In 1888, Van Zile was working as an editorial writer at the New York World. He found himself doodling an idea on a notepad. He was, subconsciously he later said, working out a diagram of a baseball diamond. On it he showed pegs indicating the positions of players and other information. Edwin Grozier, at the time Private Secretary to Joseph Pulitzer, looking over his shoulder said "Van Zile, you get that idea patented, and I'll give you $250 for your interest in it." He had come up with what he called a "Bulletin Board and Base Ball Indicator." He filed for a patent in 1888 and it was issued in 1889. It was a major breakthrough in showing the progress of baseball games. The World newspaper placed a large version of it outside their offices for that year’s baseball championship series. It was a tremendous hit. Crowds of up to 6,000 watched to get a play-by-play view of the games.