Today's Tidbit... Right- and Left-Handed Footballs

Balls are round, so we consider them equally appropriate for the right and left-handed among us. There are exceptions, of course. Bowling balls are handed for the right or left due to the opposable thumbs that some credit for many of the accomplishments in our sometimes-advanced civilization.

But bowling balls are not the only balls that have shown handedness. Footballs were right and left-handed for a time due to our opposable thumbs. I previously wrote about footballs being painted white or yellow starting in the early 1900s and gaining stripes in the 1930s due to the poor lighting conditions for night games. I have yet to cover the location of the stripes directly and how they led to right- and left-handed footballs, so here goes.

When the football first earned its stripes, the positioning of the stripes sometimes varied. Most models had 1-inch-wide stripes set 2.5 inches from the tip of the ball. Others had the stripe or stripes positioned differently. For example, MacGregor had their stripe positioned about 4 inches from the tip and overlapping the laces. Even their double-striped ball had the inner stripe in that position.

(1949 MacGregor GoldSmith Fall and Winter)