakhstan, Central Asia, Russia, the Baltic States and the People's Republic of China. Since Clevelands Ray Chapman died in 1920 as the result of being hit in the head with a pitched ball, the game had made efforts to improve the welfare of its players as it relates to the baseball. I noticed in those days that the outgoing tides purified the mud at the bottom of the creek, leaving it inky black and sticky, Blackburne remembered. Cookie Notice That too is a dark secret. Bintliff is a third-generation mud guy after Blackburne passed it to his friend, Bintliff's grandfather. per night. Not all the players on the South Side team would have kept going." - Chicago Day Book, August 8, 1914. Many NFL teams - including the Philadelphia Eagles - also use Lena Blackburne Rubbing Mud in their preparation of footballs for each game. Of course, baseball players are always looking for an edge. Some defensive statistics Copyright Sports Info Solutions, 2010-2023. Yet the umpires didn't eject him from the game because Cardinals manager Tony La Russa never asked them to check Rogers for a foreign substance. Next time he returned to his home in Burlington County, he checked out the mud along tributaries of the Delaware River until he found some muck (the whereabouts of the mud hole is still a dark secret) with a texture he felt would do the job. Lena Blackburne - BR Bullpen - Baseball-Reference.com No other foreign substance can be applied to new baseballs before they are used. A one-pound coffee can could hold three pounds of mud and last a whole season. Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud, all rights reserved. (Milo Stewart Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum), When he passed away in 1968 at the age of 81, with the knowledge that every baseball put into play from March to October is rubbed down with Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud, the first paragraph of his New York Times obituary referenced his late-in-life role in the game: originated the idea of rubbing mud on new baseballs to remove their slippery finish . Then, it gets mixed and poured through a screen before it's left to sit for a while. "The people who need to know, know.". Colleges, high schools and little leagues use the mud too. Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Baseball Reference Database. It takes the shine off without getting the ball excessively dark., According to Blackburne, working the mud through a sieve takes out any stones. So, what do umpires use to prep the balls and dull the shine? The mud remains a vital -- if somewhat mysterious . As a fielder, he appeared in 539 games at shortstop (213), third base (180) and second (144) and first (2), and also relieved in one game. Then [Shano] Collins poled a single to left that scored the run Blackburnes hustling qualities in running out the pop can readily be seen. Lena Blackburne rubbing mud a secret of the game, https://www.tiktok.com/@baseballhall?lang=en. "It creates a whole new feel to a baseball.". Infielder Lena Blackburne began his pro career in 1908 and reached the majors with the 1910 Chicago White Sox. Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud It all began in 1938 when an umpire complained to Lena Blackburne, a third base coach for the old Philadelphia Athletics, about the sorry condition of the baseballs used by the American League. "1965 is the first time I ever went out to harvest mud," says Bintliff, now President of Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud. Technically, pitchers shouldn't put any foreign substance on the ball, but the rule has been haphazardly enforced over the years. Finally in 1938, Philadelphia Athletics third-base coach Lena Blackburne discovered a tributary near his childhood Burlington County home in Palmyra. Blackburne, at various points in his career, was a player, coach, manager and scout in Major League Baseball. A team will go through about three or four pounds of it every season. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. She called it her mud money., Ive stuck in baseball, he added, because I got stuck in the mud., Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud has been used in the big leagues since the 1930s to take the gloss off new baseballs. About Us | LenaBlackBurne.com In the above YouTube clip, Yankees announcer Al Leiter, a former pitcher himself, advocates for pitchers, saying he doesn't understand why you wouldn't want the pitcher to have a good grip on the ball. "The American League used it starting in 1938, '39," says Bintliff. Privacy Policy. He also made me promise that, since he had no children of his own, I would see to it that the business was handed down through the family.. Ball Prep Step 6: Applying Mud Watch on STEP 7: BRUSH THE BALL Using the same brushing motions as before, brush the mud into the ball, not off it. Thats my standard response.. According to the Kppen climate classification system, Taldqoran has a hot, dry-summer continental climate. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud is used throughout Major League & Minor League Baseball to rough up the six or seven dozen new balls prepared for every game. What counts is that the muck, perfect described as resembling a cross between chocolate pudding and whipped cold cream, really works! If you can't find Lena Blackburne Rubbing Mud, make sure to use another silt-based mud specifically designed for footballs. See the complete profile on LinkedIn and discover 's connections and jobs at similar companies.