A little Wiffle Ball history...

Needless to say, they weren't hitting very far or very often. As David N. watched, he realized that punching holes inone side of a ball would distribute its weight unevenly, causing an erratic flight. Mullaney, a purchasing agent for McKesson & Robbins, was an eccentric marketing man at heart, and was sure that balls with holes would sell. He was so sure he had friend make up a batch of hollow plastic balls and with a razor he cut eight different kinds of holes, from square to octagon, which he tested with his son. Deciding that balls with vertical oblong holes on one side worked best, he mortgaged his home, borrowed from banks and friends, and leased space in a Waterbury factory. He called his invention the Wiffle Ball, "wiffle" coming from sandlot baseball where a strikeout is a wiff (not an uncommon experience for those who swing at the unpredictably floating/flying orb).

Within a year Wiffle Balls were being sold all over the country and today they're all over the world. Wiffle Ball Inc.,in Shelton, Conn., is run by David A., who inspired it. The balls, originally about the size of a tennis ball, now come in three sizes: standard baseball size, softball size and junior size.

Wiffle world has expanded to include plastic golf balls with round holes, play balls with no holes and flying saucers,though the original ball and its companion, the thin, light Wiffle Bat, are still the most popular. Wiffle Ball leagues have been set up in such places as California, Arizona and Hamden, Connecticut.