Footy Gear

 

Football has come a long way since the 1850’s. A number of new ideas and developments have, and continue to change the game for the better. None of these have been more important than the ball we play with.

 

THE BALL...

The very first footballs were not like the ones we play with today. During the 1800’s footballs were made by blowing air into a pig’s bladder. These balls varied in weight and would struggle to retain their shape.

 

During the 1860’s, companies started making footballs out of rubber which had been vulcanized (a process to make the rubber stronger).

 

In 1888, the introductionof the Football League led to the mass production of footballs. The first companies to do this were Mitre and Thomlinson’s of Glasgow.

 

By the 1900’s further developments had been made; most footballs were now made using inflated rubber covered with heavy brown leather stitched together.

 

However, these balls caused a number of head injuries. This brown leather was absorbing water in the bad weather, making it heavy, and the stitching of the leather made the ball rough. During the 1940’s, in an attempt to resolve these issues, the outer stitching was replaced by a valve to inflate the ball, and syntheticpaints were used to coat the ball.

 

With the introductionof floodlights in 1951, a white ball was approvedto help fans see the ball more clearly. At first, the brown leather balls were painted white, but the success of these syntheticpaints suggested yet further developments to footballs would be made.

 

The development of the synthetic leather footballs we use today started during the 1960’s. However, it took until the late 1980’s for them to replace the leather ball of old. 

 

The footballs we use today come in a variety of colours and designs to suit you. The weight of the ball is no longer an issue; it’s easy to strike and head, and the durabilityof the ball is far greater than its predecessors.