Evolution Of The Football

What the ball itself used to look like

Evolution Of The Football

When we think about the real old days of football, we need to keep in mind that the ball they used then was a lot different than the ball we use today.

Interestingly enough, the best source online for these changes seems to be Scout Life.

The original ball probably looked something like this round ball in this 1869 drawing:

Note, however, that the ball probably wasn’t perfectly round in those days. Traditional medieval “footballs” were just an inflated pig’s bladder and could take any sort of shape.

The football in the 1870s looked like this:

This is also likely the same shape that soccer balls had in those days, since the distinction between rugby and “association” football was not very well established.

Scout Life, by the way, is incorrect in claiming that the ball was slightly oval to facilitate laterals and passing the ball. As we’ve seen in the rules, it seems that passing the ball backwards was not legal until sometime in the early 1880s.

When passing became a thing in 1906, the ball changed slightly to accomodate it:

Still — I can’t imagine even the best players of our day being able to throw this thing very far.

When we look at the past, we often forget that the tools they used were so much different than what we’re used to today.