by Craig Blake
From humble beginnings, football now gives baseball a run for its money as America's pastime. Nowadays, footballs are a common sight on television and around college campuses, but footballs didn't always come in pretty packages or even look very much like the modern footballs we're used to seeing. Here are a few interesting facts about footballs you might not have known before. If you haven't managed to impress your buddies with a perfect spiral, at least you can wow them with your vast football knowledge.
Origin: Today, footballs are often referred to as "pigskins." This is because early footballs were made by stretching a pigskin cover around the ball. At that time, there were few rules to football. The game was incredibly violent, and the size and shape of footballs varied widely. Pretty much any ball that could be wrapped in a pigskin cover became a suitable football for whatever version was being played.
Development: In American football, early footballs were nearly identical to rugby footballs, which are slightly less elliptical. As throwing became the accepted method of passing in American football, as opposed to kicking, leather threads were added on one side of all standard footballs. In many leagues, white or light-colored stripes were placed near the ends of footballs so players could see the ball at night. This practice continues in most competitive leagues, but not in the NFL. It was also common in early football games to play with white footballs during night games. Thanks to modern lighting, this practice has pretty much gone extinct.
Modern footballs: Today, most leagues use leather footballs exclusively. Most high-school rules still allow teams to play with more affordable rubber footballs, but leather footballs are still most often the ball of choice. To meet NFL regulations, the home club must have 36 footballs ready for outdoor games and 24 for indoor games. The footballs must be ready for testing for quality and pressure two hours prior to the game. An additional 12 footballs are sent directly to the officiator's office prior to the game directly from the manufacturer to be tested and specifically marked as "kicking" balls. However, you can find footballs for sale in many materials nowadays, depending on your level of play.
