Albert Spalding wasn’t just a legendary pitcher, he built the blueprint for modern sports 🏀 ⚾️

Did you know the same guy who designed the baseballs we use today also created the first ever basketball? The story starts in the early 1870s with Albert Spaulding. He was a pitcher for the Boston Red Stockings. He won four straight league titles and still holds the best winning percentage in MLB history. But most people don't know that pitchers back then used to make their own baseballs. And Spalding was known for making the best baseballs. So in 1876, at just 26 years old, he decides to retire from baseball and open up Spalding Sporting Goods. Even though he was best pitcher in the major leagues of the time, he had a bigger vision to standardize the game he loved. That same year, his company became the official ball supplier for the National League. And the ball he made became the blueprint for what we still use today. Rubber core, figure 8 stitches and red laces. But he didn't stop there. In 1894, the inventor of basketball, James Naismith, asked Spalding to design the first ever basketball. At the time, people just used soccer balls. Spalding changed that. He created a proper leather ball with the right shape, weight and bounce again. That same blueprint is still used over 130 years later. Today, Spalding is the oldest American sports brand and is single handedly responsible for starting the modern multi billion dollar sports industry. For more entrepreneur stories and information like this, follow UBK.