Two local Kansas City companies are teaming up to bring a new kind of ball game to offices and homes everywhere.
Made in KC and Sandlot Goods have created Yardball, a ball made for playing catch. Made in KC CFO Thomas McIntyre said that when painting was completed the café at 12th Street and Baltimore Avenue in Kansas City, all the masking tape was pulled from the walls and a ball was made from the tape.
“The ball was a good throwing weight, soft, and was the perfect size for a game of catch,” McIntyre said. “The tape ball ended up living in our office and was thrown around on a regular basis.”
One day while throwing the ball, McIntyre realized there is no ball to his knowledge designed specifically for playing catch. Everything he had seen was a derivative of other sports, like football or baseball, requiring some level of skill or other equipment to play.
“The simplicity of this concept made me want to take it beyond just a ball of tape and try to make it into something that was more legitimate,” he said.
McIntyre called in the expertise of Chad Hickman, owner of Sandlot Goods. Hickman’s company was at that time primarily focused on baseball-themed leather goods manufacturing in Kansas City. He also was a fan of throwing around Made in KC’s tape ball when he stopped by for a visit.
A week later, Hickman created the first Yardball prototype by hand. After a few tweaks to the design, Yardball received its first tosses from friends, McIntyre said they thought a campaign on Kickstarter would be the logical next step to getting the ball in the hands of consumers.
The Yardball includes elements of a baseball, only slightly larger, with a soft inner core, premium leather and hand-stitched, to create a ball that’s easy to throw around and catch, inside or out.
Yardball’s Kickstarter campaign launched on Monday, and the goal of raising $15,000 was achieved in less than six hours.
“We reached our goal on day one, which feels great,” McIntyre said.
The Yardball team is not stopping there. The funds received beyond the goal will allow McIntyre and Hickman to hit the ground running. Distribution will happen after the Kickstarter closes on Aug. 15.
Following the campaign, locally made Yardball will be available at Made in KC stores and sell for $39.
