27 May 2009

The History of The Most Popular Sport In The World

Charles Goodyear, as illustrated in an 1891 Sc...Image via Wikipedia

by Gabriel Barkeley

Keeping yourself informed is very important in our times. Do so by reading the following article regarding this topic.

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. The history of soccer goes along, evidently, with the soccer ball history. When talking about soccer ball history there are several periods to distinguish. Thus we can talk about early ball history, the balls in the 1800s, balls in the 1900s, and modern models.

Early soccer ball history goes back to the times before Christ. It is known that people have liked kicking either a ball or something similar to one, since the beginnings of times. 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 human and animal skulls to pig or cow bladders and stitched up cloth. Between 255 BC and 220 AD, the Chinese played 'tsu chu' using animal-skin balls dribbled through gaps in a net stretched between two poles. Ancient Romans and Greeks played a game which involved carrying and kicking a ball, whereas in certain ancient Egyptian rites are said to have had similarities with soccer.

Pre-medieval and medieval stories and legends that can be considered as part of the soccer ball history, also mention the use of animal bladders or skulls to play games similar to modern soccer. 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. In medieval times they used the bladders from animals killed for winter sustenance. 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 was marked by the 1836 patenting of vulcanized rubber by Charles Goodyear. In 1855 the same Charles Goodyear designed and then built the first vulcanized rubber soccer balls. In 1862 H.J. Lindon came up with one of the first inflatable bladders for soccer balls. Although he is the father of the rugby ball too, he did not patent the idea at the time because of the preference for the round ball. By the 1900s the soccer ball history had entered on a different path, bringing these entertainment objects a lot closer to what they are today.

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About the Author:
Gabriel Barkeley is a consultant, soccer coach and trainer. He has worked and lived abroad since the late 1980s and has helped and worked with organizations and people from a wide range of backgrounds, professions and ethnicities. If you're looking to learn more about brine soccer ball soccer balls size then you can reach him at www.supersoccercalifornia.com


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