| Is there a better backyard game than playing | | | | a swing and a miss in baseball is called a "whiff". |
| wiffle ball with an official wiffle ball bat? I can | | | | And because it can be difficult to hit a curving |
| remember as a kid playing wiffle ball day after | | | | wiffle ball, the name was a natural for it. |
| day during the summer in our neighborhood. What | | | | The game itself is very simple. The only |
| started in the 1950's has sure exploded today. | | | | equipment is the ball and the bat. There is no |
| There are now so many competitive wiffle ball | | | | need for baseball gloves, uniforms, or cleats. As |
| leagues throughout the U.S. and it just continues | | | | for the wiffle ball bat, they are manufactured for |
| to grow. Do you know how the game of wiffle | | | | the wiffle ball company by someone else. The |
| ball got its start? | | | | standard yellow wiffle ball bat is 30" long and only |
| It all began back in the early 1950's when David A | | | | 1.25" in diameter. It is made as a hard hollow |
| Mullany and his good friends would get together | | | | plastic. |
| and play baseball in the yard. Instead of using a | | | | There are many other types and brands of |
| hard baseball they used an old plastic golf ball | | | | plastic baseball bats, but the wiffle ball bat is the |
| along with a broom handle for a bat. (No wiffle ball | | | | one I would stick with. Not only is it a little tougher |
| bat yet) Haven't we all done that before? Well, | | | | to hit, but it makes the game more fair. If you |
| trying to throw a curveball with a plastic golf ball | | | | are using one of those jumbo orange bats then |
| just doesn't work out too well. | | | | you're not playing a real game. |
| David's father got an idea to change all that. He | | | | The original yellow wiffle ball bat has the pop and |
| had used to be a semi-pro baseball player and | | | | the crispness that all other bats lack. I have also |
| knew a lot about pitching. He went down to a | | | | seen others using a metal wiffle ball bat, but again, |
| local factory and took some plastic tooling designs | | | | that is a little unfair to pitchers and the game in |
| and came home with a plastic ball. Using a knife he | | | | general. Plus, it can easily break the wiffle ball itself |
| cut eight oblong perforations into one half of the | | | | with its power. |
| ball and tested it out. | | | | The original wiffle ball rules are still available from |
| The ball curved beautifully without a lot of effort. | | | | the company today. You can write to them and |
| They had what they wanted for their game. Of | | | | have them sent to you. Here is the company |
| course, what they didn't know at that time was | | | | address. The Wiffle Ball Inc., PO Box 193, Shelton, |
| that they had a whole new way of playing | | | | CT 06484. |
| baseball! A year later they began packaging and | | | | Wiffle ball is just flat out fun and exciting for both |
| selling their wiffle balls. | | | | kids and parents as well. Hopefully you have taken |
| Today, they are sold literally around the world. | | | | the opportunity to play the game yourself. |
| The name for wiffle ball came from the fact that | | | | |