BIG LEAGUE BASEBALLS.com | MUSEUM OF BASEBALLS | AMERICAN LEAGUE | Rawlings American League MacPhail 1977
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About the Ball: An early Rawlings MacPhail ball, note the two dots under the Haiti stamp. These are centered, speculation is that is done in the first cycle of the Rawlings dotted date system.
Newer versions from the early '80s have the dots slightly right justified, and a crisper printing or perhaps altered font. The font/print change becomes more noticeable, to some collectors, when comparing the Copyright © symbol that's located at the lower right portion of the Rawlings logo.
The Rawlings dotted dating system is believed to be based on 5 dots for 5-year intervals (1980 and '85 would have 5) and resetting on the 1st and 6th years with one dot (1981, 1986). But it's also suggested in several books that the system only ran from 1977-1983 (starting with 1 dot in '77).
Based on out research, we believe now that it started with two dots in 1977.
Newer versions from the early '80s have the dots slightly right justified, and a crisper printing or perhaps altered font. The font/print change becomes more noticeable, to some collectors, when comparing the Copyright © symbol that's located at the lower right portion of the Rawlings logo.
The Rawlings dotted dating system is believed to be based on 5 dots for 5-year intervals (1980 and '85 would have 5) and resetting on the 1st and 6th years with one dot (1981, 1986). But it's also suggested in several books that the system only ran from 1977-1983 (starting with 1 dot in '77).
Based on out research, we believe now that it started with two dots in 1977.
