With Thanksgiving just around the corner, gridiron battles may be on TV sets wherever your feast is unfolding. But while not everyone around the table will want to discuss the resurgence of the Dallas Cowboys or whether the Lions will ever win, something football gurus and those who could do without quarterback sacks, alike, may be able to partake - in addition to the tradition of piling plates with turkey and stuffing - is discussion of the football itself. The pigskin: easily the oddest shaped ball used in sports.smithsonianmag.com 2012 articleIn a sporttechie.com, "The Evolution of the Football"According to an article on guinessworldrecords.comAt

But is it really made of pigskin? Why does it have laces? And why does it have that unusual shape?

The football as we know it today has not changed much in the past several decades, but the ball evolved over time and there are some differences in the ball that Steve George, coach of the Newtown High School football team, has noticed from his playing days in the 1990s to his coaching days today.

"It was a little smoother. It was a finer grain leather than they're making now," said Mr George, who was part of Newtown High's 1992 state champion squad, and is looking to lead this year's team to the pinnacle game.

Footballs are made of cowhide, but they are called pigskins because they once were likely made of pig bladders, according to multiple sources.

This takes us to the shape of the ball.

"How Did the Pigskin Get Its Shape?" author Jimmy Stamp wrote: "The football was never truly designed, it just sort of happened. According to Henry Duffield, a man who witnessed a game between Princeton and Rutgers in 1869, largely considered to be the first intercollegiate game: 'The ball was not an oval but was supposed to be completely round. It never was, though - it was too hard to blow up right. The game was stopped several times that day while the teams called for a little key from the sidelines. They used it to unlock the small nozzle which was tucked into the ball, and then took turns blowing it up. The last man generally got tired and they put it back in play somewhat lopsided.'"

Apparently footballs had deflate-related issues well before Tom Brady started taking snaps.

And the problems persist even today.

"The balls used to last a season. They just don't hold air any more," said Mr George, adding that they are made more cheaply these days, and he is regularly replacing practice balls that leak.

by Louie Lozano, in the early 1900s, the ball was given a more aerodynamic shape, designed to help the ball be thrown accurately and efficiently as it traveled through the air. The shape also allowed for the players to grip the ball with one hand and throw a perfect spiral, which reduces drag or wind resistance on the football.

Whether or not the football's shape was accidental to begin with, it has intentionally been made to be more aerodynamic than a European football (aka a soccer ball) for a long time, the irregular shape undoubtedly allowing for longer throws.

Mr George points out that his team uses balls made by Spalding and Wilson.

"Kickers like Spalding. I think it's got more of a sweet spot to kick," said Mr George, adding that the Spalding ball is a bit fatter than the Wilson, which he describes as being more streamlined and preferred by quarterbacks. The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference mandates use of the Spalding ball in the state playoffs, Mr George said.

Wilson has made the National Football League game ball since 1941. The football may be called a pigskin, but it also has another nickname, "The Duke," named in honor of football legend Wellington "Duke" Mara. More than 700,000 footballs are produced in Wilson's factory in Ada, Ohio. Each rawhide makes ten footballs, which are pumped with 13 pounds of pressure.

The laces serve a different purpose than they once did. In the early years of football, the leather skin was held together with lacing. Today, laces allow for quarterbacks to get a better grip on the ball and throw it more accurately, according to Mr Lozano's article.

we find out: During an excavation project at Stirling Castle, Scotland, UK in the mid-1970s, a gray leather ball was discovered behind oak-paneling in a bedroom used by Mary, Queen of Scots during her reign in the 16th century. It has since been declared the world's oldest football. The ball was rediscovered in 1999 in the archives of Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum, and tests confirmed that it was 436 years old - created between 1540 and 1570. It is unknown if the Queen herself used the ball; what is more likely is that soldiers and staff played a type of handball with it in the castle courtyard. The ball is currently on display at the same museum.

So, if turkey dinner banter slows down and the games are blowouts, throwing around some of these pigskin tidbits might liven things up before you tackle that pumpkin pie.