Ball (gridiron football)

File:Richard Lindon (1816-1887).jpg with two rugby union balls in 1880]]

File:1935 All-Star Collegiate Football (1989.222).jpg]]

In the 1860s, manufactured inflatable balls were introduced through the innovations of English shoemaker Richard Lindon. These were much more regular in shape than the handmade balls of earlier times, making kicking and carrying easier. These early footballs were plum-shaped.{{cite web|url=http://www.rugbyfootballhistory.com/ball.htm|title=Rugby Football History|first=Nigel|last=Trueman|access-date=27 July 2016|archive-date=25 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325111723/http://www.rugbyfootballhistory.com/ball.htm|url-status=live}}

Some teams used to have white footballs for purposes of night practice.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/creatingbiggamej00umph|url-access=registration|title=Creating the Big Game: John W. Heisman and the Invention of American Football|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|author=Wiley Lee Umphlett|pages=[https://archive.org/details/creatingbiggamej00umph/page/141 141]–142, 144, 148, 151–152|date=1992|isbn=9780313284045}}

The football changed in 1934, with a rule change that tapered the ball at the ends more and reduced the size around the middle. This new, sleeker ball made it much easier to handle, particularly for passers, while at the same time making the drop kick unreliable and obsolete.{{cite web|url=http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/footballhistory.html|title=History of The Game Of Football Including The NFL and College Football|first=The People History -- Steve|last=Pearson|access-date=27 July 2016|archive-date=1 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160801052707/http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/footballhistory.html|url-status=live}} Hugh "Shorty" Ray, at the time a college football official and later the NFL's head of officiating, is generally credited with conceiving the pointed football.{{cite news|title=Pro Football To Honor Ray: Rules Advisor's Ideas Gave Game Needed Boost|author=Seymour Smith|newspaper=The Sun (Baltimore)|date=September 14, 1966|page=C4|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7676652/pro_football_to_honor_ray/|access-date=October 25, 2017|archive-date=October 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026002507/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7676652/pro_football_to_honor_ray/|url-status=live}}

From {{nfly|1941}} through {{nfly|1969}} and since {{nfly|2006}}, the official game ball of the National Football League (NFL) has been stamped with the nickname "The Duke" in honor of Wellington Mara, the longtime owner of the New York Giants, who was named after the Duke of Wellington by his father, Tim Mara, founder and first owner of the Giants. Wilson Sporting Goods, the manufacturer of the NFL ball since 1941, named the ball after Wellington Mara at the urging of George Halas, the owner and head coach of the Chicago Bears, to reward Tim Mara for arranging the contract that made Wilson the official supplier of footballs to the NFL.{{cite news|last = Frassinelli|first = Mike|date = 30 January 2014|title = Why is the NFL football called The Duke?|url = http://www.nj.com/super-bowl/index.ssf/2014/01/why_is_the_nfl_football_called_the_duke.html|work = NJ.com|access-date = March 26, 2018|archive-date = 27 March 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180327025235/http://www.nj.com/super-bowl/index.ssf/2014/01/why_is_the_nfl_football_called_the_duke.html|url-status = live}}

The nickname was originally used until {{nfly|1970}}, when Wilson changed the game ball upon the National Football League-American Football League merger. Wellington Mara died in 2005 (at age 89), and Wilson returned "The Duke" to the game ball the following year in his honor.

File:RobinsonThrowing2.jpg, who threw the first legal forward pass, demonstrates an "Overhand spiral—fingers on lacing"Cochems, Eddie, "The Forward Pass and On-Side Kick", Spalding's How to Play Foot Ball, American Sports Publishing, Walter Camp, Editor, Revised 1907 edition]]

Coach John Heisman (the namesake for today's Heisman Trophy) was a Shakespearean actor in the offseason, and would open each season by saying to his freshmen football players:

{{blockquote|What is this? It is a prolate spheroid, an elongated sphere in which the outer leather casing is drawn tightly over a somewhat smaller rubber tubing. Better to have died as a small boy than to fumble this football.{{explain |date=January 2022 |reason=Is this a quotation from Shakespeare?}}{{cite web |url=http://www.petroleumhistory.org/OilHistory/pages/Heisman/john_heisman.html |title=John Heisman, Football Coach |website=Oil History |last=Pees |first=Samuel T. |access-date=2014-11-12 |archive-date=2014-11-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113000134/http://www.petroleumhistory.org/OilHistory/pages/Heisman/john_heisman.html |url-status=live }}}}

Leather panels are typically tanned to a natural brown color, which is usually required in professional leagues and collegiate play. At least one manufacturer uses leather that has been tanned to provide a "tacky" grip in dry or wet conditions.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}} Historically, white footballs have been used in games played at night so that the ball can be seen more easily;{{Citation needed|date=July 2015}} however, improved artificial lighting conditions have made this no longer necessary. At most levels of play (but not, notably, the NFL), white stripes are painted on each end of the ball, halfway around the circumference, to improve nighttime visibility and also to differentiate the college football from the pro football.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} The NFL formerly used white-striped footballs for late afternoon and night games; a striped ball was used in Super Bowl VIII, a late afternoon game in January under dark overcast skies.{{cite web|url=http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com/content/the-duke-is-back/5291/|author=Kerry Byrne|title='The Duke' is back!" (subtitle - "The white stripes")|publisher=Coldhardfootballfacts.com|access-date=3 August 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307041430/http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com/content/the-duke-is-back/5291/|archive-date=7 March 2014|url-status=dead}} The NFL ended the use of white stripes after the {{nfly|1975}} season, as the stripes were slippery and made the ball more difficult to throw.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=I4BIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gm0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=3530%2C1883868 |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |title='Watch the clock' is new NFL game |date=March 18, 1974 |page=14}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2WoqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=m1YEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6999%2C635418 |work=Pittsburgh Press |agency=UPI |title=NFL delays wider field but bans striped football |date=March 18, 1976 |page=32}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6ZBfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pzAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2904%2C5263203 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=(Idaho) |agency=Associated Press |title=NFL adds end-zone clocks |date=March 18, 1976 |page=2B}}

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| footer = The old melon-shaped ball (left, an 1892 ball) measures from {{convert|28|to|22|in|cm}} in circumference, while the modern ball (right) measures approximately {{convert|21|in|cm}}.

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The leather is usually stamped with a pebble-grain texture to help players grip the ball. Some or all of the panels may be stamped with the manufacturer's name, league or conference logos, signatures, and other markings. Four panels or pieces of leather or plastic are required for each football. After a series of quality control inspections for weight and blemishes, workers begin the actual manufacturing process.

Two of the panels are perforated along adjoining edges, so that they can be laced together. One of these lacing panels receives an additional perforation and reinforcements in its center, to hold the inflation valve. Each panel is attached to an interior lining. The four panels are then stitched together in an "inside-out" manner. The edges with the lacing holes, however, are not stitched together. The ball is then turned right side out by pushing the panels through the lacing hole. A polyurethane or rubber lining called a bladder is then inserted through the lacing hole. Polyvinyl chloride or leather laces are inserted through the perforations, to provide a grip for holding, hiking and passing the football. Before play, according to the NFL rules, the ball must be inflated to an air pressure between {{convert|12.5|and|13.5|psi|kPa|abbr=off|lk=in}}.{{cite web|title=Rule 2: The Ball|url=http://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/image/rulebook/pdfs/5_2013_Ball.pdf|website=National Football League|access-date=29 January 2015|archive-date=22 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222042700/http://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/image/rulebook/pdfs/5_2013_Ball.pdf|url-status=dead}} The ball weighs {{convert|14|to|15|oz|g|abbr=off|lk=in}}.

In the CFL, the stripes traverse the entire circumference of the ball; its ball used slightly different dimensions prior to the 2018 season, when the league adopted the NFL specifications for its ball with the previous striping retained.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cfl.ca/2018/03/19/cfl-roll-new-ball-2018-season/|title=CFL to roll out new ball for 2018 season|date=March 19, 2018|access-date=October 1, 2018|archive-date=June 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629131014/https://www.cfl.ca/2018/03/19/cfl-roll-new-ball-2018-season/|url-status=live}} The UFL used a ball with lime-green stripes. The 2001 XFL used a novel color pattern, a black ball with red curved lines in lieu of stripes, for its footballs; this design was redone in a tan and navy color scheme for the Arena Football League in 2003. The 2020 XFL is standard brown but with X markings in team colors at each point (in 2020); in 2023, the league switched to a ball resembling the NFL ball, but with the team logo imprinted on one panel. Three indoor American football leagues; the Can-Am League, UIFL, and AIF, used a ball with red, white and blue panels. Both the 1980s and 2020s incarnations of the USFL have used the same Wilson football the NFL used at the time, with the only differences being the word markings and signature. The World Football League's football was a distinct orange color, said to be more visible during the night as most of that league's games would be played in the evenings.

Prior to the merger, the American Football League's balls, the J6V (or J6-V / "Cushion Control") and J5V (or J5-V) by Spalding were {{convert|1/4|in|cm|abbr=on}} narrower and {{convert|1/4|in|cm|abbr=on}} longer than the NFL football.{{Cite web|url=https://www.si.com/nfl/2014/06/17/nfl-history-in-95-objects-skinny-afl-football-spalding-j5|title=The AFL's Skinny Football|date=17 June 2014 }} In Super Bowl I, the two teams played with their respective footballs from each league; the Chiefs used the AFL ball, and the Packers played with the NFL ball, "The Duke" by Wilson.{{cite news|last1=Beschloss|first1=Michael|title=Before the Bowl Was Super|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/25/sports/before-the-bowl-was-super.html?_r=0&abt=0002&abg=1|access-date=June 9, 2015|work=New York Times|date=January 24, 2015|archive-date=January 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180114073638/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/25/sports/before-the-bowl-was-super.html?_r=0&abt=0002&abg=1|url-status=live}}

File:Wilson_American_football.jpg modern American football, as used in the National Football League]]

In an NFL game, the home team must have 36 balls for an outdoor game or 24 for an indoor game, and they must be available for the referee to test with a pressure gauge two and a half hours before the game to keep players from cheating. Twelve new footballs, sealed in a special box and shipped by the manufacturer, are opened in the officials' locker room two hours and 15 minutes before the game. These balls are specially marked with the letter "K" and are used exclusively for the kicking game. The visiting team may also present 12 balls to the referee for outdoor games for inspection.{{cite web |url=https://operations.nfl.com/the-rules/2020-nfl-rulebook/#rule2 |title=2020 NFL Rulebook {{!}} NFL Football Operations |website=operations.nfl.com |access-date=8 December 2020 |archive-date=18 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218080528/https://operations.nfl.com/the-rules/2020-nfl-rulebook/#rule2 |url-status=dead }} The NFL introduced kicking balls (K-balls) to prevent teams from doctoring balls after the NFL Competition Committee determined that teams conditioned balls so they would fly higher and travel further.{{citation|title=Some kickers, punters don't favor special teams K-Ball|via=Associated Press|url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=2726072|date=10 January 2007|access-date=8 December 2020|archive-date=7 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201207234947/https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=2726072|url-status=live}}

Since 1941, Horween Leather Company has been the exclusive supplier of leather for National Football League footballs.{{cite web |url=http://www.profootballhof.com/story/2012/5/17/the-nfls-centenarians/ |title=The NFL's centenarians |publisher=Profootballhof.com |date=7 February 2010 |access-date=27 March 2013 |archive-date=14 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014175541/http://www.profootballhof.com/story/2012/5/17/the-nfls-centenarians/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g88DAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Horween+Leather%22+-%22Horween+Leather+Company%22&pg=PA67 |author=Scott Oldham |title=Bombs Away|magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=October 2001 |access-date=26 March 2013}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gw3_obTNh4QC&q=%22Horween+Leather+Company%22&pg=PA377 |title=NFL Head Coaches: A Biographical Dictionary, 1920–2011 |author=John Maxymuk |publisher= McFarland|year=2012 |isbn=9780786465576 |access-date=26 March 2013}} The arrangement was established by Arnold Horween, who had played and coached in the NFL.{{cite news |author=Barbara Rolek |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2003/10/27/horweens-leather-bound-by-tradition/ |title=Horween's leather bound by tradition |work=Chicago Tribune |date=27 October 2003 |access-date=27 March 2013 |archive-date=13 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513162245/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2003-10-27/business/0310270217_1_bob-clevenhagen-rawlings-glove |url-status=live }} Horween Leather Company also supplies leather to Spalding, which, at one time, supplied game balls to the now-defunct Arena Football League.{{cite book |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3479900049.html |title=Horween Leather Company |publisher=encyclopedia.com |access-date=26 March 2013 |archive-date=18 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130718184440/http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3479900049.html |url-status=live }} Despite the moniker "pigskin" sometimes used to refer to footballs, cow leather is used.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2008-05-16/horween-leather-faces-an-uncertain-futurebusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120708131028/http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2008-05-16/horween-leather-faces-an-uncertain-futurebusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 8, 2012 |author=Howard Wolinsky |title=Horween Leather Faces an Uncertain Future |magazine=Business Week |date=May 16, 2008 |access-date=April 24, 2017}}

Minnesota Vikings kicker Fred Cox, during his NFL career, is credited with developing an all-polyurethane foam football, which he sold to Nerf.{{cite news |title=Ex-Vikings kicker Fred Cox, inventor of Nerf football, dies at 80 |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/28132640/ex-vikings-kicker-fred-cox-inventor-nerf-football-dies-80 |website=ESPN.com |date=November 21, 2019 |access-date=November 22, 2019 |archive-date=November 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191122165657/https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/28132640/ex-vikings-kicker-fred-cox-inventor-nerf-football-dies-80 |url-status=live }} Nerf later added the vortex football, also made of foam, with a smaller body and torpedo tail fins, resembling a Ketchum Grenade. Foam footballs such as Nerf's, especially the vortex football, can be thrown greater distances than a traditional air-filled leather or rubber ball,{{cite web|url=http://www.hasbro.com/nerf-2/en_US/sports.cfm|title=Nerf Sports|publisher=Hasbro|access-date=2013-01-24|archive-date=2015-12-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151226132933/http://www.hasbro.com/nerfhttps://web.archive.org/web/20151208201507/http://www.hasbro.com/nerf-2/en_US/sports.cfm|url-status=bot: unknown}} but their kicking range is much shorter, with the vortex football being practically unusable for kicking.

• Football (ball)
• Ball (association football)
• Rugby ball

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{{reflist}}

{{Commons category|American footballs}}

{{American football concepts}}

{{Gridiron football equipment}}

Category:American football terminology

Category:Balls

Category:American football equipment

Category:Canadian football

Category:Inflatable manufactured goods