Blue Ball

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In medieval heraldry, the blue ball ("bezant or roundel azure") was the heraldic charge of the house of (identification needed). Like many heraldic charges, it passed first to inn signs (pubs called the "Blue Ball" are found all over England) and then eventually to placenames. In the United States, the placename blue ball may refer to one of the following:

• Blue Ball, Scott County, Arkansas
• Blue Ball, Yell County, Arkansas
• Blue Ball, Delaware in New Castle County, Delaware
• Blue Ball, Butler County, Ohio, a semi-ghost town in southwestern Ohio.
• Blue Ball, Warren County, Ohio
• Blue Ball, Pennsylvania in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, apparently the original Blue Ball.

Other uses include:

• Blue Ball, Offaly in Ireland
• Blue Ball National Bank, a bank based in Blue Ball, Pennsylvania. Serves the Lancaster and Reading areas.
• Blue Ball, a circuit party held annually in Philadelphia, PA.
• "Blue balls", a modern slang term for a minor cramping men may get in the groin after they are sexually stimulated for a prolonged period but do not ejaculate.
• See Snooker for info on the blue ball used in the game of snooker.