Ball (object)

“ The position which the object-ball may assume after being struck is unimportant, so far as that particular stroke is concerned; but in the management of the balls and the ability to leave them in a position favorable to the next play—or unfavorable to his opponent, if the player thinks it impossible to count himself—lies the strength and science of the game.
41 General Division of the Object-Balls. The spots on the horizontal line through the centre diameter of the ball, are the different fractional parts at which the cue-ball may be delivered, to effect certain results. ”

“ Six or eight young men stand around in a circle, with their garments tucked up so as not to impede their movements. A light, hollow wickerwork ball is started by one of them, and the object of the game is to keep it going as long as possible. They must not touch the ball with the hand, but they show great skill and activity in catching it with the foot, either side of the ankle, the heel, the toe, the knee, the shoulder. ”

“ If the striker’s ball be angled—that is, so placed in the jaws of the pocket as not to allow him to strike the previously-played ball—he may have all the balls except his own and the object ball removed from the table to allow him to try bricole from the cushion. In some clubs and public rooms an angled ball is allowed to be moved an inch or two from the corner; but with a ball so removed the player must not take a life. ”

“ The new possessor of the ball now endeavours, before the rest can reach him, to go through the same required moves, and send the ball back in the direction from which he received it. A good deal of laughing, shouting, and wrestling accompanies this boisterous game, and sometimes heavy falls are given, in endeavouring to trip up the controller of the ball’s movements before he can effect his desired object of bearing it away and performing the requisite ceremonial. ”

“ A ball, as the essential feature in nearly every form of game requiring physical exertion, must date from the very earliest times. A rolling object appeals not only to a human baby but to a kitten and a puppy. Some form of game with a ball is found portrayed on Egyptian monuments, and is played among the least advanced of savage tribes at the present day. ”

“ The player who wins the choice of balls and lead must either roll his ball down towards the lower cushion, as an object for his [800] adversary to play at, or else compel his adversary to lead off as above described.
2. In leading, the player’s ball must be played from within the string-line, and struck with sufficient strength to carry it beyond the deep-red ball on its appropriate spot at the foot of the table. But it must not be played with such strength as to repass, after coming in contact with the lower cushion, the deep-red ball. ”

“ The players of one line, at a signal, throw the balls to those opposite them. They then turn and throw against the wall, if the game is played indoors.
BALL DULL The object of this game is to train the perceptions, the muscular sense, and the muscles themselves. The weight of the ball is suited to the players. The two-pound weights are used for girls.
The couples are far enough apart to allow space for full play. One of each couple has a ball for himself and his partner. The throwing of the balls to one of the opposite side is simultaneous, when a leader gives the command. ”

“ And not only does he come to know the ball as a material object, but he comes to know also its uses. He is forming his own best definition of a ball in terms of the sensations which he gets from it and the uses to which he puts it, and all this even before he can name it or is able to recognize its name when he hears it. How much better his method than the one he will have to follow a little later when he goes to school and learns101 that "A ball is a spherical body of any substance or size, used to play with, as by throwing, kicking, or knocking, etc.!" ”

“ The ball first makes its appearance midway between the parties, to which point a most furious rush is made, and the object to be attained and which talleys, is, for the player to throw the ball outside of his own line of standing. ”

“ The object of each player is to have the balls [227] that he bowls rest as near as possible to the white one, and also to drive his enemy’s balls away from the white one, or the white one away from them. When all the balls have been bowled, the ball that lies nearest the white one counts 4 ”

“ Cue-ball cushions at a, b, effecting carom on ball 2. Object-ball cushions at c, d, e, resting at f.
Diagram 2.—Cue-ball 1⁄2 left, 1⁄8 above, object-ball “full;” stroke, 1⁄2 in excess of “ordinary.” Cue-ball cushions at a, effects carom on ball 2. Object-ball cushions at a, b, c, d, resting at e.
The cue-ball performs a slow twisting “follow,” the object-ball running with speed. The “slowed” follow ball is executed through the delivery 1⁄8 above, which imparts slight rotating power in the ball. ”

“ The plain fact of the matter is, that the origin of the ball is one of those matters which must of necessity be lost in antiquity. Nature herself supplies an endless variety of balls of all sizes, suitable for throwing from hand to hand, and the act of playing with them is instinctive. The apple and the orange are, so to speak, objects which nature supplies, not only as objects of food, but also as materials for pastime; clay, too, and snow, are of so plastic a nature that the hands even of children naturally mould them into a spherical form and hurl them to and fro in sport. ”

“ Divide the remaining balls equally among the players, or give an equal number of balls to each player. If four play, it is more interesting to form sides, the two players on one side taking the dark balls, and the other two the light ones. Blue and black are considered dark—red and yellow, light. The players, retiring to some part of the room more or less distant from the white ball, now bowl the colored balls, which they hold, at the white one, by turns. Each player bowls one ball at a time, the play passing around the company as many times as there are colored balls for each player. ”

“ It is an easy matter to pull asunder the hollow ball, and this in turn is palmed, and the solid ball passed to the end of the fingers, before the performer, again uncovering his hand, which he brings out palm downward, carelessly throws down the solid ball, as being that which he has just taken off the rod. This is the only part of the trick which requires any special dexterity, and any difficulty which may be at first found will quickly disappear with a little practice.233 When the ball comes apart, the rings are, of course, left on the rod. ”

“ In the act of doing this, the ball leaves the palm and is held between the forearm and the body; the hand, turned palm toward the audience, then pulls up the sleeve. You then blow on the left hand to vanish the ball, and show the hand empty.
To regain possession of the ball, all that is necessary is to reverse the motion of the arm, when the ball will find its way into the palm of the hand, and can be produced as fancy suggests.
If the ball is not produced, the above forms an excellent final vanish to any billiard-ball trick. ”

“ He possessed, and still possesses, a wonderful command of length, with plenty of spin from the off—a considerable variation of flight—a slower ball with several inches of break from leg, delivered, by the way, from almost the palm of the hand, and a ball that, as it comes sailing up the pitch towards you, has every appearance of being intended for a leg break, but which in reality is simply propelled with a large quantity of "top on." ”

“ While there are various objects employed in such play—as, for instance, in the Greek πενταλιθίζειν there were five pebbles, bits of china, or what we call jack-stones, thrown up with one hand and caught on its back, and in the beautiful game of magic rings, and trials of skill with sticks, knives, watches, etc.269—still the ball is the most perfect and suitable plaything, partly because it is easy to grasp from any direction and partly on account of its lightness and elasticity. It is equally well adapted to solitary or social play. ”

“ Behold the ball is mounted upon a little pyramid of mud which rejoices in the name of a tee, to the end that the smiter may get the more cleanly at it. A ball is only teed at starting from each hole; after each first stroke the player must hit the ball as he finds it. What an ordeal this is. All that crowd we saw before, ladies, &c., &c., and all kinds of cads, are drawn up in two parallel rows, leaving a vista of certainly not more than five yards. ”

“ To the inner surface of the ball is attached a weight which is secured in place by a piece of cloth glued over it. When this ball is thrown through the air with a whirling motion, it describes a curve like that indicated by dotted lines in the upper part of the engraving, so that it is difficult, if not impossible, to catch it. When the ball is rolled on a plane surface, it does not take a straightforward course, as would be expected from a well-balanced ball, but its course is very erratic, as indicated by dotted lines in the lower part of the figure. ”

“ The introduction of the ball into the hat is effected as follows:—The ball, which has a hole of about two inches in depth by one in diameter bored in it towards its centre, is placed on the servante of the performer’s table in such manner that the hole above-mentioned shall slant upwards and outwards, at an angle of about 45°. To keep the ball steady, and to prevent its rolling off, some performers have a slight circular hollow scooped in the surface of the servante itself. ”

“ Get a turner to make a number of wooden balls, each the size of a thirty-two pounder cannon ball, and let a hole be bored in each which will admit [660] the middle finger. The balls are arranged hole upwards on a shelf on your table on the side opposite to the audience, so that the balls are nearly level with the top of the table. When you take a hat off the table, you slip your fore or middle finger into the ball just as you would into a thimble, and by bending the finger, bring the ball into the hat. ”

“ Having a ball in each hand, they throw the one in the right vertically into the air, pass into the right the one that is in the left and throw this up too, receive the first ball in the left hand, and pass it into the right, throw it up again, and so on; so that the two balls are almost constantly in the air, save during the time it takes to receive the ball with one hand and pass it into the other. ”

“ Every other object—sun, star, or planet—is hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of times as far off as the moon. It is right that we should desire to learn all we can about the bodies in space. We know that the earth is a great ball, and we see that there are many other such bodies. Some of them are much larger, and some of them are smaller than the globe on which we dwell; some of them are dark bodies like the earth, and among them the moon is one. ”

“ May be dressed in a fanciful Eastern costume; a string is to be attached to the head, and another to each of the hands. A gilded ball, having a hole pierced through it, is strung on each hand-thread, and to each ball a fine silken thread is attached. Our illustration shows how the five threads are to be attached to the supporting-stick. A little practice will enable the showman to work this puppet so dexterously that the spectators will be fairly puzzled to tell how the rapid tossing and catching of the balls is managed. ”

“ The ball, which weighs about four ounces, is thrown from a basket-work gauntlet or cesta, with a leather glove attached for fastening to the hand, and during a game I have seen the ball sent with such terrific force that it has rebounded from the wall at one end of the court against that at the other. ”

“ But in order to get nearer to it a judicious player will endeavour to make two or three canons, if the balls lie within a convenient distance and at a proper angle to each other. If the ball be thrown with sufficient force, it will glance off from the ball struck in a line corresponding to its first or original line of projection. ”

“ Performer shows little ball in right hand and makes believe to transfer it to the left, in reality rolling it, as in the well-known “Cups and Balls” trick, between the roots of the second and third fingers. The left hand, held above tube No. 1, makes the movement of crumbling an imaginary ball into it. ”

“ The ball is the smallest ball we use, the striking face of the club is the smallest thing used in field sports for hitting a ball, and, most important, perhaps, of all, it is farther away from the eye than any other ball-striking implement, except, perhaps, the polo stick, in which game we, of course, have a much larger ball and striking surface. ”

“ VOLLEY BALL.—Volley balls are quite similar to basket balls, but slightly smaller and lighter. They are suitable for games in which the ball is batted with the open hand or fist and where it is to be kept continuously in the air, such as the game of Volley Ball. The ball consists of a rubber bladder inclosed in a laced leather cover of white. The official specifications call for a ball not less than 25 nor more than 27 inches in circumference, of weight not less than 9 ounces nor more than 12 ounces. ”

“ If the ball is struck so as to diverge too much either to the right or to the left of fixed marks, the player loses the number of his wide balls. These limits are agreed upon by the players before the game is commenced. ”

“ The carom is good, and the points count for the player, even though his ball should be lost; and he continues to play. [A ball is considered lost which goes into a pocket, jumps off the table, or remains on a cushion.]
9. A pushing stroke subjects the player to the loss of the point or points he may have made by that stroke, and puts his ball out of hand.
10. A player who plays before all the balls have ceased rolling loses his stroke, and his hand is out.
11. When the cue-ball is in contact with one or more balls, all are taken up and placed as at the commencement of the game ”