ball: Gymnastic Ball

Rolling, throwing, kicking, catching, bouncing, and batting. The ball is nearly as old as civilization itself. History abounds with stories and evidence of ball play. The ancient Mesoamericans played ball in elaborately constructed ball courts. In Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House in the Big Woods (1932), Laura and Mary Ingalls played ball with an inflated pig’s bladder. Ancient Greek legends referred to ball play in Odysseus (Od.vi.100), and songwriters Norworth and Tilzer scored a hit with 1908’s “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” Literature and culture are full of references to people playing with balls. And it is appropriate. Like few other playthings, the ball facilitates and promotes free play among people of all ages.