The Red Ball Cometh, The Orange Ball Falls

What's that looming out of the gray San Fernando Valley gloom? Why, it's a shiny new 76 Ball, in ConocoPhillips' signature liver red! Yes, our own J. Eric Freedner has spotted one of the first of the new red 76 Balls manufactured to appease some of the upset caused by the destruction of the classic orange spheres, and reports in with photographic proof.

While we far prefer Ray Pedersen's original color scheme of warm sunshine orange and rich cornflower blue, we're happy to herald the birth of a new 76 Ball, especially when so many of the classic balls continue to be killed. Check out this disturbing OCRegister Travels with Gary blog post, suggested by commenter ocwarner, but only if you have a sturdy stomach. The image of the worker using an acetylene torch on the 76 Ball's pole is especially poignant. These are the clearest photos we've seen yet of the murder of a 76 Ball.

But it's simply too horrible to show on these pages. Here are a couple more shots of the new red ball at 6003 Woodman Ave. (at Oxnard) in Van Nuys instead.

Long live the mighty 76 Ball! If you see a red ball in your town, please comment below.