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The utility ball (also known as a playground ball or named after the games in which it is used, such as dodgeball and kickball) is a spherical, inflated
Utility balls are typically made of
History of Voit
1940s introductions Balls {{sports-stub
ball
A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but sometimes ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used for s ...
used in several kinds of playground games and sports. Utility balls were introduced in the mid-20th century and have continued to be used in various games.
History
The first dedicated utility balls were introduced by American manufacturerVoit
Voit (official name: "Industrias Voit S.A. de C.V.") is a sports equipment manufacturing company based in Mexico. The company was founded by German American entrepreneur William J. Voit (1880–1946) of Worthington, Indiana. The current range o ...
shortly after World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and became popular within a few years, being adapted to several games such as dodgeball
Dodgeball is a team sports, team sport in which players on two opposing teams try to throw balls and hit opponents while avoiding being hit themselves. The objective of each team is to eliminate all members of the opposing team by hitting them w ...
and kickball
Kickball (also known as soccer baseball in most of Canada and football rounders in the United Kingdom) is a team sport and league game, similar to baseball. Like baseball, it is a safe haven game in which one team tries to score by having it ...
that had previously been played with harder objects, like basketballs. The softer ball was safer and easier to adapt to other games, such as four square
Four square (also called handball, champ, four squares or box ball) is a global sport played on a square court divided by two perpendicular lines into four identical boxes creating four squares labelled 1–4 or A–D.
Four square is a popula ...
.
Specifications
Utility balls are typically made of polyvinyl chloride
Polyvinyl chloride (alternatively: poly(vinyl chloride), colloquial: vinyl or polyvinyl; abbreviated: PVC) is the world's third-most widely produced synthetic polymer of plastic (after polyethylene and polypropylene). About 40 million tons of ...
or rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds.
Types of polyisoprene ...
and have a diameter of and weigh between . The balls are often made with ribbing for grip and are inflated to .
See also
*Funnel ball
Funnel ball is a playground game where a ball is thrown into a funnel with multiple exit holes.
A relatively large fiberglass or plastic funnel, roughly in diameter with a 50 degree pitch, is placed atop a post. The exits of the funnel are m ...
, a piece of playground equipment sometimes played with utility balls
Sources
External links
History of Voit
1940s introductions Balls {{sports-stub