1 00:00:02,042 --> 00:00:02,917 - [Narrator] The smell of the leather, 2 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:05,000 the sound of the swish, 3 00:00:05,042 --> 00:00:08,292 the sight of the perfect spiraling pass. 4 00:00:08,375 --> 00:00:13,375 Today, 70% of Americans call themselves sports fans 5 00:00:14,167 --> 00:00:15,125 and the big three sports rake in 6 00:00:15,208 --> 00:00:18,833 a combined $38 billion a year, 7 00:00:18,958 --> 00:00:20,250 but they would never exist 8 00:00:20,333 --> 00:00:23,625 without the inventions of two young visionaries. 9 00:00:23,708 --> 00:00:25,542 - They literally made balls 10 00:00:25,625 --> 00:00:28,167 out of whatever materials they had. 11 00:00:28,208 --> 00:00:30,833 - These guys revolutionized the baseball, 12 00:00:30,917 --> 00:00:32,875 created the mitt, a football, 13 00:00:32,958 --> 00:00:36,125 and the first ever basketball. 14 00:00:36,208 --> 00:00:39,000 - These guys build the foundation for the games 15 00:00:39,125 --> 00:00:40,417 that we know and love today, 16 00:00:40,500 --> 00:00:43,250 and those giants are named Wilson and Spalding. 17 00:00:44,375 --> 00:00:46,667 - [Narrator] They'll turn primitive games 18 00:00:46,708 --> 00:00:48,958 - You would throw the ball at the person to get them out. 19 00:00:49,042 --> 00:00:52,500 - [Narrator] Broken noses, bloody faces, 20 00:00:52,542 --> 00:00:54,083 eyes being poked out. 21 00:00:54,083 --> 00:00:55,917 - [Narrator] that are played without equipment 22 00:00:56,042 --> 00:00:58,500 - Catchers were taking the fast balls 23 00:00:58,583 --> 00:01:01,792 right into the palm of their bare hand. 24 00:01:01,875 --> 00:01:05,125 - [Scott] You'd have 9, 10, 11 people killed every year. 25 00:01:05,208 --> 00:01:06,875 - [Narrator] into a new industry 26 00:01:06,958 --> 00:01:09,000 enjoyed all over the globe. 27 00:01:09,083 --> 00:01:10,333 - The balls are everywhere: 28 00:01:10,417 --> 00:01:13,167 the official supplier of NBA, WNBA, 29 00:01:13,250 --> 00:01:15,000 NFL, US Open Tennis. 30 00:01:15,167 --> 00:01:16,625 - [Narrator] and create their own 31 00:01:16,708 --> 00:01:19,708 multi-billion dollar empires in the process. 32 00:01:19,792 --> 00:01:21,292 - People know all those brands, 33 00:01:21,375 --> 00:01:23,750 but they don't know the origin stories. 34 00:01:23,833 --> 00:01:26,417 (crowd cheering) 35 00:01:26,500 --> 00:01:29,167 (intense music) 36 00:01:46,833 --> 00:01:50,208 (upbeat rock music) 37 00:01:50,292 --> 00:01:52,458 - [Narrator] Today, the sports industry rakes in 38 00:01:52,542 --> 00:01:54,375 almost half a trillion dollars 39 00:01:54,500 --> 00:01:56,667 with sporting goods equipment alone 40 00:01:56,708 --> 00:01:58,417 pulling in 52 billion. 41 00:02:00,542 --> 00:02:02,042 - There they go! 42 00:02:02,208 --> 00:02:04,542 - [Narrator] But a little more than a century ago, 43 00:02:04,625 --> 00:02:07,667 America's favorite sports barely exist. 44 00:02:07,792 --> 00:02:10,583 - Sports in America in the mid 19th century 45 00:02:10,667 --> 00:02:13,167 were a pale shadow of what they are now. 46 00:02:13,208 --> 00:02:16,333 There was horse racing, hunting, and fishing, 47 00:02:16,375 --> 00:02:19,333 essentially the century old sports that had existed 48 00:02:19,375 --> 00:02:23,625 since time immemorial, like boxing, like cricket. 49 00:02:23,708 --> 00:02:26,000 - [Narrator] Two of modern America's biggest sports, 50 00:02:26,083 --> 00:02:28,833 basketball and football, haven't been invented. 51 00:02:30,750 --> 00:02:34,167 And in the 1850s, one game is still a largely 52 00:02:34,333 --> 00:02:37,833 northeast phenomenon known as the New York game, 53 00:02:39,333 --> 00:02:41,208 until war breaks out. 54 00:02:42,500 --> 00:02:43,917 - The Civil War, believe it or not, 55 00:02:44,042 --> 00:02:45,667 actually spread the game. 56 00:02:45,708 --> 00:02:47,458 The soldiers would actually play the game. 57 00:02:47,542 --> 00:02:50,333 They'd teach the game to other soldiers during the war. 58 00:02:50,375 --> 00:02:52,625 They would take it home and it spread. 59 00:02:52,708 --> 00:02:55,792 - [Narrator] And now, baseball is becoming so popular 60 00:02:55,875 --> 00:02:58,458 the teams are able to sell tickets to their games. 61 00:02:59,542 --> 00:03:01,667 - The first professional team came about 62 00:03:01,750 --> 00:03:05,625 in Cincinnati, 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings. 63 00:03:05,708 --> 00:03:08,292 - [Narrator] Other teams soon follow Cincinnati's lead, 64 00:03:08,375 --> 00:03:10,750 but being a pro baseball player at the time 65 00:03:10,750 --> 00:03:13,000 is completely different than today. 66 00:03:13,083 --> 00:03:16,375 - [Narrator] As late as the 1870s, a baseball player, 67 00:03:16,500 --> 00:03:18,667 they didn't collect a big enough paycheck to survive. 68 00:03:18,750 --> 00:03:20,542 You had to have a day job as well. 69 00:03:23,708 --> 00:03:25,292 - [Narrator] In 1876, 70 00:03:27,042 --> 00:03:28,833 one such player is a pitcher 71 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:30,833 for the Chicago White Stockings. 72 00:03:32,208 --> 00:03:35,292 His name is Albert Goodwill Spalding. 73 00:03:36,708 --> 00:03:40,500 His early career is spent with the Boston Red Stockings 74 00:03:40,625 --> 00:03:44,333 where he wins 80% of the games he pitches. 75 00:03:46,083 --> 00:03:48,333 Then, the owner of the Chicago White Stockings 76 00:03:48,458 --> 00:03:50,708 lures him to the Windy City's team, 77 00:03:50,833 --> 00:03:54,708 promising him a full one quarter of the gate earnings. 78 00:03:56,458 --> 00:03:58,833 - [Narrator] A.G. Spalding is one of the biggest superstars 79 00:03:58,875 --> 00:04:00,583 in baseball of his era: 80 00:04:01,958 --> 00:04:04,292 the LeBron James and the Michael Jordan of his day. 81 00:04:05,667 --> 00:04:07,042 - [Narrator] Spalding will help build 82 00:04:07,125 --> 00:04:09,667 a whole new industry from scratch 83 00:04:09,750 --> 00:04:12,458 and one day become the largest sporting goods maker 84 00:04:12,542 --> 00:04:17,625 in America, bringing in over $300 million a year. 85 00:04:18,708 --> 00:04:19,792 But his name won't just be written 86 00:04:19,875 --> 00:04:21,750 on billions of baseballs. 87 00:04:21,875 --> 00:04:25,167 His contributions will help create the modern games 88 00:04:25,167 --> 00:04:28,208 of baseball, football, and basketball. 89 00:04:30,792 --> 00:04:33,375 But right now, baseball is a far cry 90 00:04:33,500 --> 00:04:34,750 from what we know today. 91 00:04:36,292 --> 00:04:38,667 - Baseball back then was not the standardized sport 92 00:04:38,792 --> 00:04:39,875 that we know today. 93 00:04:39,958 --> 00:04:41,500 The fields were different sizes. 94 00:04:41,583 --> 00:04:44,000 Before games, the teams would kind of debate 95 00:04:44,042 --> 00:04:45,625 which rules they would use. 96 00:04:47,458 --> 00:04:49,708 - [Narrator] Games aren't limited to nine innings; 97 00:04:49,792 --> 00:04:53,875 the winning team is the first to score 21 runs. 98 00:04:53,958 --> 00:04:57,417 Umpires are picked from the crowd at the start of the game 99 00:04:57,500 --> 00:05:00,000 and they call strikes but not balls. 100 00:05:00,042 --> 00:05:03,875 - There are no strike zones. The games lasted forever. 101 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:05,375 - [Narrator] It's not uncommon for pitchers 102 00:05:05,458 --> 00:05:08,333 to throw wide 40 or 50 times 103 00:05:08,375 --> 00:05:10,458 hoping the batter would just get frustrated 104 00:05:10,542 --> 00:05:12,375 and swing at a bad pitch. 105 00:05:12,500 --> 00:05:14,500 Pitchers pitch underhand 106 00:05:14,625 --> 00:05:17,875 and fly balls can be caught for an out after one bounce. 107 00:05:17,958 --> 00:05:20,708 - You'd throw the ball at the person to get them out. 108 00:05:20,792 --> 00:05:22,833 It was called plugging or soaking. 109 00:05:22,917 --> 00:05:25,250 - [Narrator] Plugging injuries are common 110 00:05:25,375 --> 00:05:27,833 but seen as making the sport more manly. 111 00:05:29,042 --> 00:05:31,750 (gentle music) 112 00:05:36,917 --> 00:05:39,833 - [Narrator] And for A.G. Spalding, he believes the game's 113 00:05:39,917 --> 00:05:43,833 lack of uniformity in one key aspect is holding it back. 114 00:05:48,583 --> 00:05:50,667 - Spalding knows the game intimately. 115 00:05:50,792 --> 00:05:54,375 He recognizes that the balls themselves are inconsistent. 116 00:05:55,667 --> 00:05:57,458 - [Narrator] All pitchers at the time used 117 00:05:57,542 --> 00:06:01,417 their own baseballs created with their own specifications. 118 00:06:02,958 --> 00:06:05,333 - They literally made balls 119 00:06:05,417 --> 00:06:07,583 out of whatever materials they had, 120 00:06:09,042 --> 00:06:12,375 cow hide or buck skin, and they would sew 'em together, 121 00:06:12,458 --> 00:06:14,500 and inside would be whatever they had, 122 00:06:14,583 --> 00:06:18,083 rubber or cork, horse hair or bird feathers. 123 00:06:18,167 --> 00:06:20,667 - It'd be the size of a softball, size of a tennis ball; 124 00:06:20,792 --> 00:06:23,083 the batter had no idea what was coming at him. 125 00:06:23,167 --> 00:06:25,792 - It was kind of a total crapshoot for these athletes. 126 00:06:25,875 --> 00:06:28,833 - Some games, you get a ball that was rock solid 127 00:06:28,917 --> 00:06:31,000 and you'd be able to hit it farther. 128 00:06:31,042 --> 00:06:34,875 Other games, you get this soft little wimpy baseball 129 00:06:34,875 --> 00:06:37,375 that you can barely hit a ground ball. 130 00:06:38,542 --> 00:06:40,458 - [Narrator] Suddenly, the 26-year-old Spalding 131 00:06:40,542 --> 00:06:42,958 doesn't just see a chance to fix baseball, 132 00:06:44,375 --> 00:06:47,042 but an opportunity to forge a new industry. 133 00:06:51,625 --> 00:06:53,750 - Spalding recognizes that there needs 134 00:06:53,833 --> 00:06:55,333 to be some standardization here, 135 00:06:55,417 --> 00:06:57,042 but if he could standardize that, 136 00:06:57,125 --> 00:06:58,333 it'd make the game better, 137 00:06:58,458 --> 00:07:00,500 but more importantly, make him a lot of money. 138 00:07:03,542 --> 00:07:05,375 - [Narrator] With the help of his brother, Walter, 139 00:07:05,458 --> 00:07:09,083 Spalding sets out to make a uniform baseball. 140 00:07:09,167 --> 00:07:11,667 - You know, there's a great quote and Steve Jobs said, 141 00:07:11,750 --> 00:07:13,958 "Sometimes people don't know what they want 142 00:07:14,042 --> 00:07:15,667 until you show them," 143 00:07:15,750 --> 00:07:19,667 and A.G. Spalding was certainly a believer in that motto. 144 00:07:19,792 --> 00:07:21,458 He felt like he knew exactly 145 00:07:21,542 --> 00:07:23,125 how to make the perfect baseball. 146 00:07:25,583 --> 00:07:28,500 - [Narrator] Drawing on the balls Spalding uses himself, 147 00:07:28,583 --> 00:07:31,500 they experiment with several prototypes. 148 00:07:31,542 --> 00:07:34,833 - The rubber core, burlap cording, and yarn. 149 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:38,667 This one, a cork core and fabric yarn. 150 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:41,500 - [Narrator] Spalding experiments with replacing 151 00:07:41,542 --> 00:07:43,750 the most common cores used at the time, 152 00:07:45,250 --> 00:07:46,667 horsehair and feathers, 153 00:07:46,750 --> 00:07:49,042 and instead tries rubber cores 154 00:07:50,375 --> 00:07:54,083 surrounded by wool yarn and a layer of cow hide leather. 155 00:07:56,083 --> 00:07:59,333 - He wanted a ball that had a more tightly wound core, 156 00:07:59,417 --> 00:08:00,708 which would send the ball farther. 157 00:08:00,792 --> 00:08:02,833 He even had it down to the specific number 158 00:08:02,917 --> 00:08:05,792 of yards of wool yarn that had to be used: 159 00:08:05,792 --> 00:08:10,333 369 yards of wool yarn inside that baseball. 160 00:08:10,375 --> 00:08:12,000 And if there was any yarn left over 161 00:08:12,125 --> 00:08:14,708 or if there wasn't enough, the ball was rejected. 162 00:08:14,792 --> 00:08:16,292 - [Narrator] To enclose the core, 163 00:08:16,375 --> 00:08:20,375 early baseballs used stitching called a lemon peel pattern 164 00:08:20,458 --> 00:08:22,875 where four sides of a single piece of leather 165 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:24,875 are sewn into an X. 166 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:28,708 - The problem was by the later innings, it would fall apart. 167 00:08:28,833 --> 00:08:30,250 The stitching would come out. 168 00:08:30,333 --> 00:08:32,500 Literally, you could knock the cover off the ball 169 00:08:32,583 --> 00:08:35,125 if you hit the ball hard enough, so they were not good. 170 00:08:36,833 --> 00:08:39,708 - [Narrator] Spalding opts for a newer figure-eight pattern 171 00:08:39,833 --> 00:08:42,333 where two equal size pieces could be stitched together 172 00:08:42,458 --> 00:08:44,500 tighter and more evenly. 173 00:08:44,583 --> 00:08:48,167 The same pattern is still used in baseballs today. 174 00:08:48,333 --> 00:08:49,750 - You gotta love A.G. Spalding. 175 00:08:49,833 --> 00:08:52,667 I mean, he was so specific in what he wanted. 176 00:08:52,750 --> 00:08:54,667 I mean, this guy was a perfectionist, 177 00:08:54,750 --> 00:08:56,958 and that's probably why he was so successful. 178 00:08:58,208 --> 00:08:59,542 - [Narrator] For the final step, 179 00:08:59,708 --> 00:09:02,875 he brands the baseball with the name of his new company. 180 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:04,750 But now, he'll have to convince everyone 181 00:09:04,875 --> 00:09:07,125 that they should be using his baseball, 182 00:09:08,542 --> 00:09:11,542 and Spalding sees an opportunity to do just that 183 00:09:11,625 --> 00:09:14,667 when eight teams come together to form an association 184 00:09:14,750 --> 00:09:17,000 known as the National League. 185 00:09:19,125 --> 00:09:20,667 Throughout the 19th century, 186 00:09:20,750 --> 00:09:22,500 several small professional leagues 187 00:09:22,625 --> 00:09:24,500 pop up around the country. 188 00:09:24,583 --> 00:09:28,000 Most only last a few years, but in 1876, 189 00:09:28,083 --> 00:09:32,292 one called the National League promises to be different. 190 00:09:32,375 --> 00:09:34,708 - When the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs 191 00:09:34,792 --> 00:09:37,375 comes into existence, the National League comes out 192 00:09:37,458 --> 00:09:38,875 with this rule book. 193 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:41,625 This means that whether you're playing in Ohio or Georgia, 194 00:09:41,708 --> 00:09:44,167 the game is gonna be the same, and that's important. 195 00:09:44,292 --> 00:09:47,750 It's an important moment because it standardizes the game, 196 00:09:47,875 --> 00:09:51,167 but it opens up the possibility for someone to come in 197 00:09:51,250 --> 00:09:53,583 and say, "Well, now that the game is standardized, 198 00:09:53,667 --> 00:09:55,208 shouldn't there be a standard ball?" 199 00:09:55,292 --> 00:09:57,500 and that is A.G. Spalding. 200 00:09:57,542 --> 00:09:59,000 - [Narrator] Spalding pitches the new league 201 00:09:59,042 --> 00:10:02,292 on a way to guarantee a consistent performance 202 00:10:02,375 --> 00:10:04,875 by using an official ball. 203 00:10:04,875 --> 00:10:06,500 - This is a startup league, 204 00:10:06,625 --> 00:10:08,833 so money isn't exactly flowing like it is today; 205 00:10:08,917 --> 00:10:11,500 so the league is not really taking 206 00:10:11,542 --> 00:10:13,167 what A.G. and Walter are selling. 207 00:10:14,500 --> 00:10:16,167 - [Narrator] The league rejects his offer, 208 00:10:16,292 --> 00:10:17,625 but refusing to back down, 209 00:10:17,708 --> 00:10:21,417 Spalding instead proposes a bold new deal, 210 00:10:21,500 --> 00:10:23,667 one that will cost him money. 211 00:10:23,708 --> 00:10:26,333 - They believed in their product so much, they say, 212 00:10:26,375 --> 00:10:29,417 "We're gonna give you the baseballs for free Season 1 213 00:10:29,417 --> 00:10:32,000 to show you how good these balls are." 214 00:10:32,125 --> 00:10:35,750 You're gonna give something away for free. Is that insane? 215 00:10:35,833 --> 00:10:37,833 - [Narrator] The league agrees to use the baseballs 216 00:10:37,917 --> 00:10:40,292 free of charge for one season. 217 00:10:40,375 --> 00:10:43,292 And the Spalding Brothers baseball is introduced 218 00:10:43,375 --> 00:10:45,167 as the league's official ball 219 00:10:45,208 --> 00:10:48,917 during the first league game in 1876. 220 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:51,333 - Now everybody's playing with the same ball, same size, 221 00:10:51,375 --> 00:10:53,958 and it really changed the way the game is played. 222 00:10:54,042 --> 00:10:56,500 - The game is a lot more lively. 223 00:10:56,625 --> 00:10:57,958 The ball's hitting further. 224 00:10:58,042 --> 00:11:00,500 The fans liked it. The players liked it. 225 00:11:00,583 --> 00:11:01,667 It worked. 226 00:11:03,750 --> 00:11:05,833 - [Narrator] But soon, the new baseballs are creating 227 00:11:05,917 --> 00:11:09,875 a problem for players, one that Spalding never imagined. 228 00:11:11,208 --> 00:11:14,167 - In 1877, he becomes a victim of his own invention 229 00:11:14,250 --> 00:11:16,250 because the ball now is a little bit harder. 230 00:11:16,333 --> 00:11:18,917 - [Narrator] In 1877, the game is played 231 00:11:19,042 --> 00:11:22,292 without one essential piece of protective equipment, 232 00:11:22,375 --> 00:11:26,625 and now catching Spalding's harder, faster ball 233 00:11:26,708 --> 00:11:28,250 is a painful practice. 234 00:11:29,583 --> 00:11:31,333 Injuries are increasing. 235 00:11:31,417 --> 00:11:35,750 Broken fingers and bleeding hands are now commonplace 236 00:11:35,750 --> 00:11:38,000 and some are wondering if the new balls 237 00:11:38,125 --> 00:11:40,292 are too dangerous to play with. 238 00:11:42,625 --> 00:11:45,167 But Spalding isn't done inventing yet, 239 00:11:45,208 --> 00:11:48,833 and his new solution could further modernize the game, 240 00:11:48,958 --> 00:11:51,792 but players aren't going to like it. 241 00:11:58,250 --> 00:12:02,208 By 1877, the game of baseball is getting faster, 242 00:12:02,292 --> 00:12:04,083 thanks in part to one man. 243 00:12:05,167 --> 00:12:07,875 (rock music) 244 00:12:07,958 --> 00:12:10,917 Pitcher A.G. Spalding has developed a newer 245 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:14,083 more tightly wound baseball that is taking over the game, 246 00:12:15,875 --> 00:12:18,958 but the ball is taking its toll on players 247 00:12:19,042 --> 00:12:21,958 who are missing a key piece of equipment 248 00:12:22,042 --> 00:12:24,208 that's commonplace today. 249 00:12:24,292 --> 00:12:29,250 - Catchers were taking the brunt of the pitchers' fastballs 250 00:12:30,625 --> 00:12:34,000 right into the palm of their bare hands. 251 00:12:34,042 --> 00:12:35,750 Now, we're talking about catchers 252 00:12:35,833 --> 00:12:38,917 who would catch the pitchers' pitches on a hop 253 00:12:39,042 --> 00:12:42,083 simply because it wouldn't hurt as much. 254 00:12:43,917 --> 00:12:46,875 - [Narrator] Glove wearing is seen as a sign of weakness. 255 00:12:48,208 --> 00:12:50,625 Even players nursing hand injuries 256 00:12:50,708 --> 00:12:52,875 are ridiculed for wearing gloves, 257 00:12:52,958 --> 00:12:56,333 and players refer to them as sissy mittens. 258 00:12:56,375 --> 00:12:57,875 - Everyone else was like, 259 00:12:57,958 --> 00:13:00,000 "I don't want anything to do with the glove. 260 00:13:00,083 --> 00:13:04,000 It's my masculinity. It's machoism." 261 00:13:04,042 --> 00:13:06,208 - It was frowned upon. It was a sign of weakness. 262 00:13:06,292 --> 00:13:07,833 People would be like, "Who's this wimp out there 263 00:13:07,917 --> 00:13:09,000 playing the game?" 264 00:13:12,333 --> 00:13:15,250 - [Narrator] Spalding knows that if he can create a glove, 265 00:13:15,375 --> 00:13:17,958 he might be able to save players hands, 266 00:13:18,042 --> 00:13:20,875 allowing them to keep using his baseballs. 267 00:13:21,875 --> 00:13:23,292 - Give me a pair of scissors. 268 00:13:24,750 --> 00:13:26,125 Scissors. 269 00:13:26,250 --> 00:13:27,750 - [Narrator] But he'll also have to convince players 270 00:13:27,875 --> 00:13:28,750 to wear them; 271 00:13:32,458 --> 00:13:35,958 so Spalding sets out to design a homemade glove of his own 272 00:13:36,042 --> 00:13:37,875 to wear during games. 273 00:13:42,875 --> 00:13:44,708 - It was like a work glove 274 00:13:44,708 --> 00:13:47,167 like the railroad brakemen put on. 275 00:13:47,250 --> 00:13:49,750 - This was just a simple glove 276 00:13:49,833 --> 00:13:52,333 like you would wear driving a car. 277 00:13:52,417 --> 00:13:55,208 It's not the glove that we see today on the field. 278 00:13:56,542 --> 00:13:57,417 - For tomorrow's game. 279 00:14:00,333 --> 00:14:03,917 - [Narrator] In 1877, Spalding steps out onto the field 280 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:05,917 donning his handmade glove. 281 00:14:07,042 --> 00:14:09,167 - He comes out there and he owns it. 282 00:14:09,250 --> 00:14:11,333 He was someone that people looked up to. 283 00:14:11,417 --> 00:14:14,125 He has a glove on to protect his hand. 284 00:14:14,208 --> 00:14:16,833 - [Narrator] News of Spalding's endorsement of glovewearing 285 00:14:16,917 --> 00:14:20,125 quickly spreads throughout the ranks of pro players. 286 00:14:20,208 --> 00:14:23,125 - Spalding basically gave everyone the nod 287 00:14:23,208 --> 00:14:24,958 that you could now wear a glove 288 00:14:25,042 --> 00:14:26,500 because he was so well-respected. 289 00:14:26,583 --> 00:14:30,833 - Spalding's own celebrity in the game of baseball 290 00:14:30,917 --> 00:14:32,583 really helped him promote this. 291 00:14:32,667 --> 00:14:36,167 This was someone who was already a kind of trusted voice 292 00:14:36,250 --> 00:14:37,917 saying, "Hey, I know how to make the game better. 293 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:39,542 I'm already doing this." 294 00:14:39,625 --> 00:14:41,875 - It went from having this stigma 295 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:45,250 to where more and more players started wearing gloves. 296 00:14:45,333 --> 00:14:47,708 - [Narrator] Soon, the idea of a baseball player 297 00:14:47,833 --> 00:14:50,083 wearing a glove becomes respectable 298 00:14:51,333 --> 00:14:52,375 - Strike! 299 00:14:52,458 --> 00:14:55,375 as players all around the National League 300 00:14:55,458 --> 00:14:56,958 see its potential. 301 00:14:57,042 --> 00:14:59,000 - They could see the need 302 00:14:59,083 --> 00:15:02,792 for their best player to stay on the field 303 00:15:02,875 --> 00:15:06,000 rather than sitting on the bench in a bandage. 304 00:15:07,583 --> 00:15:10,042 - [Narrator] With the increased interest in glovewearing, 305 00:15:10,125 --> 00:15:12,708 Spalding sees a new opportunity. 306 00:15:12,792 --> 00:15:15,333 - Being the great entrepreneur that he is, 307 00:15:15,375 --> 00:15:19,042 he decides to capitalize on this glove thing. 308 00:15:19,167 --> 00:15:20,667 - [Narrator] The brothers get to work 309 00:15:20,708 --> 00:15:24,083 improving A.G.'s makeshift design. 310 00:15:24,167 --> 00:15:26,917 To reduce ball impact where it hits hardest, 311 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:29,917 they sow a dense pad and extra layer of leather 312 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:31,000 into the palm. 313 00:15:31,083 --> 00:15:32,458 - I think we're nearly there. 314 00:15:32,542 --> 00:15:34,917 - [Narrator] Later, they'll extend the fingers 315 00:15:35,042 --> 00:15:37,250 to create more protection. 316 00:15:37,333 --> 00:15:41,708 Spalding now has a second product to sell to pro players 317 00:15:41,792 --> 00:15:43,833 and to the general public. 318 00:15:43,958 --> 00:15:46,833 - Spalding gets credit really for manufacturing 319 00:15:46,917 --> 00:15:49,167 the first baseball glove. 320 00:15:49,292 --> 00:15:50,833 And when you call it a glove, 321 00:15:50,917 --> 00:15:53,375 don't think about what you see today. 322 00:15:53,458 --> 00:15:54,917 - [Narrator] With no webbing between the thumb 323 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:58,042 and forefinger, the glove is notably different 324 00:15:58,167 --> 00:16:00,000 than its modern day counterpart. 325 00:16:00,083 --> 00:16:01,167 - It was safer, it made the game better, 326 00:16:01,250 --> 00:16:03,333 and it just kind of took off from there. 327 00:16:04,250 --> 00:16:06,792 - [Narrator] Spalding's glove is a hit 328 00:16:06,875 --> 00:16:09,542 and takes baseball to a whole new level. 329 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:14,333 Off the success of his glove and his ball, 330 00:16:14,417 --> 00:16:18,000 Spalding opens a brick and mortar store in Chicago 331 00:16:18,042 --> 00:16:21,875 and will eventually go on to open 13 more. 332 00:16:21,875 --> 00:16:25,083 - Now every kid in America could buy a Spalding baseball, 333 00:16:25,167 --> 00:16:27,833 the same one that the pros were using. 334 00:16:27,917 --> 00:16:29,708 - [Narrator] Not only do Spalding stores 335 00:16:29,792 --> 00:16:31,375 sell sports equipment, 336 00:16:31,500 --> 00:16:33,792 but also literature on how to play 337 00:16:33,875 --> 00:16:36,375 the growing list of sports in America. 338 00:16:36,458 --> 00:16:37,958 - They move quickly from baseball 339 00:16:38,083 --> 00:16:40,125 to every sport imaginable. 340 00:16:40,208 --> 00:16:43,667 There is a Spalding manual on every sport, 341 00:16:43,750 --> 00:16:45,667 but more importantly for Spalding 342 00:16:45,708 --> 00:16:47,083 their Spalding equipment. 343 00:16:48,208 --> 00:16:50,125 - [Narrator] Spalding's success in creating 344 00:16:50,208 --> 00:16:52,500 not only the first official baseball, 345 00:16:52,583 --> 00:16:55,000 but establishing the use of gloves 346 00:16:55,083 --> 00:16:57,958 secures his place in baseball history. 347 00:16:58,042 --> 00:17:00,000 But as Spalding devotes more and more time 348 00:17:00,042 --> 00:17:01,625 to his growing new business, 349 00:17:01,708 --> 00:17:05,167 he decides his time on the field is at an end, 350 00:17:05,250 --> 00:17:09,625 and in August of 1878, he plays his final game. 351 00:17:11,125 --> 00:17:13,417 - He retires from the game of baseball at the age of 27 352 00:17:13,500 --> 00:17:15,167 and decides he's gonna spend his time 353 00:17:15,292 --> 00:17:17,792 really getting into the sporting goods business. 354 00:17:17,875 --> 00:17:21,167 - [Narrator] By the 1890s, Spalding is a multimillionaire 355 00:17:21,292 --> 00:17:23,542 and widely recognized beyond baseball 356 00:17:23,625 --> 00:17:27,208 as an authority in all things sports in America. 357 00:17:27,292 --> 00:17:30,500 - It's just kind of crazy because not only has Spalding 358 00:17:30,542 --> 00:17:34,000 essentially created the modern sporting goods industry, 359 00:17:34,083 --> 00:17:37,000 but also the modern foundation for the games 360 00:17:37,083 --> 00:17:39,083 that we know and love today. 361 00:17:39,167 --> 00:17:42,250 - [Narrator] He's so highly regarded that in 1894, 362 00:17:42,333 --> 00:17:47,083 a gym teacher named James Naismith seeks out Spalding 363 00:17:47,167 --> 00:17:50,708 looking to create a ball for a new indoor game 364 00:17:50,833 --> 00:17:52,042 he's just invented. 365 00:17:59,958 --> 00:18:00,792 (engaging music) 366 00:18:01,250 --> 00:18:04,042 In 1894, A.G. Spalding is at the forefront 367 00:18:04,167 --> 00:18:06,125 of the sporting goods industry. 368 00:18:07,208 --> 00:18:09,417 After designing the first official baseball 369 00:18:09,500 --> 00:18:11,708 and popularizing playing with a glove, 370 00:18:13,125 --> 00:18:16,500 Spalding is regarded as a true sports innovator, 371 00:18:16,583 --> 00:18:19,458 and a college gym teacher from Springfield, Massachusetts 372 00:18:19,583 --> 00:18:23,125 named James Naismith comes to Spalding 373 00:18:23,208 --> 00:18:25,583 with a new game he's just invented. 374 00:18:26,708 --> 00:18:28,667 - Two teams throwing the ball into the basket. 375 00:18:28,792 --> 00:18:29,792 Why don't we take turns? 376 00:18:29,875 --> 00:18:31,292 Here, stand over there. 377 00:18:31,375 --> 00:18:34,375 - [Narrator] Naismith calls the game basketball. 378 00:18:34,500 --> 00:18:37,333 - Dr. James Naismith was a Canadian 379 00:18:37,375 --> 00:18:40,833 and he came to America and basically was a gym teacher. 380 00:18:40,875 --> 00:18:41,958 - Okay, back up a little further. 381 00:18:42,042 --> 00:18:43,500 - Okay. 382 00:18:43,542 --> 00:18:45,542 - His boss said, "You gotta come up with something 383 00:18:45,625 --> 00:18:48,250 'cause we've got nothing to do with these kids. 384 00:18:48,375 --> 00:18:49,667 All they do right now is gymnastics 385 00:18:49,750 --> 00:18:51,292 and they're getting sick of 'em" right. 386 00:18:51,375 --> 00:18:53,167 So he said, "Come up with something that these 387 00:18:53,292 --> 00:18:58,000 hyperactive competitive boys can play in the wintertime." 388 00:18:58,042 --> 00:18:59,250 - [Narrator] Forced to stay inside 389 00:18:59,333 --> 00:19:01,458 during cold New England winters, 390 00:19:01,542 --> 00:19:04,875 Naismith wants a fun game for his students to play. 391 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:07,667 - So he takes these two peach baskets, 392 00:19:07,708 --> 00:19:10,625 nails them up on either end of this gymnasium. 393 00:19:10,708 --> 00:19:13,125 There was a track that went around the top 394 00:19:13,208 --> 00:19:15,167 that happened to be 10 feet high. 395 00:19:15,208 --> 00:19:17,708 - [Narrator] Today, the NBA alone brings in 396 00:19:17,833 --> 00:19:20,125 $10 billion a year in revenue, 397 00:19:21,167 --> 00:19:21,958 (crowd shouting) 398 00:19:22,042 --> 00:19:23,333 and even college basketball 399 00:19:23,417 --> 00:19:25,875 dominates baseball in the TV ratings 400 00:19:26,042 --> 00:19:30,125 with the final four drawing over 36 million viewers. 401 00:19:32,250 --> 00:19:33,542 - That's it. - All right! 402 00:19:34,625 --> 00:19:37,208 - You got it. - I like this one, this is good. 403 00:19:37,292 --> 00:19:39,333 - [Narrator] But back in 1892, 404 00:19:39,375 --> 00:19:42,625 it's just a way for Naismith's students to kill time. 405 00:19:43,667 --> 00:19:45,625 - It's crazy that they used soccer balls 406 00:19:45,708 --> 00:19:48,333 to play basketball, but this isn't the ideal ball 407 00:19:48,417 --> 00:19:50,167 in terms of how the game is evolving. 408 00:19:50,208 --> 00:19:53,042 - The idea is you don't run with the ball. 409 00:19:53,042 --> 00:19:54,583 - [Narrator] And now as Naismith's game 410 00:19:54,667 --> 00:19:57,333 is catching on outside his college, 411 00:19:57,417 --> 00:20:01,292 he sees players attempting to skirt the rules. 412 00:20:01,375 --> 00:20:03,500 - Students knew that you couldn't move with the ball, 413 00:20:03,583 --> 00:20:05,250 what today we would call traveling. 414 00:20:05,375 --> 00:20:07,208 And so they would hold the ball, bounce it, 415 00:20:07,333 --> 00:20:08,542 and then run a little bit, pick it up, 416 00:20:08,625 --> 00:20:10,208 bounce it, and run a little bit. 417 00:20:10,333 --> 00:20:13,458 And they realized like, "Oh, this is dribbling." 418 00:20:13,542 --> 00:20:15,000 - Do we dribble with two hands? 419 00:20:15,083 --> 00:20:17,167 - Dribble with two hands. Yeah, give it a try, it's a... 420 00:20:18,875 --> 00:20:19,958 (man laughs) 421 00:20:20,542 --> 00:20:22,042 - [Narrator] The added movement makes 422 00:20:22,167 --> 00:20:23,333 the game more exciting. 423 00:20:24,708 --> 00:20:27,667 - It requires some force, but we'll redesign the ball. 424 00:20:27,792 --> 00:20:30,583 - [Narrator] Naismith realizes that if basketball players 425 00:20:30,708 --> 00:20:33,792 are going to dribble, they'll need something better 426 00:20:33,875 --> 00:20:36,250 than the soccer ball they currently use. 427 00:20:36,375 --> 00:20:37,500 - So what do you think? 428 00:20:37,625 --> 00:20:38,708 - Yeah, I think it could work. 429 00:20:38,792 --> 00:20:39,667 - I think it could work. 430 00:20:39,833 --> 00:20:42,125 - I think we got a good sport on our hands. 431 00:20:42,208 --> 00:20:44,417 - [Narrator] Spalding agrees to help out. 432 00:20:44,500 --> 00:20:48,792 - Keep in mind it is the very infancy of the sport, 433 00:20:48,875 --> 00:20:52,250 and Spalding decides he's gonna help with the dribbling 434 00:20:52,375 --> 00:20:55,208 and come out with the basketball for it. 435 00:20:55,292 --> 00:20:57,625 Confident man. You gotta love him. 436 00:21:00,542 --> 00:21:02,167 - [Narrator] Spalding gets to work 437 00:21:02,292 --> 00:21:05,542 in his attempt to create the first ever basketball. 438 00:21:05,625 --> 00:21:08,625 - He realized that he had to have a ball with bounce. 439 00:21:08,708 --> 00:21:10,833 I mean, this is not a small endeavor, right? 440 00:21:10,958 --> 00:21:13,833 It's not like he's taking the path of least resistance. 441 00:21:13,917 --> 00:21:17,167 He's solely focused on creating the perfect basketball 442 00:21:17,208 --> 00:21:18,917 and he will go to great lengths to make sure 443 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:19,750 that that happens. 444 00:21:21,333 --> 00:21:23,208 - [Narrator] A soccer ball's bounce is dampened 445 00:21:23,292 --> 00:21:26,000 by small air gaps between the surface leather 446 00:21:26,042 --> 00:21:27,583 and the inner bladder. 447 00:21:27,667 --> 00:21:29,167 This makes it easier for players 448 00:21:29,292 --> 00:21:31,000 to control the ball with their feet. 449 00:21:32,375 --> 00:21:34,833 Spalding does away with these design elements 450 00:21:34,875 --> 00:21:36,500 in his basketball, 451 00:21:36,500 --> 00:21:39,833 making the ball firmer and giving it the bounce it needs 452 00:21:39,875 --> 00:21:40,667 for the new game. 453 00:21:42,333 --> 00:21:45,250 (intense music) 454 00:21:46,417 --> 00:21:47,542 (man sighs) 455 00:21:50,583 --> 00:21:51,417 - Damn it. 456 00:21:52,833 --> 00:21:54,875 - [Narrator] But soon, Spalding notices a problem 457 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:55,958 with the harder ball. 458 00:21:58,833 --> 00:22:02,667 The smooth leather becomes slick when players' hands sweat. 459 00:22:07,333 --> 00:22:08,292 - Damn it. 460 00:22:11,042 --> 00:22:13,833 (shelf items clank) 461 00:22:13,875 --> 00:22:14,917 What's not right? 462 00:22:15,042 --> 00:22:17,792 - It is slippery as you can imagine, right? 463 00:22:17,875 --> 00:22:20,417 Not good. It's going through the player's hands. 464 00:22:20,500 --> 00:22:22,292 It's just...It didn't work. 465 00:22:23,375 --> 00:22:25,333 - [Narrator] If Spalding wants to stay on top, 466 00:22:25,417 --> 00:22:28,958 he knows he needs another success outside of baseball, 467 00:22:33,875 --> 00:22:36,833 and his best chance is taking another swing 468 00:22:36,917 --> 00:22:39,583 at constructing the first ever basketball. 469 00:22:47,208 --> 00:22:48,625 At the dawn of the 20th century, 470 00:22:48,708 --> 00:22:51,292 A.G. Spalding's sporting goods empire 471 00:22:51,375 --> 00:22:53,583 has already revolutionized baseball. 472 00:22:54,917 --> 00:22:57,583 And now, he has his sight set on inventing a ball 473 00:22:57,583 --> 00:23:01,625 for a promising new sport its inventor calls basketball. 474 00:23:01,708 --> 00:23:04,208 - So he comes out with this prototype basketball: 475 00:23:04,292 --> 00:23:05,708 it's 32 inches in diameter, 476 00:23:05,833 --> 00:23:08,750 it has that rubber bladder on the inside, it bounces well. 477 00:23:08,833 --> 00:23:10,500 But there's only one problem: 478 00:23:10,583 --> 00:23:12,958 it is slippery as you could imagine, right. 479 00:23:13,042 --> 00:23:16,208 - [Narrator] Spalding experiments with several ways 480 00:23:16,292 --> 00:23:18,625 to get more grip on his ball 481 00:23:18,708 --> 00:23:21,708 by creating different textures and surfaces. 482 00:23:22,625 --> 00:23:23,875 - He has this eureka moment. 483 00:23:25,500 --> 00:23:28,625 He realizes that basketball is a free flowing sport 484 00:23:28,708 --> 00:23:31,083 and that the entire surface of the ball 485 00:23:31,167 --> 00:23:32,500 has to be grippable. 486 00:23:32,542 --> 00:23:33,750 Otherwise, it won't work. 487 00:23:36,708 --> 00:23:38,500 - [Narrator] After several attempts, 488 00:23:38,542 --> 00:23:42,417 he tries a stamping process on the ball's outer layer. 489 00:23:42,500 --> 00:23:45,667 Similar to embossing, it creates raised bumps 490 00:23:45,708 --> 00:23:47,000 on the ball's surface. 491 00:23:49,375 --> 00:23:50,917 - If you look at a current basketball, 492 00:23:51,042 --> 00:23:53,833 you see all these tiny little bumps on there, right. 493 00:23:53,958 --> 00:23:55,167 That's called pebbling, 494 00:23:55,292 --> 00:23:58,833 and that makes the ball more grippable, right, less slippery, 495 00:23:58,958 --> 00:24:01,083 yet it will still bounce quite well. 496 00:24:02,708 --> 00:24:05,917 - [Narrator] And in 1894, the basketball is born. 497 00:24:07,625 --> 00:24:10,375 Spalding releases the world's first basketball 498 00:24:10,500 --> 00:24:12,375 selling it for $6, 499 00:24:12,500 --> 00:24:15,083 nearly $200 in today's money. 500 00:24:16,375 --> 00:24:18,125 - Today, we'll buy something from Spalding 501 00:24:18,208 --> 00:24:20,833 without ever stopping to go, 502 00:24:20,875 --> 00:24:22,583 "Oh wait, there were people there. 503 00:24:22,667 --> 00:24:25,458 There were people that created these things." 504 00:24:25,542 --> 00:24:27,875 Without Spalding, you just simply 505 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:29,875 wouldn't have the baseballs we knew today, 506 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:32,417 we wouldn't have the basketballs we know today. 507 00:24:34,125 --> 00:24:36,958 - Spalding is literally setting this gold standard 508 00:24:37,042 --> 00:24:38,208 in every sport. 509 00:24:38,375 --> 00:24:41,542 Within two years, the Spalding basketball will become 510 00:24:41,708 --> 00:24:44,750 the ball adopted by the College Basketball Association. 511 00:24:44,875 --> 00:24:46,417 - [Narrator] The organization will go on 512 00:24:46,500 --> 00:24:48,583 to become the NCAA. 513 00:24:50,042 --> 00:24:51,375 And now, 514 00:24:51,458 --> 00:24:55,500 Spalding's ball makes bouncing in rapid succession possible 515 00:24:55,583 --> 00:24:59,083 and dribbling becomes part of the game of basketball. 516 00:25:00,375 --> 00:25:03,333 In 1897, Yale becomes the first team 517 00:25:03,458 --> 00:25:05,208 to dribble for a full game. 518 00:25:06,708 --> 00:25:08,833 - We wouldn't have dribbling today if we didn't have 519 00:25:08,917 --> 00:25:11,000 Spalding's innovation with the basketball, 520 00:25:11,083 --> 00:25:13,833 and that's why we have the basketball that we have today. 521 00:25:13,917 --> 00:25:15,542 - [Narrator] By the turn of the 20th century, 522 00:25:15,625 --> 00:25:17,250 Spalding has helped create 523 00:25:17,250 --> 00:25:20,500 two of America's most enduring sports 524 00:25:20,625 --> 00:25:23,500 and made a fortune along the way. 525 00:25:24,542 --> 00:25:26,500 His company stands at the forefront 526 00:25:26,542 --> 00:25:28,875 of a burgeoning sporting goods industry. 527 00:25:29,833 --> 00:25:33,333 But in 1915, tragedy strikes. 528 00:25:33,458 --> 00:25:35,458 - So at the age of 66, 529 00:25:35,542 --> 00:25:39,083 A.G. Spalding dies suddenly of a stroke, 530 00:25:39,167 --> 00:25:41,667 and that poses a problem for the company, right. 531 00:25:41,750 --> 00:25:43,958 He is the singular leader of this company. 532 00:25:44,042 --> 00:25:46,625 He's the visionary of this company. 533 00:25:46,708 --> 00:25:48,500 - [Narrator] With A.G. Spalding no longer 534 00:25:48,542 --> 00:25:50,333 at the helm of his company, 535 00:25:50,417 --> 00:25:53,000 competitors see an opportunity to take on 536 00:25:53,125 --> 00:25:55,917 the virtual sporting goods monopoly he's created, 537 00:25:57,250 --> 00:26:00,667 like two St. Louis brothers who burst onto the scene 538 00:26:00,708 --> 00:26:03,917 with a totally new type of baseball glove. 539 00:26:04,958 --> 00:26:07,667 - The glove put something here, 540 00:26:07,750 --> 00:26:11,042 which formed a pocket that the ball could go into. 541 00:26:11,125 --> 00:26:13,125 - [Narrator] The Rawlings Brothers glove 542 00:26:13,208 --> 00:26:14,833 soon takes over baseball. 543 00:26:14,875 --> 00:26:18,000 - The Rawlings glove revolutionized the game. 544 00:26:18,042 --> 00:26:23,125 Hot grounders, fast line drives, long flies; 545 00:26:23,875 --> 00:26:26,333 nothing gets past the glove. 546 00:26:26,458 --> 00:26:29,542 - [Narrator] And as Rawlings' gloves supplants Spalding's, 547 00:26:31,542 --> 00:26:34,333 another new competitor is about to emerge 548 00:26:34,375 --> 00:26:37,458 from an unlikely place. 549 00:26:37,542 --> 00:26:40,333 With the country ensnared in World War I, 550 00:26:40,375 --> 00:26:44,000 Sulzberger & Sons, a failing meat packing company, 551 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:46,667 is in desperate need of an image change. 552 00:26:47,958 --> 00:26:49,125 - It's 1916. 553 00:26:49,208 --> 00:26:52,083 Both anti-semitism and anti-German sentiment was at 554 00:26:52,167 --> 00:26:55,167 very high levels during this period in the United States. 555 00:26:55,208 --> 00:26:58,000 You couldn't even call sauerkraut sauerkraut. 556 00:26:58,042 --> 00:27:00,000 People called it liberty cabbage. 557 00:27:00,042 --> 00:27:03,667 And it is a moment when lots of entrepreneurs who are Jewish 558 00:27:03,708 --> 00:27:06,042 are actually choosing non-Jewish names. 559 00:27:07,458 --> 00:27:09,833 - [Narrator] To rebrand, they look to hire new leadership 560 00:27:09,917 --> 00:27:12,208 and change the name of the company. 561 00:27:12,292 --> 00:27:15,958 - Sulzberger & Sons recognize they need to make a change. 562 00:27:16,042 --> 00:27:18,875 They see a rising star in a competing company, 563 00:27:18,958 --> 00:27:20,458 a guy by the name of Thomas Wilson, 564 00:27:20,542 --> 00:27:22,042 and we need a name change; 565 00:27:22,125 --> 00:27:25,500 and so they tap Wilson to come over and run their company. 566 00:27:25,583 --> 00:27:27,458 And why is Wilson so attractive? 567 00:27:27,583 --> 00:27:29,667 Well, he's personable enough, 568 00:27:29,708 --> 00:27:31,000 but he's also got the name Wilson, 569 00:27:31,083 --> 00:27:32,583 which also happens to be the name 570 00:27:32,708 --> 00:27:34,708 of the sitting U.S. president. 571 00:27:34,833 --> 00:27:37,708 - President Wilson is very popular at that time, 572 00:27:37,833 --> 00:27:40,250 so they decide to change their name to Wilson. 573 00:27:40,375 --> 00:27:44,167 They feel this is a kind of failsafe branding decision. 574 00:27:44,250 --> 00:27:47,333 - Thomas E. Wilson was a hard-nosed Canadian businessman. 575 00:27:47,458 --> 00:27:48,833 He grew up in Chicago. 576 00:27:48,958 --> 00:27:51,042 His family moved there when he was about nine years old. 577 00:27:51,167 --> 00:27:52,375 It was tough times. 578 00:27:52,458 --> 00:27:54,042 He started out, he worked his way up 579 00:27:54,125 --> 00:27:56,000 into the meat packing industry. 580 00:27:57,208 --> 00:27:58,833 - [Narrator] Wilson & Co. will become 581 00:27:58,958 --> 00:28:01,250 a powerhouse in the sporting goods industry, 582 00:28:02,708 --> 00:28:05,167 innovating equipment and modernizing multiple sports 583 00:28:05,250 --> 00:28:06,875 in the process. 584 00:28:08,875 --> 00:28:12,500 But in 1916, Thomas Wilson is just trying to prove 585 00:28:12,583 --> 00:28:14,167 he can turn the company around. 586 00:28:15,875 --> 00:28:18,583 And as Wilson digs in at his new company, 587 00:28:18,708 --> 00:28:21,750 he discovers a small operation making products 588 00:28:21,750 --> 00:28:24,792 from animal parts leftover from processing. 589 00:28:26,292 --> 00:28:27,083 - Well look at that. 590 00:28:28,208 --> 00:28:32,083 - A division that essentially made 591 00:28:32,167 --> 00:28:35,417 sporting equipment from animal byproducts: 592 00:28:35,500 --> 00:28:37,833 using horsehair to make baseballs, 593 00:28:37,958 --> 00:28:42,208 sinew and gut to make the strings for tennis rackets. 594 00:28:43,542 --> 00:28:45,500 - [Narrator] It's a division that will turn Wilson 595 00:28:45,583 --> 00:28:48,333 into a $5.2 billion company, 596 00:28:49,542 --> 00:28:52,083 producing a range of athletic equipment, 597 00:28:52,167 --> 00:28:56,792 like 275,000 tennis balls every day. 598 00:28:56,875 --> 00:28:59,708 But first, he'll have to help change the fate 599 00:28:59,833 --> 00:29:03,333 of a new sport that's popping up on college campuses 600 00:29:03,375 --> 00:29:06,167 using a ball produced by the Spalding company. 601 00:29:06,250 --> 00:29:10,667 - It was really a kind of ritual of violent masculinity. 602 00:29:10,750 --> 00:29:13,083 - [Scott] I mean, you had people getting killed. 603 00:29:19,708 --> 00:29:21,333 (intense music) 604 00:29:21,333 --> 00:29:24,875 - [Narrator] In 1919, Thomas Wilson is looking to reinvent 605 00:29:24,958 --> 00:29:27,250 a once dominant meat packing company 606 00:29:28,583 --> 00:29:29,958 - Well look at that. 607 00:29:30,042 --> 00:29:32,333 - [Narrator] by pivoting its business model 608 00:29:32,375 --> 00:29:34,167 into an unlikely area: 609 00:29:34,208 --> 00:29:36,083 sporting goods. 610 00:29:36,167 --> 00:29:38,750 - They say necessity is the mother of invention. 611 00:29:38,875 --> 00:29:41,917 Thomas Wilson, he really saw an opportunity there, 612 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:46,083 so he decided, "Let's make this a priority." 613 00:29:46,167 --> 00:29:48,875 - [Narrator] Wilson green lights several sports products 614 00:29:48,958 --> 00:29:50,833 including a catcher's mitt, 615 00:29:50,875 --> 00:29:53,625 but finds that Spalding's baseball products 616 00:29:53,708 --> 00:29:55,250 rule the marketplace. 617 00:29:55,375 --> 00:29:57,667 But as the Spalding and Rawlings company 618 00:29:57,750 --> 00:30:00,292 are continually dominating baseball, 619 00:30:00,375 --> 00:30:04,125 Wilson thinks he may have a bigger impact in a newer game 620 00:30:04,208 --> 00:30:07,125 that's being played on college campuses. 621 00:30:09,500 --> 00:30:13,042 - Bloody Monday was a Harvard University tradition. 622 00:30:13,125 --> 00:30:16,542 This was a match between sophomores and freshmen, 623 00:30:16,667 --> 00:30:20,750 but like broken noses, bloody faces, 624 00:30:20,875 --> 00:30:22,458 eyes being poked out; 625 00:30:22,542 --> 00:30:26,833 it was really a kind of ritual of violent masculinity. 626 00:30:26,917 --> 00:30:29,083 (hard rock music) 627 00:30:29,167 --> 00:30:32,083 - [Narrator] As the game grows during the late 1890s, 628 00:30:32,208 --> 00:30:35,250 colleges like Yale, Princeton, and Dartmouth 629 00:30:35,375 --> 00:30:36,750 form their own teams, 630 00:30:36,833 --> 00:30:38,667 and it becomes known by different names 631 00:30:38,708 --> 00:30:42,208 like the Boston game, and mob football, 632 00:30:42,292 --> 00:30:45,000 and eventually just football. 633 00:30:45,125 --> 00:30:48,333 But the game is nothing like its modern day counterpart. 634 00:30:48,417 --> 00:30:51,167 The rules are evolving, and it's being played 635 00:30:51,208 --> 00:30:54,875 with a rugby ball made by the Spalding company. 636 00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:56,917 - So many people take exception to the fact 637 00:30:57,042 --> 00:30:59,167 that we in America call the game football, 638 00:30:59,208 --> 00:31:02,333 but the cousin that our beloved gridiron game 639 00:31:02,500 --> 00:31:04,000 comes from is rugby. 640 00:31:04,083 --> 00:31:06,792 This game with kicking and lateral passes 641 00:31:06,875 --> 00:31:11,000 became known as rugby or rugby football. 642 00:31:11,083 --> 00:31:13,583 Well, that came over to America, 643 00:31:13,667 --> 00:31:18,167 and in the early 1900s, this beautiful combination 644 00:31:18,250 --> 00:31:21,083 that was football and rugby football was born, 645 00:31:21,958 --> 00:31:24,000 and Sundays were never the same 646 00:31:24,083 --> 00:31:25,125 or buffalo wings. 647 00:31:26,875 --> 00:31:28,958 - [Narrator] But as football grows in popularity, 648 00:31:29,042 --> 00:31:31,000 so too do the injuries. 649 00:31:31,042 --> 00:31:33,000 - I mean, you had people getting killed. 650 00:31:34,250 --> 00:31:36,917 You'd have 9, 10, 11 people killed every year, 651 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:39,042 and it was like, I don't wanna say it was no big deal, 652 00:31:39,125 --> 00:31:40,875 but it was just normal. 653 00:31:42,042 --> 00:31:43,542 - [Narrator] As fatal injuries 654 00:31:43,667 --> 00:31:46,833 like broken necks and head trauma become the norm, 655 00:31:46,875 --> 00:31:49,917 public outcry has colleges and legislatures 656 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:51,542 looking to ban the game. 657 00:31:53,042 --> 00:31:55,333 - President Theodore Roosevelt actually brought in 658 00:31:55,417 --> 00:31:56,875 the members of what were called the big three, 659 00:31:56,958 --> 00:31:59,708 Harvard, Princeton, and Yale, to talk about it. 660 00:31:59,792 --> 00:32:02,542 Roosevelt loved football. His son played for Harvard. 661 00:32:02,625 --> 00:32:05,042 Some people thought he was trying to get rid of football, 662 00:32:05,125 --> 00:32:07,167 but he was trying to save it really. 663 00:32:09,208 --> 00:32:10,667 - [Narrator] After the meeting, 664 00:32:10,792 --> 00:32:13,875 Roosevelt assures the nation that changes will be made. 665 00:32:15,167 --> 00:32:17,750 Colleges including Princeton, Harvard, 666 00:32:17,875 --> 00:32:20,083 Yale, Rutgers, and Brown 667 00:32:20,167 --> 00:32:24,958 form a coalition that will one day be known as the NCAA 668 00:32:25,042 --> 00:32:28,542 and draft new rules to make the game safer. 669 00:32:28,667 --> 00:32:31,333 - The problem was what are called mass momentum plays. 670 00:32:31,417 --> 00:32:33,417 Just get the person with the ball 671 00:32:33,542 --> 00:32:35,500 and get five of the biggest guys around him 672 00:32:35,542 --> 00:32:36,833 just to steamroll people; 673 00:32:36,875 --> 00:32:38,625 well, this was extremely dangerous. 674 00:32:38,708 --> 00:32:41,625 And this is obviously before pads, before helmets. 675 00:32:41,708 --> 00:32:45,500 It was the way that most of the people were getting hurt. 676 00:32:45,542 --> 00:32:47,875 - So one of the reforms is the introduction 677 00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:49,333 of the forward pass. 678 00:32:49,458 --> 00:32:51,458 - [Announcer] A smart quarterback knows when to pass. 679 00:32:51,542 --> 00:32:55,333 There's Harman slinging it to Amoshansky for a touchdown. 680 00:32:55,417 --> 00:32:57,208 - [Narrator] Before the forward pass, 681 00:32:57,292 --> 00:33:00,000 the only way to get the ball down field to the goal line 682 00:33:00,042 --> 00:33:02,958 was to run the ball through the entire defense. 683 00:33:04,042 --> 00:33:06,917 Now, the forward pass allows the quarterback 684 00:33:07,042 --> 00:33:10,125 to throw the ball down field to a receiver. 685 00:33:10,208 --> 00:33:12,167 - Instead of having them steamroll people, 686 00:33:12,250 --> 00:33:14,750 now you could throw the ball across the goal line. 687 00:33:14,833 --> 00:33:17,083 - [Narrator] It's a play that will definitely distinguish 688 00:33:17,167 --> 00:33:20,333 American football from its rugby origins. 689 00:33:21,375 --> 00:33:23,167 But before the pass can take hold 690 00:33:23,250 --> 00:33:26,292 as the cornerstone of the game that it is today, 691 00:33:26,375 --> 00:33:28,375 there is one thing holding it back: 692 00:33:29,917 --> 00:33:30,625 the ball. 693 00:33:31,958 --> 00:33:34,000 - Now, one problem with the forward pass is that 694 00:33:34,125 --> 00:33:36,208 if you're using a clunky rugby ball, 695 00:33:36,292 --> 00:33:39,458 it doesn't go forward very easily. 696 00:33:39,542 --> 00:33:41,417 - [Narrator] While the most popular ball is produced 697 00:33:41,542 --> 00:33:44,375 by none other than the Spalding company, 698 00:33:44,458 --> 00:33:47,167 the blunt edges and large pill-like shape 699 00:33:47,250 --> 00:33:50,583 cause it to wobble and even tumble end-over-end 700 00:33:50,708 --> 00:33:52,375 after a few yards in the air. 701 00:33:54,958 --> 00:33:58,542 And now, Wilson sees a business opportunity. 702 00:33:59,792 --> 00:34:02,250 If he can make a ball that players can actually throw, 703 00:34:03,625 --> 00:34:06,542 he can open up a whole new market for his company. 704 00:34:09,500 --> 00:34:13,625 So for help designing a ball, he looks to a college coach 705 00:34:13,708 --> 00:34:17,417 who's had some success implementing the forward pass. 706 00:34:18,708 --> 00:34:19,417 - Mr. Rockne? 707 00:34:20,542 --> 00:34:21,417 Thomas Wilson. 708 00:34:22,792 --> 00:34:25,042 - Knute Rockne, the acclaimed Notre Dame football coach 709 00:34:25,125 --> 00:34:27,167 who had such an amazing career on the field 710 00:34:27,250 --> 00:34:30,208 and an even greater impact off the field. 711 00:34:30,292 --> 00:34:32,917 Rockne led Notre Dame to three national titles, 712 00:34:32,917 --> 00:34:35,000 and he really got famous 713 00:34:35,083 --> 00:34:38,500 for popularizing the forward pass in football. 714 00:34:38,625 --> 00:34:40,167 - [Narrator] Rockne is constantly pushing 715 00:34:40,292 --> 00:34:42,167 the boundaries of the passing game, 716 00:34:43,292 --> 00:34:45,625 but his quarterbacks are severely limited 717 00:34:45,708 --> 00:34:48,667 by how far they can throw the rugby ball. 718 00:34:48,750 --> 00:34:49,583 - Listen, 719 00:34:51,250 --> 00:34:52,583 you want to help me make a better football 720 00:34:52,667 --> 00:34:53,458 than the Spalding? 721 00:34:54,833 --> 00:34:56,167 - Knowing the game is changing 722 00:34:56,250 --> 00:34:58,500 and these athletes need the proper equipment, 723 00:34:58,583 --> 00:35:01,333 you need a sleeker more dynamic football, 724 00:35:01,375 --> 00:35:03,833 and he made it a priority to do that. 725 00:35:03,917 --> 00:35:05,167 - [Narrator] Diverting resources 726 00:35:05,250 --> 00:35:07,458 and hiring expert leather craftsmen, 727 00:35:08,708 --> 00:35:11,125 Wilson pours company funds into developing 728 00:35:11,208 --> 00:35:14,083 the first football explicitly designed 729 00:35:14,167 --> 00:35:16,500 to be thrown for a pass. 730 00:35:16,583 --> 00:35:18,167 - Now, there's a risk to this, right? 731 00:35:18,292 --> 00:35:19,792 It's a big investment at the time, 732 00:35:19,875 --> 00:35:21,875 but he believes in it, right. 733 00:35:21,958 --> 00:35:23,458 And there's an old saying, 734 00:35:23,542 --> 00:35:26,000 "Entrepreneurs, they jump out of the airplane 735 00:35:26,083 --> 00:35:27,500 and figure out how to open up the parachute 736 00:35:27,583 --> 00:35:30,333 on the way down," and that's what Wilson was doing. 737 00:35:32,250 --> 00:35:35,292 - [Narrator] Soon, Wilson is presented with a prototype. 738 00:35:35,292 --> 00:35:36,750 - This is it. 739 00:35:36,875 --> 00:35:39,208 - [Narrator] With a new narrower silhouette. 740 00:35:40,750 --> 00:35:41,625 - What do you think? 741 00:35:42,875 --> 00:35:45,375 (intense music) 742 00:35:47,750 --> 00:35:49,125 - Well... 743 00:35:50,583 --> 00:35:55,042 (pleasant music) - It's beautiful. 744 00:35:55,125 --> 00:35:57,333 - [Narrator] The ball features a double lining 745 00:35:57,458 --> 00:36:00,375 to help retain air and for added durability. 746 00:36:01,542 --> 00:36:04,667 But the biggest change is the shape. 747 00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:08,583 - [Scott] The shape was sleeker and more aerodynamic 748 00:36:08,667 --> 00:36:12,000 conducive to that increased passing game. 749 00:36:12,083 --> 00:36:13,417 - [Narrator] For the first time, 750 00:36:13,500 --> 00:36:16,167 one of the most integral parts of modern football, 751 00:36:16,250 --> 00:36:19,917 the tight spiral pass, is now possible. 752 00:36:20,042 --> 00:36:24,167 Wilson names his new football after Knute Rockne, the KR, 753 00:36:24,250 --> 00:36:27,125 and puts it on the market in 1924. 754 00:36:27,208 --> 00:36:29,500 - It made a lot of sense because at that point 755 00:36:29,625 --> 00:36:32,167 Wilson was still new to sporting goods manufacturing. 756 00:36:32,208 --> 00:36:34,625 So you'd slap a KR on the football 757 00:36:34,708 --> 00:36:37,125 and people are gonna know that's a Knute Rockne. 758 00:36:37,208 --> 00:36:38,667 - [Narrator] After the ball's release, 759 00:36:38,750 --> 00:36:41,375 that season Knute Rockne and Notre Dame 760 00:36:41,500 --> 00:36:44,917 beat Stanford 27 to 10 in the Rose Bowl; 761 00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:49,000 cementing the forward pass as the future of the game 762 00:36:49,167 --> 00:36:51,542 and with more passing, gang tackling, 763 00:36:51,625 --> 00:36:54,625 and pile ups decrease dramatically. 764 00:36:54,708 --> 00:36:56,750 - After that, you don't have the fatalities 765 00:36:56,833 --> 00:36:58,083 you had before that, 766 00:36:58,167 --> 00:37:01,958 and the sheer number of people going to games 767 00:37:02,042 --> 00:37:04,167 just skyrockets after that. 768 00:37:04,250 --> 00:37:06,000 - [Narrator] After the football's success 769 00:37:06,083 --> 00:37:08,208 revolutionizing the college game, 770 00:37:08,292 --> 00:37:10,125 Wilson thinks his ball can help 771 00:37:10,208 --> 00:37:12,667 a new professional start up football league 772 00:37:12,750 --> 00:37:15,208 that just formed two years earlier. 773 00:37:16,792 --> 00:37:19,792 - So he goes to the NFL with football legend Knute Rockne. 774 00:37:19,875 --> 00:37:24,458 If they say yes, he is going to dominate this sport. 775 00:37:24,542 --> 00:37:25,792 - They were like, "Hey, NFL, what about 776 00:37:25,875 --> 00:37:27,292 this Knute Rockne ball?" 777 00:37:27,375 --> 00:37:29,250 The NFL said, "No." 778 00:37:29,375 --> 00:37:30,667 - [Narrator] The NFL tells Wilson 779 00:37:30,750 --> 00:37:33,500 that they are content with their current ball 780 00:37:33,583 --> 00:37:36,375 produced by one of the largest sporting goods companies 781 00:37:36,375 --> 00:37:37,542 in the country. 782 00:37:37,625 --> 00:37:39,000 - And they were like, "No, we're good. 783 00:37:39,125 --> 00:37:41,000 We're gonna stick with Spalding." 784 00:37:41,042 --> 00:37:43,542 - [Narrator] If Wilson wants his new sporting goods company 785 00:37:43,625 --> 00:37:46,208 to be as big as Spalding and Rawlings, 786 00:37:46,333 --> 00:37:49,833 he'll need to be more than just a college sensation; 787 00:37:49,875 --> 00:37:52,875 Thomas Wilson will now have to draw a new play. 788 00:37:58,292 --> 00:38:00,208 (catchy music) 789 00:38:00,292 --> 00:38:03,292 By the 1930s, Thomas Wilson's football 790 00:38:03,375 --> 00:38:06,167 has helped the proliferation of college football. 791 00:38:06,292 --> 00:38:08,792 - The game was changing and it got more exciting 792 00:38:08,792 --> 00:38:09,792 and it was faster. 793 00:38:13,583 --> 00:38:14,667 - [Narrator] But the up and coming 794 00:38:14,792 --> 00:38:17,792 professional football organization, the NFL, 795 00:38:17,875 --> 00:38:21,792 refuses to use Wilson's revolutionary new football, 796 00:38:21,917 --> 00:38:25,792 instead opting for Spalding's rounder rugby-like ball. 797 00:38:27,417 --> 00:38:30,000 But despite being shut out of the NFL, 798 00:38:30,083 --> 00:38:32,250 Wilson begins seeing success 799 00:38:32,375 --> 00:38:33,917 in the sporting goods industry. 800 00:38:35,417 --> 00:38:37,000 - And they shift their attention to another game: 801 00:38:37,083 --> 00:38:38,333 golf. 802 00:38:38,375 --> 00:38:40,292 - [Narrator] Throughout the 1930s, 803 00:38:40,375 --> 00:38:43,375 Wilson builds a successful golf business 804 00:38:43,458 --> 00:38:46,833 creating golf clubs, balls, and bags. 805 00:38:46,917 --> 00:38:49,792 But behind the scenes, Wilson continues 806 00:38:49,875 --> 00:38:52,708 to cultivate relationships within football, 807 00:38:52,792 --> 00:38:55,417 hoping to find a way to bring his ball 808 00:38:55,500 --> 00:38:57,792 to the professional circuit. 809 00:38:57,875 --> 00:39:02,000 And in 1940, he begins an interesting relationship. 810 00:39:02,042 --> 00:39:06,083 - At the time, the New York Giants were owned by Tim Mara. 811 00:39:06,167 --> 00:39:10,000 - [Narrator] Mara has already won three NFL championships 812 00:39:10,083 --> 00:39:12,250 and has an agenda of his own. 813 00:39:12,250 --> 00:39:15,167 He's looking for ways to make the NFL stand out 814 00:39:15,250 --> 00:39:17,208 from another professional football league, 815 00:39:17,292 --> 00:39:21,208 one that's been luring away some of the NFL's best players, 816 00:39:21,333 --> 00:39:24,458 the All-American Football Conference. 817 00:39:25,708 --> 00:39:27,667 - So football's becoming more and more popular, 818 00:39:27,708 --> 00:39:29,583 right, not to the level it is today, 819 00:39:29,667 --> 00:39:32,000 but we're seeing leagues pop up, and the NFL says, 820 00:39:32,083 --> 00:39:35,375 "We're gonna revolutionize the way we play football." 821 00:39:35,458 --> 00:39:37,083 - [Narrator] While the All-American Football Conference 822 00:39:37,167 --> 00:39:38,667 uses Spalding's ball, 823 00:39:38,750 --> 00:39:42,208 Mara sees Wilson's newer more aerodynamic ball 824 00:39:42,292 --> 00:39:45,000 as a way to give spectators a better show. 825 00:39:46,958 --> 00:39:51,083 And in 1941, he brokers a deal to make Wilson's 826 00:39:51,167 --> 00:39:53,083 the official NFL ball. 827 00:39:54,583 --> 00:39:58,125 As a thank you, Wilson chooses a unique name for the ball 828 00:39:58,208 --> 00:39:59,875 in honor of the Mara family. 829 00:40:01,583 --> 00:40:05,583 - Tim Mara's son, Wellington Mara, had just been born. 830 00:40:05,667 --> 00:40:09,833 He was actually named for the Duke of Wellington. 831 00:40:09,958 --> 00:40:14,208 So as a little bit of a gesture of respect, 832 00:40:14,292 --> 00:40:17,917 he said that each ball should be emblazoned with The Duke. 833 00:40:21,792 --> 00:40:24,042 - [Narrator] The Duke remains the official ball 834 00:40:24,125 --> 00:40:25,542 of the NFL today. 835 00:40:25,625 --> 00:40:29,375 - The NFL uses The Duke in every game. 836 00:40:29,500 --> 00:40:31,875 Every Super Bowl, you see Wilson 837 00:40:31,958 --> 00:40:33,917 and you see The Duke stamped on every football. 838 00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:37,042 People call Tom Brady the GOAT, but The Duke is undefeated. 839 00:40:39,708 --> 00:40:42,375 - [Narrator] Wilson and Spalding continue to dominate 840 00:40:42,458 --> 00:40:44,042 the sporting goods world 841 00:40:44,125 --> 00:40:48,167 long after their founders pass on, forming the backbone 842 00:40:48,292 --> 00:40:51,667 of a $31 billion sporting goods industry. 843 00:40:51,708 --> 00:40:54,167 - These companies have been around for over a century, 844 00:40:54,208 --> 00:40:57,250 evolving and at the forefront of the sporting goods. 845 00:40:57,333 --> 00:41:00,500 - [Narrator] And even today, each company relentlessly buys 846 00:41:00,583 --> 00:41:01,875 for the ultimate accolade, 847 00:41:02,042 --> 00:41:05,125 the official ball of professional sports. 848 00:41:05,208 --> 00:41:08,542 Each continues to jostle for the professional sports crown, 849 00:41:08,667 --> 00:41:11,250 which is pro sports contracts. 850 00:41:11,375 --> 00:41:16,000 In 1946, Wilson becomes the official ball of the NBA 851 00:41:16,042 --> 00:41:18,583 and stays so for 37 years 852 00:41:18,708 --> 00:41:22,167 until Spalding wins the contract in 1983, 853 00:41:22,167 --> 00:41:24,708 holding it for another 37 years 854 00:41:24,792 --> 00:41:27,958 until 2021 when Wilson takes it back. 855 00:41:29,542 --> 00:41:31,958 In baseball, Spalding remains the official ball 856 00:41:32,042 --> 00:41:36,667 of the major leagues for 101 years from 1876 857 00:41:36,750 --> 00:41:41,167 until 1977 when Rawlings wins the contract. 858 00:41:41,250 --> 00:41:44,500 And after perfecting the modern webbed baseball glove, 859 00:41:44,542 --> 00:41:47,708 Rawlings becomes their official glove as well. 860 00:41:49,125 --> 00:41:52,875 - These names lost to history 861 00:41:52,958 --> 00:41:55,333 as just brands without thinking about 862 00:41:55,458 --> 00:41:58,000 the men that built sports in America. 863 00:41:58,042 --> 00:42:00,708 And without them, you just simply wouldn't have 864 00:42:00,792 --> 00:42:01,833 the sports that we know today. 865 00:42:01,917 --> 00:42:05,542 So if you saw yourself as M.J. 866 00:42:05,625 --> 00:42:07,875 hitting one from outside the arc, 867 00:42:07,875 --> 00:42:11,875 saw yourself as Randy Johnson 868 00:42:11,875 --> 00:42:15,000 throwing an unbelievable heater across the plate, 869 00:42:15,083 --> 00:42:18,792 or found your own inner Tom Brady or Dan Marino, 870 00:42:18,875 --> 00:42:23,542 we play, we exist on the shoulders of giants, 871 00:42:23,625 --> 00:42:26,750 and those giants are named Wilson and Spalding.