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camarokids
05-12-2014, 08:55 PM
How do you know if a World Series ball was made during the same year as the WS printed on the ball?

For example, I have seen 1986 WS balls with different color printings on it.

Which color was made during the actual year of a certain World Series?

I recently started to collect team signed baseballs again....

I found this site here: http://photos.bigleaguebaseballs.com/rawlings-official-world-series-baseballs/

It looks like when they first started in 1978, which is red, they would alternate each year. Red then blue, till starting in 2000, they have been gold.

Is this correct?

Wrigley2010
05-13-2014, 01:25 AM
You are correct the WS balls did alternate colors (blue and red) up till 2000 when they switched to gold. I know there are two versions of the 86 like you stated with the Blue one being rare but I am not certain if it was used in the series. I also believe this happened a few years with both blue and red versions being released. I would recommend joining the forums at http://forum.bigleaguebaseballs.com/ or message Zach he is the site founder. He is a wealth of knowledge and not to mention a great guy. Lastly be careful of reproduction baseballs as Rawlings did make these a few times but there are ways of telling them apart.

camarokids
05-13-2014, 05:57 PM
Thanks Joe!

cfern023
05-14-2014, 02:27 AM
Why not look for images of the Buckner Ball and go with that?

Wrigley2010
05-14-2014, 05:34 PM
Why not look for images of the Buckner Ball and go with that?

The "Buckner" ball was the red stamped version but that still wouldn't answer the question if a blue version was used in the 86 Series. From what I've gathered the blue version was likely a prototype and only a small run was produced but thats just an educated guess.

xpress34
05-14-2014, 10:36 PM
You are correct the WS balls did alternate colors (blue and red) up till 2000 when they switched to gold. I know there are two versions of the 86 like you stated with the Blue one being rare but I am not certain if it was used in the series. I also believe this happened a few years with both blue and red versions being released. I would recommend joining the forums at http://forum.bigleaguebaseballs.com/ or message Zach he is the site founder. He is a wealth of knowledge and not to mention a great guy. Lastly be careful of reproduction baseballs as Rawlings did make these a few times but there are ways of telling them apart.

A side note on the alternating colorways on the balls up to 2000.

1st, there were no 'Special' balls for WS or ASG until 1977 when Rawlings became the Official Ball for each League and Spalding and Reach became footnotes (Prior to the Rawlings branding, Rawlings had been producing the balls already and Private Labeling for Spalding and Reach since 1955 - much like New Era did with caps for Wilson and a few others before becoming THE Official 'On-Field' Cap).

Anyway, in 1978 - the 75th WS - Rawlings produced the 1st 'special' WS Ball.
The Ink was RED because the NL had home field advantage that year.

The NL had RED inked WS balls and the AL had BLUE inked WS balls. Before the conjoining of the league balls in 2000 to the Official Major League Ball (instead of the Official AL / NL Ball) and the changing of the ink on WS balls to Gold, the WS Home Field advantage swapped each year - NL, AL, NL, AL, etc, etc until Bud Selig decided that staring with the 2003 All Star Game that the ASG winner would get WS Home Field Advantage (after the 2002 ASG 'tie game' debacle).

Just a little FYI and more history on the balls...