Name: Ellis Rugby Leather Ball
SKU: ER-BA-1849-BR
Price: 44.95 GBP
Availability: InStock

Description

An Introduction to the Ellis Rugby Leather Ball

Ellis Rugby Leather Ball. A desirable item and perfect for a study room for display.

The History of the Leather Rugby Ball

The history of leather rugby balls goes back to 1823. William Gilbert and Richard Lindon started making footballs for the neighbouring Rugby School. The balls had an inner tube made of a pig’s bladder. Both men owned boot and shoe-making businesses located close to Rugby school. Then, In 1870, Richard Lindon introduced rubber inner tubes. And the shape gradually changed from a sphere to an egg.

The Development of Rubber inner Tubes & Pumps

Then Lindon and Bernardo Solano started making balls. For Rugby School out of hand-stitched, leather casings and pigs’ bladders. The rugby ball’s distinctive shape is supposedly due to the pig’s bladder. Although early balls were more plum-shape than oval. The balls varied in size, in the beginning, depending upon how large the pig’s bladder was.

Around 1862, Richard Lindon was desperate to find a replacement for the pig’s bladder and used an India rubber bladder instead. India rubber was too tough to inflate by mouth. And so having been inspired by air syringes. He created a large brass air pump to inflate his rugby balls. Lindon also claimed to invent the rugby ball and its distinctive oval shape. But didn’t patent his design for either the ball, the bladder or the pump. & Details

In 1892 the size of the Rugby Balls was specified

By the 1880s there were several manufacturers of ‘footballs’ in England all using the same process. The size and shape of the ball were not written into the rules until 1892. In 1892 the RFU endorsed ovalness as the compulsory shape. The gradual flattening of the ball continued over the years.

Synthetic Rugby Balls resulting in Leather Rugby Balls being fazed out

The introduction of synthetic footballs over the traditional leather balls, in both rugby codes, was originally governed by weather conditions. If the playing surface was wet. The synthetic ball was used, as it didn’t absorb water and become heavy. Eventually, the leather balls were phased out completely. Polyester is used as a backing material to hold the ball’s oval shape. Along with additional material for grips to enhance performance. The ball is stitched with polyester thread and coated with wax to make it more water-resistant.

Different from American Footballs, Canadian Footballs, and Australian Rules Footballs.

The rugby ball has an oval shape. Also, four panels and a weight of about 400 grams. It is often confused with some balls of similar dimensions used in American, Canadian, and Australian football.