“If you are a long term player like I am, there is not much in our sport more memorable than all the different types of racquetballs that we have played with over the years. Sure we have our favorite racquets, gloves, and type of grips we have enjoyed, but I have never seen a sport that has had so many choices of balls. There have been at least 25 different manufactures of balls and most made many different models. They have come in an assortment of colors, including yellow, brown, red, purple, black, green, blue, pink, orange, and many others. The containers are a whole different story. From metal cans to plastic cans to paper boxes, and even nets containing a dozen or more balls, they have been kept in just about everything.
We will be showing all the balls and cans, hoping you will share with us your thoughts regarding the history and experiences with these balls. It must be hard to manufacture the perfect ball, seeing that there have always been problems like breakage, inconsistent bounce, speed, and etc. Past or present, no two balls seem to be the same. Hard to admit, but I have been the official ball tester for our organization for over 30 years. Someone had to do it! I have seen them all. Hopefully, you will enjoy this part of our museum.
The balls you will see on the museum thus far are from Jim Easterling. We greatly appreciate him sharing his collection with the museum. Of course, there are many more balls than what is shown, but Jim was kind enough to get the ball rolling (a little racquetball humor) on this area of the museum. So please help us expand this area by sending us more balls and information.”-Randy Stafford