Basketball

A basketball is defined as “an inflated spherical ball used in the game of basketball.” Most basketballs have an inflatable, inner, rubber bladder, are wrapped in layers of fibers, and then are covered with leather, rubber, or a synthetic composite. The surface of a standard 29.5 inch ball is divided by “ribs” and contains approximately 4,118 pebbles, at a diameter of 2.5 millimeters each. The traditional basketball is orange with black ribs although the balls come in a variety of colors. The Wilson Sporting Goods Company began producing basketballs early in its history, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that the Wilson ball was chosen as the official basketball of the National Basketball Association, cementing its place in sports history. The ball shown here was used by the donor, Thomas Weber, during the early 1970s in Newburyport, Massachusetts.

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