Dale Good made a remarkable discovery in the Nov. 4 LNP - an unusual article titled "Soft matter mechanics of baseball’s Rubbing Mud." This led him to ponder if there is any connection between the contemporary baseball mud and the mud discovered by Bainbridge scientist Samuel Stehman Haldeman in 1839. Good reached out to the authors of a University of Pennsylvania study that had proven the superiority of this specific mud for baseballs. However, he has received no response yet and continues to wonder.

Unraveling the Secrets of Baseball's Mud and an Abandoned Crematorium

Baseball's Rubbing Mud: A Perfect Blend

Dale Good spotted this intriguing article that brought to light the unique properties of the mud used in Major League Baseball. The mud, taken from a secret place in New Jersey, has been proven to be the best substance for making baseballs less slick and easier to grip. A Penn geophysicist, who is a co-author of the study, described it as spreading like face cream but gripping like sandpaper. This mud has been applied to baseballs since 1938 and since 2022, Major League Baseball has mandated its use. It works as a superfine abrasive, removing the gloss coating from the leather without causing any damage. Baseball officials have tried other substances without success, and the Penn study clearly shows why. The mud apparently has perfect proportions of clay and sand, giving it the ideal texture for pitchers.

Haldeman and His Mud Discovery

Samuel Stehman Haldeman (1812 - 1880) was a remarkable naturalist, philologist, and a sometime professor at Penn. He lived in a home in Bainbridge that is now being slowly restored. In May 1839, he provided an analysis of marl or mud found in the "New Jersey greensand." This mud was deposited millions of years ago when the Garden State was under water. Haldeman described it as bluish-white on the surface and light chocolate when fractured, soft and easily broken. The surface was covered with grains of green sand. He published these findings in a brief note in the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. The rubbing mud used by Major Leagues today apparently has similar properties and comes from the same place in New Jersey.

The Abandoned Crematorium in Greenwood Cemetery

Vultures now reside in the abandoned chimney of the old crematorium in Lancaster’s Greenwood Cemetery. This is a rather distressing yet appropriate sight. Bodie Cambert, a writer, artist, and video game designer based in Lancaster, wrote an article about these resident scavengers titled "All is Perfect Quiet" for an online non-profit history magazine. The building is the oldest public crematorium in the United States, having opened in 1884 and closing two decades later after cremating hundreds of bodies. It reopened in 1984 but eventually went out of business in the 1990s due to more modern cremation methods. Although it joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, there is no evident historical marker. The red-brick, boarded-up crematorium stands as a reminder of how significant places can be easily lost when out of sight. Now, it is only a quiet memory, except for the hissing vultures.