I'm looking for a very specific type of rubber soccer ball, that was only made for less than 20 years ( 1968 - 1984 ). These soccer balls look exactly like a standard rubber soccer ball. They were made of a composite called PVC, or poly-vinyl chloride. We all know PVC as a hard, rigid plastic, commonly used in plumbing field. With the addition of plasticizers, PVC was made softer and more flexible by the addition of phthalates. beginning in 1968-1969, everything was being made from it, including inflatables, such as soccer balls. PVC was sold as synthetic rubber or vinyl rubber. These soccer balls were primarily made a practice balls, but were often used in competition play, such as in AYSO / YMCA soccer games. It was also common for them to be used in many High School / Middle school and Elementary school soccer games . Brands to look for are Molten, Mikasa, Asisc, Mizuno, SeamCo, CROWN, and even Voit. Some of these soccer balls sold in department stores, under their house brand. They stopped making these soccer balls by the mid 1980s, for reasons I'm unsure of. Today, we only have vulcanized rubber soccer balls. I don't want to get to yappy, so I'm sure most here know what I'm looking for. I'm offering a minimum of $100 up to $300 each. The oldest PVC rubber soccer balls ( 1970 - 1975 ) are worth $300, if they were used in soccer games of that time and into the 1980s. PVC rubber soccer balls from 1976 - 1982, and game used into the late 1980s are worth about $225-250 each.
Hello Lauren, sorry for the late reply Since I posted this, I have found only 1. I have also learned there were at least 4 types of rubber composites Latex ( second most commonly found rubber soccer ball ) Vulcanized rubber ( these are the most commonly found rubber soccer balls ) Polyurethane rubber / PU ( imitation synthetic leather rubber ) Polyvinyl chloride / PVC ( imitation synthetic vinyl rubber ) The synthetic rubber soccer balls were the ones used in either soccer games or used as practice balls. I guess it all depended on the weather, and what the coaches wanted to use that particular day. From what I gather, they were used all over the world between 1967 and 1988. They were the ball of choice, if conditions became wet ( stitched leather absorbed water ) and they were great practice scrimmage balls. You are more likely to come across one soccer balls in one of these regions / Country's Canada ( Province's & Territories of, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Newfoundland, Labrador, and New Brunswick ) Australia / New Zealand Germany / Netherlands ( Commonly used in American High Schools ) USA Malaysia / Indonesia region
The pictures are no longer showing and I am curious what the balls look like. I did a quick google search and found a pic on another forum. Good luck with your search!
Sorry about that. Tinypic went under, from my understanding. Here are a few pictures. https://imgur.com/ERSYXkj https://imgur.com/mvFco4j https://imgur.com/gyUcYXY https://imgur.com/Xu1FLUT https://imgur.com/3NDAkMU https://imgur.com/O5GE6dP https://imgur.com/CfCJSDl https://imgur.com/iQVmckz https://imgur.com/N3SkP8d https://imgur.com/k8dmmmT I "think" the Spalding "SMASHER" is synthetic rubber, but I'd have to get one in hand, that was "game used" and in pretty worn condition to confirm that. Thats why I included it. I'm also increasing the finder fee for those that can find one. I'm increasing my offer to $400USD or roughly C$600 CAD. For those of you in Toronto, Ottawa, Prince Edward Island, New foundland / Labrador, Montreal, New Brunswick...You might know someone who played in the 1970s / 1980s, that used these old soccer balls in their matches. I'm serious about buying them, no matter how worn they are. They do not need to hold air!!
***Update*** I'm still looking to buy. $40 to $600 depending on what you have. I'm going to try and be a little more specific of what I'd like to find. I'm looking for either polyurethane or polyvinyl rubber soccer balls. If you don't know what these are, that's OK. If you have a rubber soccer ball, and there are no decals on it, but it is very old and worn, it "could be" something of great interest. If you know for certain is was used in soccer games in the 1970s, and the rubber carcass has not begun to dry rot ( becoming hard, stiff or rigid when ball is flat ), then please don't throw it away, even if it no longer holds air. Balls of great interest at this time. Spalding "Smasher". If you got one, and it was game used in the 1970s, lets talk. Those rubber carcass balls, with less than 12 black pentagons. I'm not sure what they are called. I will provided pictures below. I want to believe these were made of polyurethane rubber.I will pay top dollar for one of these, even if it no longer holds air and is all beat up!! The rubber soccer balls that had the combo colors (red/white/blue) pentagons. Again, I think a few of these were made of polyurethane rubber (NOT Vulcanized). https://imgur.com/GHooU9K https://imgur.com/zkfPqSf https://imgur.com/R8st4Q0 https://imgur.com/dQdfoBk https://imgur.com/jgygTLk