We continue to talk about strange innovations series.

“Base-ball base” (John C. O’Neill, 1875)

First-base umpires have a pretty tough job. They have to keep their eye on both the foot of a fast-moving runner and small white ball being whipped around the infield, and sometimes their margin for error is razor thin.

And it’s also why, back in 1875, John C. O’Neill came up with a new idea for a baseball base: Put a bell inside of it:

The moment the base was touched by a runner, the bell would sound, providing clear evidence to help the umpire make his call. As O’Neill explained: “In place of the bell mechanism, a sounding whistle, electrical connection, or any other suitable enunciating device may be employed, which indicates clearly and positively, without chance of error, the exact moment when the base is touched by the runner, so as to form a very useful and reliable device for base-ball players.”

So who needs video replay?

Read more about the strangest inventions in baseball history in our previous publications.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3