An Introduction to Uncle Charlie: NIST Research that Proved Baseballs Really Curve

A mix of science and sports history from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. For much of the 20th century, controversy reigned over whether baseballs could actually “curve” (or if the perceived motion was just an optical illusion). Enter former NIST director Lyman Briggs, who, with a wind tunnel and the pitching staff of the Washington Senators (“First in war, first in peace, and last in the American League…”) solved the question once and for all.

That said, the origins of the slang term for a curve ball, “Uncle Charlie” (or “Lord Charles” if we’re talking about peak Dwight Gooden’s curve), remains a mystery.

David Crotty

@davidacrotty

David Crotty is a Senior Consultant at Clarke & Esposito, a boutique management consulting firm focused on strategic issues related to professional and academic publishing and information services. Previously, David was the Editorial Director, Journals Policy for Oxford University Press. He oversaw journal policy across OUP’s journals program, drove technological innovation, and served as an information officer. David acquired and managed a suite of research society-owned journals with OUP, and before that was the Executive Editor for Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, where he created and edited new science books and journals, along with serving as a journal Editor-in-Chief. He has served on the Board of Directors for the STM Association, the Society for Scholarly Publishing and CHOR, Inc., as well as The AAP-PSP Executive Council. David received his PhD in Genetics from Columbia University and did developmental neuroscience research at Caltech before moving from the bench to publishing.