, founder of the company, in 1910 The Spalding "League Ball" was adopted by the
National League and used by the league since 1880, as well as by the
American Association of Professional Base Ball Clubs for the seasons of 1892–1896. It was manufactured by A. G. Spalding & Bros.,
Chicago,
New York &
Philadelphia and sold for $1.50 in 1896. In 1892, Spalding acquired rival sporting goods companies
Wright & Ditson and
A. J. Reach. In 1893, A.G. Spalding & Brothers purchased the Lamb Knitting Machine Company of
Chicopee Falls,
Massachusetts, and renamed it the Lamb Manufacturing Company. It used this purchase to consolidate its
ice skate manufactory from Newark and its gymnasium goods manufactory from
Philadelphia to the Chicopee plant. Lamb, primarily engaged in manufacturing
knitting machines,
rifles, and
egg-beaters, had been fulfilling a contract since 1890 to produce the Credenda bicycle wheel for Spalding. Spalding chose Chicopee because it was the home of the
Overman Wheel Company since it acted as their distributor in the Western USA, and Mr. Overman contracted with Lamb to make wheels for its lower-end products. Production of bicycles continued at the Chicopee plant through the latter part of the 19th century, but in 1899 A.G. Ben Spalding sold its bicycle division to a massive trust called the
American Bicycle Company which controlled 65% of the bicycle business in the US. By 1900, Spalding was selling
dumbbells,
Indian clubs, and
punching bags. During 1916, Spalding was selling a wide variety of sports-related items, including clothing (athletic shirts, belts, pads, hats, jackets, jerseys, pants, shoes, and swimming suits), barbells, fencing blades and foils, golf clubs, guy robes, measuring tapes, pulleys and weights, rowing machines, track equipment (discus, hurdles, hammers, javelins, poles for vaulting, shotputs, and stop watches), and whistles. By 1919, A.G. Spalding & Brothers had developed infantry and cavalry fencing masks for the
U.S. Government. During
World War II the company joined five other firms to form the
New England Small Arms Corporation for manufacture of
M1918 Browning Automatic Rifles. A.G. Spalding, as a subcontractor to Sprague Electric Co., also produced parts for the "toothpick" capacitors that were used with the VT
proximity fuse. From the early 1930s through the mid-1940s Spalding produced the official game pucks for the National Hockey League. Spalding produced the well-known "
Spaldeen" high-bounce rubber ball, said to be a re-use of defective tennis ball cores, that was sold to city children from 1949. In baseball, Spalding manufactured the official ball of the
Major Leagues through the 1976 season, using the Reach brand on American League balls and the Spalding trademark on the National League's. Since 1977 the official ball for MLB has been made by
Rawlings. From 1981, in a partnership with the
Toyo Rubber Company of
Japan, Spalding designed a series of aftermarket automotive wheels known as the "Message" series. It was one of these wheels, the Message II, purportedly described by the company as like a "
steam locomotive piston" which won awards from publications such as
Motorfan Magazine as the best spoke type wheel and reader's overall choice. Wheels bearing the Spalding name are known to have been manufactured through to at least 1986. In August 1996, Spalding was acquired by
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. Spalding became a division of the
Russell Corporation in 2003—exclusive of its golf operations (which included the
Top-Flite,
Ben Hogan and Strata
brands), which were eventually bought by the
Callaway Golf Company later the same year. In April 2006,
Berkshire Hathaway announced a merger with
Russell Corporation (including Spalding), which was finalized in August 2006 for approximately $600 million. == Products ==