Technical question about the NFL Football.

[MapleLeaf]

Does anyone know what the is the physical differences between the official NFL game ball and "The Duke"?

I was playing catch with the boys and my daughter yesterday night and the kids asked me this question. We have both balls, but the kids like throwing the old "Duke".

I played all my backyard games as a child with the "Duke" so I like pulling it out with the kids.

 

[tomson75]

IIRC, it goes back to the AFL-NFL merger era. The two leagues used different balls...the NFL used 'The Duke', while the AFL used a slightly skinnier version similar to the college ball. When they merged, they split the difference and created a compromise which is the current NFL football....which they still often refer to as the 'Duke'.

Not 100% sure on this though.

 

[MapleLeaf]

IIRC, it goes back to the AFL-NFL merger era. The two leagues used different balls...the NFL used 'The Duke', while the AFL used a slightly skinnier version similar to the college ball. When they merged, they split the difference and created a compromise which is the current NFL football....which they still often refer to as the 'Duke'.

Not 100% sure on this though.

...is the same ball, just a different name?

I can 't tell because our "Duke" is so old that it doesn't have the same shape as our new NFL "Official". It's done well for being over 25 years old.

 

[SkinsandTerps]

Duke is a smaller ball.

I remember throwing a K2.