Where Did the 'Pigskin' Name Come From?

In American football, the most timeless part of the game is the ball itself: the brown oval made of leather. The present version of the football has changed little since the early days of the NFL. But what's the story with the oddly shaped ball? And most importantly, why is it called a 'pigskin'?

Modern American football dates back to the 1800's when variations of European football (soccer) and rugby football were played at college campuses. Some colleges used their own house rules, and as the rules began to mix, the rules of the game were set down. The first official football game on a college campus was between Rutgers and Princeton on November 6, 1869.

At the time, the ball was very different. It was literally a pig's bladder that was inflated. It was a sphere, not an oval, and it had to be reinflated several times during the game (by the players, of course). Because the players were re-inflating the ball (and they would get out of breath from the game itself), some wouldn't be able to breath as deeply, so the ball was often misshapen. Charles Goodyear patented his rubber technologies in 1844, so it is possible that there were actually rubber footballs around at the time, but the first instance of a 'rubber bladder' was in 1871.

A deflated early 1900's football. It's an oval, but not pointy.

The misshaping of the ball became an advantage because then you could actually grip the ball. The forward pass was introduced in the rules in 1906, so teams preferred the ball to have a narrower area on opposite sides of the ball. In the 1930's, the shape was changed to have much narrower points, which made it much easier to grip the ball for throwing.

Today the football is made of leather (cows) and there are no more pigs in use, but the name 'pigskin' still pops up. It's in reference to the original footballs of the 1800's: pig bladders.