The story behind America's favorite sportsballs 

I realize that JJ didn't make this list, but I do find it extremely odd that balls like the volleyball or kickball were given stamps and not a bowling ball. American 10-pin (the most common form of the game played on Earth today) was organized in the USA at the same time as many of these sports (ABC formed 1895) and bowling balls as they are today were designed in the USA and all the big manufacturers are uniquely American companies (Storm, Roto Grip, Motiv, Columbia 300). Even in the popular culture, mostly everyone has gone bowling at some point and the look of a bowling ball is an extremely recognizable item to basically anyone. Some two million Americans bowl USBC-sanctioned leagues each year and there is a wide spectrum of play-type, from purely recreational to professional-level competition. Very surprised it was not one of the stamps.

looking forward to hearing JJ's calm and logical argument for putting mushrooms in apple pie

JJ: "The Balls don't tend to get a lot of love" Me: "PREACH, BROTHER"

I honestly had no idea the iconic black and white soccer ball was such a recent invention, even post dating the orange basketball. That’s wild! I feel like my perception of the world has been turned upside down.

Fun story about the golf ball: When my family or friends go camping, we have 2 rules: no electronics (electric ≠ electronic) and bring something interesting to burn (maybe a 3rd of it being *camping* - so RVs and cabins are no different from hotels in that regard). My uncle once brought golf balls, the old and cheap style. He was the only one smart enough to find cover when he threw one in the campfire. Not knowing of the rubber band interior the rest of us watched to see what would happen... Then the outer shell melted away. Suddenly blazing hot rubber bands shot out in all directions. I had the honor of not only taking several hits, but also having the core hit my shoulder. After laughing off the surprise we barred Uncle Mike from throwing any more into the campfire. I still abide by these rules which make all campouts wonderfully memorable

This is hard hitting reporting. It takes a lot of balls to create content like this.

Hearing JJ talk about balls for 18 minutes is great

Another excellent addition to the American Cultural Canon. I think a cultural canon of holidays would be interesting, how they or their symbols came to be, why Valentine's Day gets much more cultural space than Presidents' Day despite not being a federal holiday. It seems a lot of holidays with more symbols, like Easter and Halloween, aren't federal. August 15 was a national holiday to commemorate Victory over Japan day but was discontinued, I wonder if any other holidays were or will be.

You mentioned visibility considerations for several of the balls, and to add to that, it's important in some sports for a ball's spin to be instantly discernable. I grew up playing soccer and always heard (although I can't cite a source) that soccer balls always have some sort of pattern so that players can easily see how the ball is spinning. Monochromatic soccer balls are extremely rare. I imagine that the patterns on volleyballs and basketballs could help in a similar way.

Next in the American cultural canon series could be board games. Some games, like Chess, Ludo and Snakes & Ladders are surprisingly ancient, while others, like Monopoly and The Game of Life are more modern. This mixing of old and new, Old World and New World, I find intriguing.

As a British person, I love JJ's description of rounders as an 'old, obscure sport' Rounders is still played loads here in the UK. Particularly in school. When I was a pupil it was the sport the girls played while the boys played cricket.

What’s ironic about volleyball being invented as a softer, less aggressive form of basketball is it’s one of the most intense sports I’ve ever seen, sometimes even more so than contact sports lol

Thumbnail with JJ's beautiful face and "History of balls!". Perfect.

I would love to see deli meats! How did we settle on ham, turkey, and roast beef as the core options? How did bologna/baloney get added? What about pastrami? Love this series!

"The balls don't tend to get a lot of love,". No truer words have been said!

Sporting traditions are indeed extremely recent. In America the Superbowl is treated like a national holiday despite it being only in existence since the 1960s

this was super fascinating. I never would have guessed that three, arguably four or even more, of the most common sports balls we use today in America we're all designed by the same guy over 100 years ago.

In Europe the image for a soccer ball is the same as in America and I assume its because most soccer balls for casual use look like the iconic ball.

As a massive football (soccer) fan from the UK, I feel that the reason the Telstar ball has not stayed in use is because football is such a global game and therefore far more globalised from a marketing point of view as well. Most leagues and competitions like to use a ball design of their own choice and Adidas and Nike, who manufacture the balls for the World Cup and many of the most watched domestic leagues in the world, continually change the design to sell more stuff! I think the reason the Telstar design (or Bucky ball) gained the most traction in America due to 'soccer' having a North American renaissance in the 1970s due to the NASL which used a version of that design too.

Hi, JJ, thank you for your awesome videos! I'm from Russia. Here the standard pop culture soccer ball image (depiction) is identical to the North American one. Actually, although I'm a big soccer fan, I didn't know that this iconic design was so short-lived. Btw my local soccer club Fakel Voronezh has finally made it to the Russian Premier (top) League after a 21-year absence which makes us incredibly happy! It's sad that this awesome event happened the same year as this atrocious war started. Much love, JJ, stay awesome!

“but the balls don’t tend to get a lot of love” 100% agree

I think I'd agree with your observation that the specific design of a black and white "football" (by which I mean soccer ball) is how most people would imagine a soccer ball, at least here in the UK. I'm really not a sports person though, and I'm definitely not a football fan. I also wanted to say that I'm constantly impressed by your capacity to conjure books for any feasible quotidian thing you can think of (see 9:47) for these recent cultural canon videos. Makes me tempted to start buying books again, despite not having room for anymore. It also makes me appreciate how I've allowed myself to get stuck in a bubble of art/literary criticism and philosophy with my book purchasing habits. I should diversify my library a little.

As a German, I can approve this is the stereotypical design of a football/soccer ball.

I liked the original intro where you were trying to be more personable haha! Glad to see this video back up tho JJ, keep making videos you're proud of and enjoy :)

Thank you for telling us all about your favorite balls, JJ. :)

jj always amazes me with how he always manages to make any topic interesting no matter what it is

I was thinking : Am I crazy? I watched this yesterday! So here my comment again: amazing video and hugs from Montreal.

"But when they're held for pleasure They're the balls that I like best"

The American football might appear anachronistic, but it's undergone subtle but significant changes in shape to facilitate the forward pass. All the others, while changing more in outward appearance kept their spherical shape.

Fun fact about Spalding; they made one other very iconic American ball, the Spalding Hi-bounce ball, better known as the Spaldeen (Penn made a cheaper version called the Pensie Pinkie). It was used in a variety of urban street games like stickball, punchball, and Chinese handball in American cities, and is quite nostalgic for people who grew up in NYC from the 30s to the 70s. It was discontinued from 1979-1999 so you may be more familiar with the Sky Bounce ball, which is the same concept. There's a great documentary called New York Street Games that goes over the history and significance of the games to generations of city kids.

JJ, what about a video of why some ‘ethnic’ cucine made it in America ( Chinese, Mexican, Italian..) and others didn’t. Or, you could make a follow up to your fauxtentic video and talk about American food outside the US in greater detail

Goldfish bowls and how goldfish became the iconic fish pet could be interesting to have a video on. Although as an aquarist I hate fish bowls, it would be interesting to see the history of them. I do know Asian countries kept them in bowls, but I wonder how they ended up in the U.S.

I’m glad JJ got to speak about his love of balls

Any day JJ uploads is a good day! Edit: As an Indian, the cricket ball would definitely be part of the national ball canon, as well as the table tennis ball. While technically not balls, the shuttlecocks used in badminton would probably be included.

I feel like hockey pucks should have gotten an honorable mention. I realize it is not a ball, but it is iconic of a sport that has culturally united north America

"The balls don't seem to get enough love." Truer words have never been spoken.

Ah, I see my coworkers will be getting some interesting ball facts at work this week. They will say that guy knows his balls.

The generic black and white look of a soccer ball is definitely the same in Europe. It is also used (at least in some european countries including Germany) as a pictogram on street signs telling you which direction a soccer stadium/ground is

A cultural canon of Christmas songs would be interesting.. If you stop and think about it, it's kind of wierd that there are a group of 10 or so songs that are played ad nauseam for a specific time of year, and are never played outside of it.

I was really just waiting for a Manscaped ad with all this Ball talk.

An award winning video about balls. What a great way to start my Sunday.

Almost 19 minutes of pure ball content. Such wonderful balls with incredible backstory. I wish i could have all these balls in my hands, and play with these balls all day long. Wonderful balls.

This is just a guess on my part but I wonder if the reason why that became the "standard" idea of what a soccer ball looks like is because that coincides with the first moderate success for soccer in America. The NASL was founded in 1968 and had some success in the 70s before dissipating and folding in 1984. So the 1970 and 1974 world cups would have been during that first wave of popularity for soccer on this Continent.

JJ you beat me to it. Ever since I became a fan of your videos, I've been wanting to make videos of my own in the similar curious - edutuber - sociological imagination- style as yours, and one of the topics I had in the pipeline was the shape of sports balls. Fantastic content ! keep it up

We are indifferent to soccer in Australia as well.

The whole Victorian ethos of sport was bound up in 'muscular Christianity' of the public schools which is a complex topic that relates to fears of industralisation and the ennerviating effect of modernity on the population which seems to be in full swing again. In the US probably the most famous avatar of this line of thinking was Theodore Roosevelt. In that era the elite schools and colleges of the US consciously tried to imitate British public schools and universities in the way these days universities across the world try to imitate American colleges. It was tied to a particular class of East coast psuedo-aristocratic who actually were increasingly interconnected by business and marriage to the actual British aristocracy and had their own mores and accents. (FDR's way of speaking was a representative of this.) This ethos of sport emphasised amateurism and fair play which is where the roots of a lot of the aesthetics of things like the Olympics and other international sports competitions comes from. The shift towards increasing professionalism was the great story of sport the world over in the early 20th century, before it the second half it became a multinational industry. In any case the British public schools all had their own rules and games and it was only in the late 19th century that many of these were codified. These days in Britain it is considered an American affectation to call football soccer, but actually this was pubic schoolboy slang for the Association Football, just as rugger was (and is) slang in the same way, and reflects how the sports that got imported and adapted in America were for the most part the sports of the higher social classes through colleges. It's interesting how football/soccer never took on in any of Britain's former colonies (Australians/New Zealanders/Indians/white South Africans are as indifferent to it as Americans and Canadians) but other sports did, at least in adapted form. I think this reflects that in those countries the sports that entered popular culture passed through elite institutions before becoming generally popular, whereas in Europe and South America it was generally passed along by working class British sailors teaching local people whilst on shore-leave. And yes, the Telstar is an archetypal ball everywhere. In Britain signs to football stadiums use it (or a geometrically inaccurate symbol thereof), and a lot of balls you buy from shops use the design. The old style balls made from leather have a kind of nostalgia value, in England often associated with the 1966 world cup held there that England won (but ironically the last world cup to use it) though they were also kind of nasty as heading at full pelt could be a pretty nasty experience, another reason their design was changed. About the eras that you mention, I am interested you exclude the early 20th century 1900-1940. It was also quite important I'd say in different ways. It was the era where a lot of transport technology we use now was set up (cars and motorbikes), an era where electrification grids were set up and also where our governmental structures largely reached their modern form to deal with the wars of the era that had knock on effects in terms of what happened later.

"So... That's all ive got to say about balls" Classic J.J.!

"The balls don't get a lot of love." I'll take "Things I didn't expect J.J. to say in 2022 for $100, Alex." (RIP)

Where has this weeks video just disappeared? I was watching it, a se one iceberg video, and it’s gone

I have already seen the video, but i am a simple man. I see balls, i tap.

I love how you always sneak in the "award winning video" bit. Always makes me smile

The real iceberg mistery is why did J.J. delete the previous iceberg video? What are you trying to hide JJ?

JJ, you knew exactly what you were doing with that title and thumbnail and I find it amazing

What was wrong with the older version? I liked it quite a lot

You’re definitely a one-of-a-kind content creator, your videos never fail to interest me and your demeanor has a lot of charm & wit to it. The videos are always well-put together with your insight + editing and I love seeing the expanding shelf collection in the background - overall enjoyable content that has entertained me for a long time and I applaud your great work 👏

In regards to the color of a baseball…the white coloration is actually more important and plays really well with the being released from the pitchers hand and having a the backdrop of stands. The white along with the red stitching actually allows hitters to pick up the ball better and even perceive the type of pitch that is thrown. There may be a slight difficulty once it is airborne, but considering there’s 162 games each played by 30 teams in the professional league and no one has any issues with tracking and catching it, there’s no sense in changing the coloration in any way. I would say that is more of the reason for the color than just the fact that it’s a traditional thing. Great video as always though JJ!!

J.J's history of balls 🤤

We love a JJ stache

What happened to your new video on the canandian iceberg mystery? lol I was watching it an like 3 mins in it said the video was private. what a shame

"The Balls don't tend to get a lot of love" - JJ McCullough 2022

Oh no what happened to the old video?

I’m surprised you didn’t bring up the muddying of baseballs for mlb games. It’s kinda crazy that the same family has a been supplying the same mud exclusively to the mlb for getting their balls a little bit dirty for 3 generations. I’m not a baseball fan, but that part of the sport is so funny to me.

great video! I love all your stuff it's really interesting. keep it up

Fantastic as always!

Why did you private your Canadian iceberg video?

I wished bowling balls were included, the history of bowling in America is very interesting

“The balls don’t tend to get a lot of love” Boy do I know the feeling

Love this series and how you really put into perspective how similar the origins of a lot of these sports came about.

Played 4 years of hs volleyball, the standard I’d say is the plain white for indoor and blue and yellow for outdoor but normally it changes. Also very popular for teams to have volleyballs in their colors (my high school was green and white so all of our volleyball were too)

Adiddas teslstar is indeed the most iconic soccer ball. In Brazil It is common to see cheap balls made of rubber and they usually have this pattern painted on It. Btw, Brazil won the 1970 world cup, it was our 3rd victory 🥳

Great video as usual. I learned a lot. This is my favorite series of yours.

Hi JJ! Here's another set of things that you could explore in your next "American Cultural Canon" episode: musical instruments. Why is it that we always think about the same few (guitar, piano, flute, violin, saxophone, trumpet, drum, etc.), how did they evolve since their invention, how are they depicted in modern media, etc. I think it could be quite interesting!

"History of Balls." Well, you've got my attention. Please proceed, JJ, with the history of "balls."

As an Ohio State Alum it was a fun surprise to see us pop up twice in this video! Football makes sense seeing the basketball team was a treat! Great video!

As a child who grew up in England during the 2000s, I remember the Telstar football being the platonic ideal of a football- if I ever wanted to draw a football, it was a Telstar. That said, even as a young kid, I did not like the Telstar, and my friends didn’t either. Over time they tend to lose air, and eventually the patches begin to peel creating sharp edges. The more modern World Cup balls, often similar to volleyball or basketball in stitching patterns, we’re much better. The Telstar is kind of like a TV with an aerial antenna: iconic, but very dated

"The balls don't get a lot of love." That they don't, JJ, that they don't.

I actually never knew that the all-white volley ball wasn’t standard! I distinctly remember the all-white being the general go-to in cartoons, like in SpongeBob and such. Though I suppose this is just another chapter in my “disappointed that cartoons aren’t real life” arc.

The "Two eras" thing captured me, and I got to wondering about if there were any eras that were known for a specific thing. I used to be really into interbellum jazz, and a ton of the slang we use - cool, hip/hep, "Fella," boogie, all wet, icky, humorous variations on "Absolutely," like "Absitively" and others, dogs (meaning feet), Goofy, Jiitter/jittery (Which originally referred to people with Delerium Tremens) - and just a ton of others all were basically black American slang from the time, which somehow hung on in general society, but is nevertheless relatively new. (Hence "Professor Calloway's Dictionary of Jive" which has to explain words like "Icky" and "Cool" to white people). I've asked a bunch of people why that happened, when most '60s slang is gone, and '90s slang is dying fast, and the best answer I've ever gotten is "Those years were the beginning of mass-media in the US, where people anywhere could hear music in their homes, and 'urban' music was heard in the rural areas for the first time." It's way off topic, but the video - well, one line from the video - got me thinking about that.

Best stamp video I've seen in a while! 10/10 would stamp again

The official NFL football is called 'The Duke' in honor of NY Giants owner Wellington Mara who was nicknamed the Duke and helped the League early in it's history.

On tennis, I still think of it as trending towards being a higher class sport in America. I worked for years in waitstaff at a country club, and the men did golf while the ladies did tennis. They’d show up in these highly homogenized outfits for each sport, have lunch together, then split for their respective sports. So when I personally think tennis, I’ve always pictured an upper class woman in matching sports tank top and skort telling me that her main dish isn’t getting to her fast enough. Lol.

Local man discusses balls for several minutes

Love videos on this sort of stuff man - you never really think about the path that the most beloved and ubiquitous sports in the world took to actually achieve that stardom. I can imagine how much you needed to condense this video down though, I bet every sport covered here has an surprisingly extensive history.

This is such a good vid! Loved it! So much research, and it’s so well conveyed!

While I absolutely understand the intent behind doing so, I'm glad I was able to see the previous draft of this award-winning video.

I wonder what kind of weird ball we've not thought of Spaulding would spin up in this century if he were alive? He may not have been the inventor all the time, but he seemed to read the writing on the wall pretty clearly most of the time.

I kind of love how the American football has been kept very traditional. As a rugby player myself, I do prefer the shape and feel of a modern rugby ball, but the fact that Americans still hand craft footballs out of leather and stitch them up is really cool!

I agree that the balls don't tend to get a lot of love

It's back! yes

Love your channel 🤩❣️ you are perfect for this format...always cheery ,always interesting ,and well researched .🇺🇸

I am the social media and website designer for my local soccer club in Sydney, Australia and we use that traditional black and white ball for all promotional visuals. I'd suggest it's standard the world throughout.

Good video! Minor nitpick but I wish you would've spent a few seconds on the Kickball game, one of many the ball is used for and the name that was used for it on the stamps!

What happened to the original video JJ

Had that "Leo Decaprio pointing" moment when I saw Coquitlam Centre and Craig at the creek. Love it, and great video!

I really liked this week’s video JJ, I’m not from America so your videos really help me learn, keep up the good work.

What an incredibly fun video! I have a question, you mentioned that utility balls were used in the games "foursquare, dodgeball, and bombardment". I grew up in the Midwest in the 1960s, and we played "bombardment", which was what I later learned most people knew as "dodgeball". Do you know of another sport called "bombardment" that is different than dodgeball, or did you mean to say "or" instead of "and"?

Ah I see new edit is up, I did like the first one you know. By the way if you didn't see my first comment on what I think would be a good new cultural Canon video I think one about all the traditional patriotic songs from the US and Canada would be pretty cool.

This was a surprisingly interesting and entertaining good stuff :)

I can hear, feel, and smell the kickball that WAS MY CHILDHOOD

Funnily enough… in Norway, our dodgeballs are made completely out of foam (similar to matress foam), only coated with a thin plastic leather-imitation. They didnt hurt as much as the american ones i assume, and were almost always yellow