We're used to seeing baseball players in a wide range of jerseys and uniforms, but none quite like this. In the late 1950s, players took to the field of the U.S. Naval Air Material Center in Philadelphia wearing a different uniform—B.F. Goodrich Mark IV spacesuits. Photographs of this event were found in the Archives Division's Frederick Clark Durant Collection (Acc. No. XXXX-0084).
At the U.S. Naval Air Material Center in Philadelphia, a player swings a baseball bat in a B.F. Goodrich Mark IV spacesuit.
The game was staged as a flexibility demonstration for the spacesuit. The final score of the baseball game is unknown, but the Mark IV would evolve to become the original Project Mercury spacesuit, a definite home run!
There's only one thing left to say as the season begins... Play ball!
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