Memories

[boykinlp]

I LOVE football, college and the NFL. When I was a youngster, I got an official Wilson NFL football. I used it playing neighborhood football, and would hold it on Sundays while watching the pro games. It went to Clemson with me and we used it while playing pickup tackle football games. It was well used. I have no idea what happened to that football over the years since then. It may be in a storage box in the attic, but who knows.

Just before the season started this year, I was scanning eBay and for some reason some footballs came up on my page. I started thinking back and reminiscing, and decided to price a football like I used to have. There were a few to choose from, but I definitely wanted one that would fully hold air. I sent messages to 4 of the sellers of a few balls and asked if their footballs fully held air without leaking. One didn’t respond, one said his wouldn’t hold air without leaking, and two said their footballs fully held air without leaking. I chose the one that looked the best, and bought it. It was coming from North Pole, Alaska of all places, only 3300+ miles as the crow flies.

Surprisingly, it arrived pretty quickly. When I opened the box the football was slightly deflated so I got my pump to fully inflate it. I dipped the needle into some Vaseline and the ball inflated fine, but as soon as I removed the needle, it deflated. The same thing happened every time I tried to fill it. I figured that I could get a new valve, which would be a cheap fix to take care of the problem, but after researching online, found out that wouldn’t work. These Wilson footballs have a bladder. I found out that I could send the football to Wilson and have the bladder replaced and new laces installed. When I got it back, it was perfectly inflated. Since I am a holster guy, I hit it with some Blackrock Leather N Rich. It turned out great!

So I ended up with a great looking 50+ year old 1972 Wilson NFL football with Pete Rozelle’s name on it since he was the Commissioner then. Hopefully it will stay inflated for years to come. It brought back a lot of great memories. Sorry for the long winded story.
Larry

 

[lihpster]

Reminds me of when I was in grade school. One of the guys had an Official NFL football. When he brought it in, I was surprised at how much bigger it was than the youth footballs the school had.

P.S. He brought it in because the school had locked up all the footballs as our lunch and recess pickup football games had become "too violent".

 

[YeshuaIsa53]

I love stories and memories. Hanz, my German Shepherd, loved to play football with me. He has passed on now, so the wife wanted me to toss the ball in the dumpster. NOT!

The Wilson is signed by Danny White. It has extensive chewing on what is left on one end, and some chewing on the other end. He was a large GSD,
and it will not hold air. Just like I have it: priceless.

 

[Rudi]

The NFL lost me a while back.

 

[bigmtnman]

Looking at the pics of your ball brought back some serious memory. I'd swear I had one exactly like it bought new around 1963. I can "feel it" in my hand (the texture, shape and firmness) when looking at the pics . I remember now that it was a Christmas present from a favorite "Aunt". Wow... THAT is a deep memory dive ! Thanks for putting me on the diving board

 

[rwsmith]

Wow!

Refurbished footballs. Who would have ever thunk it?

 

[snowman]

Never owned one of their footballs, but the only manufacturer of NFL balls since 1955 is less than 20 miles from here. I wouldn't mind touring their facility sometime.

Andy

 

[Walkin Horse]

I care absolutely nothing or know much about football but my one thought would be. If it was slightly deflated,it might have been the Tom Brady NFL version.

 

[boykinlp]

Never owned one of their footballs, but the only manufacturer of NFL balls since 1955 is less than 20 miles from here. I wouldn't mind touring their facility sometime.

Andy

I thought it was a little earlier, looked it up, and found this quote, “Every football ever used in an NFL game since 1941 was hand sewn at the Wilson Sporting Goods factory in Ada, Ohio. The league's signature football, “The Duke” is named after the late New York Giants owner Wellington Mara, whose nickname was Duke.”

I looked it up and in 2020 Ada, Ohio had a population of 5334! Wilson must appreciate the work ethic of those employees to keep the factory there for so many years. I know that I would tour the facility if I lived close enough.
Larry

 

[snowman]

I thought it was a little earlier, looked it up, and found this quote, “Every football ever used in an NFL game since 1941 was hand sewn at the Wilson Sporting Goods factory in Ada, Ohio. The league's signature football, “The Duke” is named after the late New York Giants owner Wellington Mara, whose nickname was Duke.”

I looked it up and in 2020 Ada, Ohio had a population of 5334! Wilson must appreciate the work ethic of those employees to keep the factory there for so many years. I know that I would tour the facility if I lived close enough.
Larry

Hello, Larry. I rechecked the starting date and found both dates on the Google list. Wilson's own website has 1955, others have 1941. I don't know the reason for the discrepancy.

If you ever go there, you'll find that the facility is surprisingly small(I've seen it only from a window in a nearby pizza shop.). I guess it doesn't take loads of space to make footballs, especially when they're made by hand. I read that there is a video online which walks the viewer through the manufacturing process(don't recall the link though -I'm sorry). If you can locate it, that might be the next best thing to being there.

Regards,
Andy

 

[lihpster]

By the way, a new NFL game ball can be bought for $160 on Amazon.