Ball has been playing second for Memphis of the Southern League, and is considered a first-class infielder but not a heavy batsman…”

“General Sporting Notes,” Chicago Tribune, August 1, 1894: 11.

Ball had two stints as a major league ballplayer. In 1894, he got in a game with St. Louis – a 26 – 8 shellacking at the hands of the White Stockings. Brought in from Memphis of the Southern League (though without a full contract), Ball didn’t start the game; he entered as a replacement for pitcher Pink Hawley on a triple switch (the left fielder went in to pitch, the second baseman moved to left, and Ball entered to play second base). He got a hit in three at bats, fielded one play cleanly, dropped a popup, and he struck out once.

St. Louis didn’t keep Ball around much longer, but he reappeared as a utility infielder with Baltimore in 1898. That said, he didn’t hit enough in his 32 games (.185 with little power) to merit another look. For his part, Ball was an active player for more than two decades in Chicago city leagues and other midwestern minor league stops. The best team for which Ball was hired was likely a good Minneapolis team in the Western League, leading to his second MLB job. Ball is in the bottom row on the left in the Minneapolis team photo above.

Arthur Clark Ball was one of four children born to Jonathan and Susan (Vandegraft) Ball in Madison, Indiana – as to when he was born, it’s hard to say. He is listed as being 41 at the time of his death, but FindaGrave.com profile says he was born in 1876. The Illinois Death Index says he born in “about 1873” – not helpful at all. In 1880, the US Census record says he’s nine – that would suggest a birth of at least 1872 (ninth year rather than nine years old) if not 1871. Baseball-Reference says April 1872. So, he was born in the 1870s.

I should note that many articles referred to Ball as “Artie,” so if he had a nickname that was likely it.

In the same way that Ball bounced from team to team, Ball bounced from career to career. In 1900 he was listed as an office clerk, in 1910 a flour man in a cannery, and at the time of his death he was working as a switch man. He married Margaret Bligh in 1897; the marriage produced a son and a daughter (John and Anna). Both kids would be without parents as they entered adulthood. Margaret passed away in late December 1912; and Ball joined her two years later on December 26, 1915, having suffered through tuberculosis, complicated by cirrhosis of the liver and peritonitis.

Notes:

Kentucky Marriage Records
1880, 1900, 1910 US Census Records

“Base Ball Notes,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 1, 1894: 3.
“Browns Demoralized,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, August 2, 1894: 5.
“Base-Ball Notes,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, August 2, 1894: 5.
“Marriage Licenses,” Chicago Chronicle, January 26, 1897: 11.
“With the Amateurs,” Chicago Inter Ocean, October 2, 1897: 5.
“Baseball Games For Today,” Chicago Tribune, October 15, 1899: 18.
“Tips to the Town Nines,” Chicago Tribune, March 30, 1902: 10.
“Clash Over Salaries,” Chicago Inter Ocean, March 15, 1903: Sporting Section, Page 1.
“Cal’s Team Nosed Out,” Chicago Inter Ocean, June 17, 1906: 10.
“Strong Semi-Pro Card Today,” Chicago Tribune, July 10, 1907: 7.
“Death Notices,” Chicago Tribune, December 27, 1915: 13.
“Arthur Ball, Old Player, Dies,” Decatur (IL) Daily Review, December 28, 1915: 5.