Some would say soccer is the most popular game in the world; we are not sure about that, but it is definitely one of the oldest. Soccer ball history is in fact the history of soccer. When referring to the soccer ball history you should distinguish between some stages or ages in which changes in the soccer ball occurred. Thus we can talk about early ball history, the balls in the 1800s, balls in the 1900s, and modern models.
Early soccer ball history starts before the birth of Christ. Kicking a round object for fun was surely a pastime to many cultures. Indians in South America are known to have used a light elasticized ball, which is amazing since rubber started being produced only a few thousand years later. The early soccer balls consisted of different items from animal and human skulls to pig or cow bladders and stitched up cloth. The Chinese used to play a game that involved dribbling a ball through gaps in a net spread between two poles, and this happened as early as 255BC. Ancient Greeks and Romans also had a game which involved carrying and kicking a ball, whereas in certain ancient Egyptian rites soccer similarities have been discovered.
Pre-medieval and medieval legends and stories that can be qualified as part of the soccer ball history, also talk about bladders and skulls used for game playing. An instance of the use of an animal bladder ball is presented in the legend about the ‘game’ between two villages. An entire village used to kick a skull along a path to a nearby village square. The other village would in turn try to kick the skull to the first village’s square. Inflated animal bladders seem to dominate this part of the soccer ball history. They used to inflate them and then try to keep the ‘ball’ in the air by using their hands or feet. In time people noticed that covering the bladder with leather would maintain the shape better and longer.
The soccer ball history of the 1800s bears the influence of the introduction of vulcanized rubber, Charles Goodyear’s invention. In 1855 the same Charles Goodyear managed to create the first vulcanized rubber soccer balls. In 1862 H.J. Lindon came up with with a prototype for the first inflatable soccer ball bladders. He is also credited to have invented the rugby ball; however he did not patent the idea for it as, in those days, the round ball was preferred for being more easily used. By the 1900s the soccer ball history had already enjoyed the use of stronger rubber balls that could withstand heavier and heavier pressure.
