Black smudges on game-used balls

[coxfan]

I have a couple of game-used balls ( one minor-league) that have a very black, fairly large smudge on them. This is indelible, as it won't wash off at all. It's not the usual infield or outfield dirt, or rub-on mud. Does anybody know what might have caused this type of very black smudge? A black bat, perhaps, or shoe polish, or from the wall or the backstop?

[sox83cubs84]

I have a couple of game-used balls ( one minor-league) that have a very black, fairly large smudge on them. This is indelible, as it won't wash off at all. It's not the usual infield or outfield dirt, or rub-on mud. Does anybody know what might have caused this type of very black smudge? A black bat, perhaps, or shoe polish, or from the wall or the backstop?

At Wrigley Field, sometimes ballhawks chase "roof balls"...foul balls that bounce on and over the roof onto the area outside and below. Unless the ball totally clears the roof without bouncing on it at least once (feasible, but very unusual), the baseball will have a big black blotch on it from where it came into contact with the roof itself

Dave M.
Chicago area