Everyone has some experience with the laced brown oblong-shaped ball that is used in America’s most popular sport.
Whether it is tossing it around in the backyard, playing in your local Turkey Bowl, or watching the Super Bowl, the football has continuously brought people together in revelry and competition.
While most sports use a symmetrical sphere to ensure no matter where the ball makes contact it will have the same type of bounce, the football is an awkward watermelon shape. Now, obviously the football itself is not meant to be struck but rather, spiraled through the air into an outstretched receiver’s hands. But what lead to this one of a kind, elongated, ellipse that we all recognize as a football?
Early History
In the late 1800s, the football was made from an inflated pig bladder, as it was easy to acquire. This is where the term “pigskin” comes from. Holding a variety of shapes, no two footballs were exactly the same. Later, a tanned leather covering made from cowhide was added to the ball. The cowhide made it more durable and could withstand the torment the ball endures during games.
In the early years of football, the leather skin was held together with lacing. Although the lacing is still around today it isn’t used to hold the ball together, but it allows the players to better grip the ball and throw it more accurately.
Stemming from rugby and soccer, the original footballs were a lot rounder than what we are accustomed to seeing today. Furthermore, football was about running down the field with the ball in hand. As time progressed and the forward pass was implemented in 1906, the shape of the ball became more important.
Now, we have the “prolate spheroid.”
The Science
In the early 1900s, the ball was given a more aerodynamic shape, hence the modern football. The prolate spheroid shape was designed to help the ball be thrown accurately and efficiently as it traveled through the air. The shape also allowed for the players to grip the ball with one hand and throw a perfect spiral, which reduces drag or wind resistance on the football.
The spiral breaks up air reducing drag causing a smoother trajectory. With the spiral, the ball can travel farther and be directed with pinpoint accuracy. This is vital to the game today because quarterbacks are perfectionists (i.e. Peyton Manning).
The spiraling science of the football can be understood through the gyroscopic effect. The spiral allows for the football to maintain its direction as opposed to what is referred to as a lame duck or a wobbly pass. A poor spiral creates more drag due to a larger surface area for wind to push against the football, causing it to be less accurate.
The AFL and NFL used balls made by Spalding during the early part of the 20th century. In 1941, the NFL, with the help of NFL legends of George Halas and Tim Mara, switched from the Spalding ball to “The Duke,” made by Wilson. By this time, they had already upgraded from pig bladders and used polyurethane bladders, still covered by a leather skin and vinyl stitching. “The Duke” is still used in the NFL today.
70 years ago, Wilson hand crafted the NFL footballs; and still does to this day in Ada, Ohio at their football factory. Every football used in the NFL for the last 70 years has been made in the small town in Ohio. Each football has as much pride put into it as the teams and fans take in putting on their jersey each Sunday.
The Process
Each football starts out as four cowhide panels that have been tanned, to give them the brown color we recognize. These panels are also stamped to give them the pebble grain texture which increase friction and grip on the football. They are then snipped to meet the weight requirements. After lining the panels with cotton and vinyl they are sown together, inside out to hide the stitching. This creates the outside layer of the football. After being steamed for 90 seconds, using the holes left where the laces would go, they are turned right side out with a metal rod and reshaped. Now the football casing is filled with a polyurethane bladder. These bladders are durable and do not weaken when stretched or impacted; they retain their original shape.
The football is then hand-laced with a single piece of vinyl containing no knots. The air pressure put into the ball will keep the laces in place. After they have been constructed they are then given their smooth shape by increasing the air pressure while confined in a metal casing. They can then be brushed and scrubbed to create a shiny finish as well as a tacky feel. Finally, when all of these steps are complete they are ready to reach the NFL field and be used in front of millions of fans around the world.
The footballs used in the NFL and CFL are both are made by Wilson. CFL rules and regulation require a white stripe on the top of the CFL footballs. This is usually added to create a more visual target during night games. The sizes differ but just slightly between the NFL and CFL footballs. Both require the ball pressure to be around 13 psi (+/- .5 psi).
In the NCAA, teams can choose what ball they want to use. Some of the more common balls used are made by Wilson or Nike. Wilson’s Collegiate footballs also have a white stripe on the top ends of the ball.
Other leagues may use different balls such as the Arena Football League (AFL), which uses a Spalding ball with TPR Performance grip lacing. This ball has a white stripe running across the top end and along the football. Some high schools still use rubber balls with a white stripe running around the two ends of the football.
Each player has their own preferences on which footballs they like the best. Most quarterbacks won’t play with a ball that they haven’t used before. Familiarity and comfortability is the key to being able to play your best. On the flip side, defenders don’t care which football is being used. A sack is still a sack no matter what ball the quarterback is carrying.
It is virtually impossible to go anywhere in the US and not encounter people sporting their favorite teams’ gear. Whether it’s a jersey or a decal on the back windshield of a car, football fans are not shy to let the world know where their true allegiances lie. Let us unite, if only for a second, before the season officially starts, around the history and evolution of the football, and give thanks to the creation of the pigskin.