Who Invented the Rubber Ball?

The rubber ball has been a favorite toy for generations of children. They love to incorporate rubber balls into games and playground activities. Once assumed to be a relatively recent innovation, balls made from some kind of rubbery substance actually date back many centuries.

History

The earliest rubber balls were developed by the Mayan society in 1600 B.C. Mayans combined the sap from the rubber tree with the juice of Morning Glory vines.

Time Frame

Charles Goodyear developed vulcanized rubber in 1839, and synthetic rubber was developed by German scientists during World War I. Both breakthroughs improved the durability of rubber balls.

Types

A wide variety of sports balls are made from rubber including tennis and golf balls that utilize a rubber core.

Innovations

A new and more powerful ball made from synthetic rubber was developed in 1965 by chemist Norman Stingley when he compressed rubber under 3,500 pounds of pressure per square inch.

Fun Fact

Stingley's discovery was purely accidental. Once he saw the properties exhibited by his compressed rubber creation, he knew that he had a hit toy on his hands.

Potential

The Wham-O toy company teamed up with Stingley to market the "Super Ball" in 1966 and the toy quickly became a top selling playground staple.

Features

Advertisements of the day claimed that the Super Ball could rebound to the height of a three story building when thrown down.

Resources

• Fun Ball Games