Last updated: by Thanassis Koukoutselos
Short answer: the very first game of basketball, on December 21, 1891, was played with a soccer ball. The first ball made specifically for basketball came in 1894, when James Naismith asked A.G. Spalding to develop one: a laced leather ball, built like the footballs of the time, with a rubber air bladder inside.
The first game: a soccer ball and two peach baskets
Naismith invented the game at the School for Christian Workers in Springfield, Massachusetts (today Springfield College) to keep his students active indoors during winter. In the first game, he tossed a soccer ball up between the two centers, and the goals were two peach baskets fixed to the lower rail of the gym balcony, about ten feet off the floor. That ten-foot height is still the rim height today (Mass Moments).
1894: the first ball made for basketball
According to Spalding’s own company history, Naismith asked A.G. Spalding to develop the first basketball in 1894, and the early rules stated that the ball made by A.G. Spalding & Bros. would be the official ball (Spalding history). The Smithsonian notes that this ball was modeled on Spalding’s 1887 football and looked like a round football: it too had lacing (Smithsonian).
What was the first basketball made of?
- Cover: leather panels sewn together. The panels tapered to points at the top and bottom of the ball, where they met at a laced opening.
- Inside: a separate rubber air bladder, the same idea as in footballs of the period.
- Closure: leather laces. To inflate the ball you had to unlace it, pump up the bladder, test it, and re-lace it until the pressure felt right (Black Fives Foundation).
- Color: dark brown, the natural color of the leather.
A common myth is that early basketballs were stuffed with rags or hair. Purpose-made basketballs used an inflated rubber bladder from the start; it is the lacing, not the filling, that made them so different from today’s balls. Later laced balls added an external hole for the pump, but the laces stayed.
How the ball changed after 1894
| Year | Change |
|---|---|
| 1891 | First game played with a soccer ball |
| 1894 | Spalding makes the first ball designed for basketball: laced leather over a rubber bladder |
| 1929 | George L. Pierce, a Spalding employee, patents a ball stitched closed instead of using bulky external laces, which spreads stress more evenly across the seams |
| 1932 | Spalding introduces the first laceless designs |
| 1950s | Butler University coach Tony Hinkle pushes for an orange ball that is easier for players and fans to see; the brown ball is gradually replaced |
| 1967 | The ABA plays with its red, white and blue ball |
| 1972 | Spalding releases its first synthetic leather basketball |
| 1983 | Spalding becomes the official NBA ball, made of full grain leather |
| 1992 | Spalding introduces the first composite leather basketball |
| 2006 | The NBA switches to a microfiber composite ball, then returns to leather on January 1, 2007 after player complaints |
| 2021 | Wilson replaces Spalding as the maker of the official NBA ball |
Sources for the table: Smithsonian (1929 patent), Black Fives Foundation (1932), Mental Floss (orange ball), Wikipedia (ABA ball), Spalding (1972, 1983, 1992). The 2006 and 2021 changes are covered in our official NBA basketball guide.
First basketball vs a modern basketball
| 1894 ball | Modern ball | |
|---|---|---|
| Cover | Leather panels | Leather, composite or rubber |
| Closure | External leather laces | No laces; panels glued over a molded carcass |
| Inflation | Unlace, pump the bladder, re-lace | Needle through a self-sealing valve |
| Seams | Panels tapering to points at a laced opening | Evenly spaced channels, no external laces |
| Color | Dark brown | Orange (since the 1950s) |
For how a modern ball is built layer by layer, see what basketballs are made of. For the balls used in international play, see FIBA basketballs.
Where can you see early basketballs?
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, the city where the game was invented, has exhibits on the history of the game, starting with Naismith and the early equipment of the sport’s history. Collectors’ auctions also regularly sell laced balls from the 1890s to 1930s.
FAQ
What was the first basketball made out of?
The first ball made for basketball (1894) had a leather cover laced shut over a rubber air bladder. The very first game in 1891 used a soccer ball.
Who made the first basketball?
Spalding, at James Naismith’s request, in 1894.
When did basketballs stop having laces?
Spalding introduced the first laceless designs in 1932, after a 1929 patent for a ball stitched closed without external laces.
Why are basketballs orange?
Early balls were brown leather. In the 1950s Tony Hinkle of Butler University pushed for an orange ball because it is easier to see.
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