"RLW Ball Four" is a Romagnola & Romangus Cattle Association registered bull.

He was named by pitching great - Nolan Ryan. Ball Four weighed 80 pounds when he was born and 776 pounds when he was weaned. November 2010, this Romangus bull tipped the scales at 2200 pounds.  Artificial Insemination (AI) available through semen from Ball Four.  For more information, please contact Alvin Mashburn at 423-421-1007.

Excerpt from the Romagnola & Romangus Cattle Association website:

Origin and Spread
The origins of the Romagnola breed go very far back, deriving from the bos taurus macroceros (long-horned aurochs), cattle that originated in the steppes of Eastern and Central Europe and that gave rise to various breeds similar in constitution, type, coat and shape of the head and legs. During the fourth century AD, the barbarian hordes of the Goths, led by Aginulf, reached Europe with all their goods, including cattle. Part of these populations settled in the fertile lands of Romagna and their cattle were the ancestors of the Romagnola breed. Present throughout the modern day provinces of Forlì, Ravenna, Bologna, Ferrara and Pesaro, this breed has encountered a favorable environment with a wealth of fodder plants and a good climate. For centuries, this breed was used mainly in a dynamic capacity and cattle with well-developed forequarters, a solid structure and short sturdy legs were needed on that tough and tenacious terrain. Due to mechanization and the development of agricultural techniques, particularly during the second half of the eighteenth century, selection in this breed was aimed more towards beef production, a capacity that was gradually increased over time and became elective in today Romagnola cattle. The morphological and functional characteristics of breeds that have been specialized for beef production, together with a dynamic past that is a guarantee of strength, have brought the Romagnola to the attention of foreign breeders. Starting in the Seventies, the breed has been introduced in a number of countries abroad such as Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, South Africa and Mexico. The balance achieved between beef traits and breeding traits, together with extreme hardiness under harsh environmental conditions and the proven quality of its nutritionally superior beef have placed the Romagnola breed among the finest beef cattle breeds in the world.