In 1914, Gilbert Bell threw a tennis ball that wound up getting stuck high up in the archway of Lincoln Cathedral in the UK. In 2005, David Bell, Gilbert’s nephew, wrote a letter to the cathedral, asking for the ball back. It turns out that the ball’s presence was only noticed after cathedral staff received the letter. For years, the family would go to the cathedral to check on the ball, and each time it was still there. Then the family noticed scaffolding at the cathedral and became concerned that the ball would be lost if the walls were cleaned. Cathedral spokeswoman Carol Heidschuster said, “I have walked around the cathedral hundreds of times, yet never noticed the ball.” She added that they had no plans to clean the stonework, but would return the ball if it came out. The ball is believed to be among the oldest surviving tennis balls in the UK. The earliest tennis ball held in the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum dates from 1916, while Gilbert Bell’s ball is from at least 1914. David Bell said the family is happy that the ball will remain in place for future generations.
