The Wiffle Ball Celebrates 50 Years
of Backyard Fun
By Pablo Lopez
October 2003
The Wiffle Ball
It’s hard to believe Wiffle Ball is 50 years old.
One of the nation’s most recognized and beloved products, the Wiffle
Ball was invented by company patriarch David Mullany in 1953.
The famous plastic ball (with perforations which help it behave like a
softball or baseball, but with less impact) has become a backyard icon
for generations of kids and adults who love to pitch and hit, but would
rather not risk broken windows.
The Wiffle Ball was designed for play in congested areas: base running
and ball chasing are eliminated, and a playing field can be as small as
20‘ by 60‘. It’s this low-impact approach that, according to founder grandson
and vice president David J. Mullany, has created not only a whole new
generation of Wiffle lovers, but brought an older generation to the game
as well.
“We have players in their mid-to-late 30s playing tournaments -- folks
who have had one blown-out knee too many,” says Mullany. “You can [still]
make it as cutthroat and competitive as you want. Or a couple of folks
can just go out for some yucks. It’s great to think that a product crosses
all demographics the way Wiffle does.”
“It’s great to think that a product crosses all demographics
the way Wiffle does. We have players in their mid-to-late 30s
playing tournaments -- folks who have had one blown-out knee too
many. You can [still] make it as cutthroat and competitive as
you want.”
To celebrate half a century of strikeouts, Wiffle is working with Nabisco
to put together a Wiffle Hall of Fame in conjunction with an essay contest.
Results will appear on the Wiffle site (wiffle.com), as well as Nabisco’s
own candy-related site (candystand.com/wiffle).
Lovers of Wiffle can surf to either site to play an online version of
the game.
“We’re a small company with a big brand name,” says Mullany, who’s proud
to carry on the tradition started by his grandfather 50 years ago. He
also reports that recent upgrades to their manufacturing process have
created a product that’s better than ever.
“There’s always been competition,” says Mullany. “There’s always a less
expensive set floating around. But on the other hand, generations of work
have gone into our product. It’s a ball that’s going to perform as we
say it’s going to, and we pride ourselves on creating what we think is
the best plastic ball and bat set you can buy.”
