We wanted to know everything about the game, the equipment and the ball itself. The bubble football team is excited to explore the game deeper and learn the history of soccer as well as we could.
The soccer balls you see players using today are significantly different from when they were first created. They looked, smelled and felt different. We’ve put together this guide to show you how the soccer ball has developed throughout history and where the modern-day ball has come from. For how long they have been using it and how did it develop in the past?
The history of the soccer ball dates back to the mid-1800s when Charles Goodyear patented vulcanized rubber and created the first rubber soccer ball. Goodyear started all this, his ball was the earliest stage of this football equipment. Modern soccer balls, made from synthetic leather, PVC, or polyurethane, look and feel very different from vintage soccer balls. There are so many different types and brands available these days that it is hard to choose in the shops when purchasing one.
In this article, we will explain the origins of the soccer ball and how the characteristics of soccer balls changed over the years.
Early history of the ball
Soccer is the most popular sport globally, with billions of fans tuning in to watch their favorite club throughout the year. Soccer is available for everyone to play, in the streets, in the parks or even at home, inside the house.
During the professional games, soccer balls zip around in the air and can be a nightmare for goalkeepers to handle.
What did the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians use?
Today’s balls are a far cry from the inflated pig bladders wrapped in leather that ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians are said to have kicked around.
People in ancient times would often play soccer with a hog’s head, skulls, or anything else they could find and kick around. How crazy is that, right!?
The English army in those days was famous for taking the skulls of their fallen enemies to play soccer games after major battles.
First Days of Soccer Ball Production
The sport of soccer, or football as it’s known in Europe, did not become more organized until the early 19th century.
In those times, people made soccer balls with materials such as inflated pig, ox, or bullock bladders, which went inside a leather case, with boot laces used to tie everything together.
These soccer balls were hefty and may not have lasted more than a few games. Or not even one whole game.
Significant changes to soccer balls came in the mid-1800s when American chemist and engineer Charles Goodyear patented vulcanized rubber.
Goodyear spent much of his career experimenting with natural rubber and eventually found a way to ensure rubber lost its stickiness and become more durable, which was a crazy invention for the soccer game and soccer worlds itself.
In 1855 Charles Goodyear invented the first soccer ball. He made it from rubber, and it would go on to revolutionize the world of soccer.
H.J. Lindon was the next we can thank for the invention of the ball. He then took Goodyear’s invention to the next level.
By developing a rubber bladder that people could inflate, Lindon ensured soccer balls maintained their spherical shape better when kicked around during games.
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