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Football has the widest audience in the world, the most glamorous leagues, some of the highest paid professionals and also packs plenty of entertainment which never seems to end.
In all this football frenzy, have you ever stopped and wondered how the ball used in the sport came into existence?
Let’s take a look at the evolution of the ball used in football throughout history.
Origins and brief history
The modern day adaptation of football came only much later, earlier historical references suggest that the early civilisations such as the Chinese, Egyptians, Romans as well as the South Americans played with a spherical shaped ball made out of human heads, stitched cloth, animal bladder and skulls.
In the medieval age, these bladders were covered with leather to give better shape and retention to the ball.
The pioneer of football – Charles Goodyear
If you’re wondering, he’s the same guy after whom the ‘GoodYear Tyres’ company is named.
Charles Goodyear patented vulcanised rubber in 1836 and made the first rubber football bladder in 1855. Prior to that, pig’s bladders were used in footballs and their shape and size determined that of the football as well, which meant uneven bounce and unpredictable behaviour of the ball.
The 19th century saw extensive use of pig and cow bladders in footballs covered with leather, it was only in the 20th century that the use of vulcanised rubber in bladders became common.
Formation of rules for the size and weight of football
The English Football Association (FA) was formed in 1863, but it was only nine years later that a set description was given for the size and weight of the football.
In 1872, it was stated that the ball must be spherical with an outer casing measuring a minimum of 27 inches and maximum 28 inches in circumference, and the weight can be a minimum of 13 pounds or a maximum of 15 pounds. However, the weight of the ball was revised in 1937 to a minimum of 14 pounds and a maximum of 16.
Although in the past one and a half century the weight and size of the ball have remained more or less the same, what has changed is the material used in manufacturing a ball and the shape of the panels that make a ball.
Advent of the English Football League and mass production of footballs
The initiation of the EFL in 1888 also started mass production of footballs as the demand increased manifold.
Two of the foremost mass-producers of football were Mitre and Thomlinson, who maintained that the quality of football is defined by how well it can retain its shape. The strength of leather being used and skills of the stitchers were the main factors contributing to the shape of a football and its retention.
With the turn of the century, advancements were made in the design of football too, which now was being produced using multiple interlocked panels instead of single leather which was stitched at either end of the ball. These panelled balls came closer to being spherical in shape.
Footballs in the early 1900s
The bladder of the balls was now largely made of vulcanised rubber, which could withstand its shape for a longer duration of play and heavy pressure too.
The outer casing of the balls was made using 18 strips of leather, stitched together using hemp and lace into six panels of three sections each. These balls were laced up after inserting the bladder and inflating it and had to be re-inflated several times during a game to maintain its composure.
The material of the ball made it a lot heavier especially during rains, resulting in injuries to players while heading during a game. These balls also degraded during a match at times and certain balls differed in their behaviour from other due to the leather being used.
Paradox of the changing balls in 1930 World Cup
In the match between Argentina and Uruguay in the 1930 World Cup final, both the teams wanted to use their own make of ball for the match. Finally, it was decided that both the teams will get to play with their choice of ball for each half.
Argentina’s ball was used in the first half and they lead the scoresheet 2-1. The game, however, ended 4-2 in favour of Uruguay who used their ball in the second half.
Enhancements following World War II
Given the discrepancies in the previous football designs, further enhancements were in order.
To begin with cloth pieces were added in between the bladder and leather casing to give the ball that extra cushion, making it easier to control. Leather was coated with synthetic and other non-porous materials, to provide waterproofing and a smaller and more efficient valve was introduced, which aided the extinction of laced balls.
In the 1950s, white and orange balls were permitted to be used along with the usual brown coloured leather balls in floodlights and snow, respectively.
The Buckminster football design and use of synthetic casing
The Buckminster Ball concept was the brainchild of one American architect Richard Buckminster Fuller. He got this idea while researching on ways to construct buildings using minimum materials.
Essentially, a Buckminster ball consists of 20 hexagonal and 12 pentagonal patches. This is the same white and black ball which many of us have seen throughout our childhood.
The first synthetic ball was produced only in the 1960s though then leather ball were considered to have a better bounce and control. With the advancement in technology, the cell structure of leather ball was replicated synthetically to give the ball the same kind of behaviour as its leather counterparts, leading to their complete replacement by the newer footballs in the 1980s.
The first official football of the FIFA World Cup was the Adidas Telstar in 1970, which was based on the Buckminster design.
Footballs in the modern era
Most footballs in the modern are based on the 32-panel-Buckminster design with minor variations. Fewer panels like the previously used 18-panel design were less stable than the 32-panel ones and had more curve.
The 32 hexagons and pentagons, when sewn together, form an almost perfect sphere and due to its ergonomics and sturdiness it’s now widely used.
Many new designs see the light of the day every year with the objective of creating a faster, more accurate ball with a strong build and a soft feel. The big sports companies behind these designs are striving to further improve on an essential object of the sport that has been perfected over the past century, and it doesn’t look like the they will be quitting anytime soon.
