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In 1860 the dimensions agreed upon during the yearly convention were changed and the new playing rules stated that the weight of the ball should be between five and three-fourths ounces and between nine and three-fourths to ten inches in circumference. The ball was still to be made of india-rubber, wrapped in yarn and covered in leather. The leather was still brown and the shade varied depending upon what leather was available to the craftsman. John Van Horn, second baseman for the Baltic Club of New York, in the 1850's, was the leading produce of baseballs in the early 1860's. Van Horn, who was a shoemaker, was located at 33 Second Avenue in New York and used rubber from old shoes to comprise the core of his baseballs. He used between 2 and 2½ ounces of rubber in baseball, which translated in to a "lively" ball and used sheepskin for the cover. He supplied the Knickerbocker Club and has been dubbed the "greatest ball maker of the 19th century."

The baseball was a very important part of the development of the early game of baseball. The hand-made baseball allowed their makers to become identified as making a "live," "medium" or "dead" ball and added to the strategy employed by visiting teams. The size and weight of the baseball changed radically in 1857, continued to change in the 1860's and in 1872 became the same as the ball used today.

The Knickerbocker Base Ball Club introduced the first "uniform" on April 24, 1849. The uniforms consisted of long blue woolen trousers, leather belts, white flannel shirts with a full collar and straw hats. At the end of the 1850's, many teams adopted the flannel shirt with the button on shield style, which contained the team's emblem, name or both. The full length "pantaloon" pants were in vogue throughout the 1860s but presented a problem of having players getting their feet caught on the legs of the pants when running. Players used to wrap them tight to their shins and use tape or a small belt to hold them flush. The 1868 Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first team to wear knickers. These "cricket-style" pants were less restrictive, and as a result their stockings or socks were now visible. Their red stockings became their trademark.

When a glove is mentioned in conjunction with 19th century base ball the listener or reader must not think of the glove as it exists today. The glove started out as merely a leather work glove, with or without full fingers, and progressed to a more padded piece of equipment. It is impossible to pinpoint the first player to wear a "glove" but there have been reports as early as 1860 that catchers were wearing them. It is logical that the catcher would be the first position player to wear them as they handled hundreds of pitches per game as well as foul tips. It would seem that the first baseman would be the next position player to don a "glove."

A minimum of equipment was employed in 19th century baseball, and changes in its regulation were infrequent. No batter wore a helmet during the 19th century. "Gloves" did not become common until the late 1880s and the baseball has retained the same dimensions, weight and leather pattern since 1872. Only one attempt to regulate uniforms was made by the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs in 1882. This was due to the emergence of the American Association of Base Ball Clubs, which began play in 1882 and attempted to differentiate themselves from the six-year old National League.

19th century bats looked and felt different than today's bats. They were generally heavier and considerably thicker in the handle and had more of a gradual taper from the handle to the barrel. They were made with or without knobs on the handle and on various parts of the bat would be painted "rings" that would reflect the team color.

All these innovations were developed to aid in hitting. More recently though, the bat was redesigned to aid the hitter.

While the bat hasn't changed dramatically since the late 19th century, there are a few short-lived oddities and attempts to improve on the design, like the "mushroom" bat from Spalding and the Lajoie (above), designed by Ty Cobb rival Napoleon Lajoie and said to offer a better grip and improve bat control. And then there's this incredibly strange design, patented in 1906 by Emile Kinst:

By the 1860s, there were almost as many types of baseball bats as there were baseballs. And like early pitchers, who made their own balls, early batters were known to sometimes whittle bats to suit their own hitting style. 

As you might imagine, the results were quite diverse - there were flat bats, round bats, short bats and fat bats. Generally, early bats tended to be much larger and much heavier than today's. 

The thinking was that the bigger the bat, the more mass behind the swing, the bigger the hit. And without any formal rules in place to limit the size and weight of the bat, it wasn't unusual to see bats that were up to 42 inches long (compared to today's professional standards of 32-34) with a weight that topped out at around 50 ounces (compared to today's 30).

Player	Years Played	Total
Cap Anson	1871-1897	27
Nolan Ryan	1966-1993	27
Deacon McGuire	1884-1912	26
Tommy John	1963-1989	26

1. Cy Young, 314
2. Pud Galvin, 310
3. Nolan Ryan, 292
4. Walter Johnson, 279
5. Phil Niekro, 274
6. Gaylord Perry, 265
7. Don Sutton, 256
8. Jack J. Powell, 254
9. Eppa Rixey, 251
10. Bert Blyleven, 250
11. Bobby Mathews, 248
12. Warren Spahn, 245
13. Robin Roberts, 245
14. Steve Carlton, 244
15. Early Wynn, 244
16. Jim Kaat, 237
17. Frank Tanana, 236
18. Gus Weyhing, 234
19. Tommy John, 231
20. Ted Lyons, 230
21. Bob Friend, 230
22. Greg Maddux, 227
23. Ferguson Jenkins, 226
24. Red Ruffing, 225
25. Tim Keefe, 225

1. Jesse Orosco, 1252
2. Mike Stanton, 1178
3. John Franco, 1119
4. Mariano Rivera, 1115
5. Dennis Eckersley , 1071
6. Hoyt Wilhelm, 1070
7. Dan Plesac, 1064
8. Mike Timlin, 1058
9. Kent Tekulve, 1050
10. Trevor Hoffman, 1035
11. Jose Mesa, 1022
12. Lee Smith, 1022
13. Roberto Hernandez, 1010
14. Mike Jackson, 1005
15. Rich "Goose" Gossage, 1002
16. Lindy McDaniel ,987
17. Todd Jones, 982
18. David Weathers, 964
19. Rollie Fingers, 944
20. LaTroy Hawkins, 943
21. Gene Garber, 931
22. Eddie Guardado, 908
23. Cy Young, 906
24. Arthur Rhodes, 900
25. Sparky Lyle, 899

1. Nolan Ryan, 5714
2. Randy Johnson, 4875
3. Roger Clemens, 4672
4. Steve Carlton, 4136
5. Bert Blyleven, 3701
6. Tom Seaver, 3640
7. Don Sutton, 3574
8. Gaylord Perry, 3534
9. Walter Johnson, 3508
10. Greg Maddux, 3371
11. Phil Niekro, 3342
12. Ferguson Jenkins, 3192
13. Pedro Martinez, 3154
14. Bob Gibson, 3117
15. Curt Shilling, 3116
16. John Smoltz, 3084
17. Jim Bunning, 2855
18. Mickey Lolich, 2832
19. Mike Mussina, 2813
20. Cy Young, 2798
21. Frank Tanana, 2773
22. David Cone, 2668
23. Chuck Finley, 2610
24. x-Tom Glavine, 2607
25. Warren Spahn, 2583

1. Ed Walsh, 1.816
2. Addie Joss, 1.887
3. Jack Pfiester, 2.024
4. Joe Wood, 2.030
5. Jim Devlin, 2.050
6. Mordecai Brown, 2.057
7. John Ward, 2.102
8. Christy Mathewson, 2.133
9. Al Spalding, 2.136
10. Rube Waddell, 2.161
11. Walter Johnson, 2.167
12. x- Mariano Rivera, 2.214
13. Jack Weimer, 2.231
14. Orval Overall, 2.233
15. Will White, 2.276
16. Babe Ruth, 2.277
17. Ed Reulbach, 2.284
18. Jim Scott, 2.298
19. Tommy Bond, 2.312
20. Reb Russell, 2.334
21. Andy Coakley, 2.350
22. Eddie Plank, 2.350
23. Larry Corcoran, 2.355
24. George McQuillan, 2.381
25. Eddie Cicotte, 2.382 

Active Players Closing In 
x-Johnathan Papelbon, 286
x-Jose Valverde, 286

1. Mariano Rivera, 652
2. Trevor Hoffman, 601
3. Lee Smith, 478
4. John Franco, 424
5. Billy Wagner, 422
6. Dennis Eckersley, 390
7. Jeff Reardon, 367
8. Troy Percival, 358
9. Randy Meyers, 347
10. Rollie Fingers, 341
11. x-Joe Nathan, 341
12. John Wetteland, 330
13. Francisco Cordero, 329
14. Roberto Hernandez, 326
15. Jose Mesa, 321
16. Todd Jones, 319
17. Rick Aguilera, 318
18. Robb Nen, 314
19. Tom Henke, 311
20. Rich "Goose" Gossage, 310
21. Jeff Montgomery, 304
22. x-Francisco Rodriquez, 304
23. Doug Jones, 303
24. x-Jason Isringhausen, 300
25. Bruce Sutter, 300