It wasn't until 1855, when Charles Goodyear patented vulcanized rubber, that soccer balls started taking shape. Literally.

To design the most technologically advanced World Cup ball in history, Adidas had to go back to a time when TV transmissions were mostly in black and white, soccer balls were made from heavy ...

Since about 1970, soccer balls have been stitched or glued together from 32 patches of material—12 of them five-sided and 20 of them six-sided. These patches are arranged so that each pentagon ...

The black and orange had too much contrast, so white and orange it was. "That oatmeal-and-orange ball was distinctive and really helped brand the league,” said Gary Stevenson, president of NBA ...