A masterpiece soccer ball kicked by heroes "Hand-stitched genuine leather Peacock edition"
For those of the minor soccer generation, the recent improvement in the level of soccer, as well as the dramatic changes in the environment, are nothing short of astonishing. For me, who has a tool fetish, seeing a beautiful ball rolling around on a green field like in the opening image is a sight far removed from the old days, and I really admire it.
Hiroaki Konishi
|
2022/05/03
Normally, I'm only interested in spikes, but you can't play soccer without a ball, so I'm somewhat interested in balls as well. However, just like uniforms, balls are not something individuals prepare, so in the past and even now, I have rarely bought my own balls. However, this time I would like to write a little bit about old soccer balls.
For those who played soccer in the Showa era, when they see images like the one at the beginning of the book, they honestly think, ``Wow, times have changed.'' This may be a completely natural sight at today's powerhouse high schools, let alone universities and professional teams.
Coincidentally, Figures 1 and 2 show the past and present of the soccer club at the same high school (Aichi Chukyo (currently Chukyo University Chukyo) High School). It is famous as the alma mater of players Sho Ito and Ryo Miyaichi.
Figure 1 Practice scene of the Chukyo University Chukyo High School soccer team in 2021 (Here(quoted from). 
Figure 2 A practice scene at Chukyo High School in 1988. The ball was probably originally black and white, but became white (gray?) due to wear. I think every school continued to use them, even if the surface was crumbling, as long as they allowed air to enter.
Figure 3 shows the soccer team practicing at Takatsuki Minami High School (closed in 2005), which was a powerhouse school in Osaka at the time. Among our graduates is Koichi Sugiyama, who played for the Reds and other players.
Figure 3 Takatsuki Minami High School practice scene in 1989. At that time, it was commonplace to have an earthen ground. The ball appears to be of much better quality compared to Figure 2, but at the time, the ball became very heavy when it contained water, so it wouldn't fly even if you kicked it, and heading the ball was scary.
In the early 1980s, the mainstream soccer ball in Japan was an old-fashioned model with white hexagonal and black pentagonal leather sewn together.
However, this type was originally developed by Adidas in 1970 as the Telstar, which was developed to make it easier to watch on TV, and from 1978 onwards, a new design called the Tango became mainstream around the world (Figure 4).
Figure 4: The best soccer practice in Europe in the early 1980s. Diego (left) carries a Miter ball when he joined Napoli in 1984. Coach Robson (middle) prepares the ball (tango) for the England national team's practice, West Germany national team at the 1984 EURO. Schumacher and Coach Derval (right) carrying the ball. After practice, the ball has grass on it, not mud.
When I became obsessed with soccer in the early 80's, I longed for high-quality shoes made in West Germany and thought that even if I could buy them, I would never be able to practice wearing them. I thought I would get a drumstick if I sat down instead.
Genuine Tangos at that time were so expensive that I had never seen or even touched one (Figure 5). So, at the time, I was quite surprised when I saw a scene like Figure 4.
Figure 5 Types and prices of soccer balls around 1980. A hand-sewn ball made of natural leather was used as the official ball, and it was an expensive ball made in Japan, costing about 8,000 yen (pasted balls cost about 4,000 yen). Adidas shoes are even more expensive, with Tango costing around 20,000 yen.
Balls from that time are still very popular as vintage items, and there seem to be collectors all over the world, and Adidas balls such as Tango from that time aresurprisingly expensiveIt seems to be traded at. In addition, official match balls from past World Cups and major international tournaments are expensive to begin with.
However, the quality of so-called "patchmon" these days is quite high, and it seems that overseas sites are selling products that look exactly like the ones from back then. In addition, the original Adidas seems to be selling reprints and replica models, and since the ball is simple to make, they are more faithful to the original than the reprint version of the spikes. I'm not particular about original balls, so I acquired several models that I admired at the time (Figure 6).
Figure 6ancient and modernvarioussoccer ball. far leftYasuda 11 Starsand Tango Madrid on the far right are copies or replicas.The Madrid one is made entirely by Adidas, but it comes from a time when artificial leather became much cheaper, and other copies of the Tango are made of genuine leather.
I don't think I'd try to kick an original vintage ball that costs hundreds of thousands of yen outside, and I don't know if it's going to get air properly. In comparison, I don't think I'm going to compete with Patchmon, but I think it's a good item for lifting while remembering the things I admired back then.
Now, let's move on to the subject of this article, but the ball that many Showa soccer players used was a genuine leather hand-sewn ball made in Japan. Among them, Maeda Sports Equipment Manufacturing's ``Peacock'' (Figure 7) probably boasted an overwhelming market share.
Figure 7 Peacock advertisement (1988, 1989). It is unknown when peacocks were first produced, but after this time they were rarely seen in the 1990s. When I thought of Peacock, I had the impression that it was made of genuine leather (cowhide), but I didn't know until now that models made of artificial leather were also made around this time.
In games from the Showa era, when the ball left the pitch, substitute balls were not handed out one after the other, as is the case these days. I think it was a method that I would continue to use.The referee will check the air intake before the start, (probably) use the harder ball, and will have no choice but to replace the ball only if it has been kicked out of the way during the match and it will take a long time to retrieve it. It felt like using .
Basically, it would have been ideal to use a new ball for every game, but due to club expenses, the number of balls that can be purchased each year is limited, so if you are a player on a weak team like me, it would be a good idea to use a new ball. I think it was extremely male to be able to interact with him. That's why I longed for the new balls that were sometimes dropped off during games.
The soccer club I belonged to both high school and university purchased Peacock. There were other Japanese genuine leather sewn balls (Figure 5), but for some reason I think peacock balls were the most popular.They may have been of good quality and had a long lifespan, but I have never compared them, and the genuine leather balls from the Showa era did not become round even when inflated, and were sometimes quite distorted. , I was sometimes forced to squeeze it to keep it in shape by filling it with air.
However, Peacock was used for a long time not only in regular soccer clubs like ours, but also in important matches in Japan (Figures 8 and 9).
Figure 8 Oenoki (Yamaha) and Kimura (Nissan) playing in the Emperor's Cup final on New Year's Day 1990 (left). Diego (right) playing in Japan in January 1982. bothMr. TomikoshiI think this is a valuable shot that clearly shows that the ball is a peacock.
Figure 9 Peacock balls were used in the Japan League (Hitachi, Nishino), the University League (University of Commerce, Honnami), and the High School Championship (Seisho, Fujita). Of course, other manufacturers (Yasuda, Tachikara, Scepter, etc.) were also used, but I think the percentage of Peacock was quite high.
Peacock soccer balls were indispensable in the Japanese soccer scene in the 1980s, but after the Emperor's Cup shown in Figure 8, the Tango used in the World Cup (at that time the Italian World Cup model) was changed to match the global trends. It seems that it is gradually being used in major domestic matches.
Up until the 1982 World Cup, tango balls were made of genuine leather, but starting in 1986, artificial leather balls were used, and genuine leather balls gradually ceased to be used.As shown in Figure 7, Peacock also started producing balls made of artificial leather, but they seem to have become less common in the 1990s.
It seems that the manufacturer, Maeda Sports Seisakusho, was very particular about the genuine leather of the ball when developing it (an episode from that time isHere), it may have become difficult to differentiate from other companies.It seems that the ``Peacock'' soccer ball, which is a dream of our generation, is rarely sold at online auctions these days, but it seems to be extremely difficult to obtain, so I had given up on my desire to kick it again.
However, when I obtained the ball shown in Figure 6, I asked a certain ``Patchmon'' shop about making a ``Peacock'' replica, and they actually made one (Figure 10).
Figure 10 Peacock replica. The original model has a long history, so the font and display have changed little by little, but we have adapted it to the final model (?) shown in Figure 7. I miss the uneven feel and distortion that is unique to genuine leather sewn balls.
By the way, it says on the surface that this is a ball that has been used in the Japan Soccer League since its inception in 1965. 1965 is the year I was born, so maybe I feel more sympathy for it than for other balls.
I would really like to roll as many as Figure 1, but even in the Showa era I had never seen four new peacocks lined up. "Patchmon" shop is currently selling this model.ebayIt's on sale at , so if you're interested, please check it out.
When I look at a new, beautiful, round ball, I feel nostalgic and at peace, but the Earth, which is supposed to be round and beautiful, is a cruel place. I really want them to stop hurting the Earth with missiles, where so many people live in peace.
(Photos were reprinted from Yansaka, Soccer Magazine, Afro, Getty Images, etc.)
For those who played soccer in the Showa era, when they see images like the one at the beginning of the book, they honestly think, ``Wow, times have changed.'' This may be a completely natural sight at today's powerhouse high schools, let alone universities and professional teams.
Coincidentally, Figures 1 and 2 show the past and present of the soccer club at the same high school (Aichi Chukyo (currently Chukyo University Chukyo) High School). It is famous as the alma mater of players Sho Ito and Ryo Miyaichi.
Figure 1 Practice scene of the Chukyo University Chukyo High School soccer team in 2021 (Here(quoted from). Figure 2 A practice scene at Chukyo High School in 1988. The ball was probably originally black and white, but became white (gray?) due to wear. I think every school continued to use them, even if the surface was crumbling, as long as they allowed air to enter.
Figure 3 shows the soccer team practicing at Takatsuki Minami High School (closed in 2005), which was a powerhouse school in Osaka at the time. Among our graduates is Koichi Sugiyama, who played for the Reds and other players.
Figure 3 Takatsuki Minami High School practice scene in 1989. At that time, it was commonplace to have an earthen ground. The ball appears to be of much better quality compared to Figure 2, but at the time, the ball became very heavy when it contained water, so it wouldn't fly even if you kicked it, and heading the ball was scary. In the early 1980s, the mainstream soccer ball in Japan was an old-fashioned model with white hexagonal and black pentagonal leather sewn together.
However, this type was originally developed by Adidas in 1970 as the Telstar, which was developed to make it easier to watch on TV, and from 1978 onwards, a new design called the Tango became mainstream around the world (Figure 4).
Figure 4: The best soccer practice in Europe in the early 1980s. Diego (left) carries a Miter ball when he joined Napoli in 1984. Coach Robson (middle) prepares the ball (tango) for the England national team's practice, West Germany national team at the 1984 EURO. Schumacher and Coach Derval (right) carrying the ball. After practice, the ball has grass on it, not mud. When I became obsessed with soccer in the early 80's, I longed for high-quality shoes made in West Germany and thought that even if I could buy them, I would never be able to practice wearing them. I thought I would get a drumstick if I sat down instead.
Genuine Tangos at that time were so expensive that I had never seen or even touched one (Figure 5). So, at the time, I was quite surprised when I saw a scene like Figure 4.
Figure 5 Types and prices of soccer balls around 1980. A hand-sewn ball made of natural leather was used as the official ball, and it was an expensive ball made in Japan, costing about 8,000 yen (pasted balls cost about 4,000 yen). Adidas shoes are even more expensive, with Tango costing around 20,000 yen. Balls from that time are still very popular as vintage items, and there seem to be collectors all over the world, and Adidas balls such as Tango from that time aresurprisingly expensiveIt seems to be traded at. In addition, official match balls from past World Cups and major international tournaments are expensive to begin with.
However, the quality of so-called "patchmon" these days is quite high, and it seems that overseas sites are selling products that look exactly like the ones from back then. In addition, the original Adidas seems to be selling reprints and replica models, and since the ball is simple to make, they are more faithful to the original than the reprint version of the spikes. I'm not particular about original balls, so I acquired several models that I admired at the time (Figure 6).
Figure 6ancient and modernvarioussoccer ball. far leftYasuda 11 Starsand Tango Madrid on the far right are copies or replicas.The Madrid one is made entirely by Adidas, but it comes from a time when artificial leather became much cheaper, and other copies of the Tango are made of genuine leather. I don't think I'd try to kick an original vintage ball that costs hundreds of thousands of yen outside, and I don't know if it's going to get air properly. In comparison, I don't think I'm going to compete with Patchmon, but I think it's a good item for lifting while remembering the things I admired back then.
Now, let's move on to the subject of this article, but the ball that many Showa soccer players used was a genuine leather hand-sewn ball made in Japan. Among them, Maeda Sports Equipment Manufacturing's ``Peacock'' (Figure 7) probably boasted an overwhelming market share.
Figure 7 Peacock advertisement (1988, 1989). It is unknown when peacocks were first produced, but after this time they were rarely seen in the 1990s. When I thought of Peacock, I had the impression that it was made of genuine leather (cowhide), but I didn't know until now that models made of artificial leather were also made around this time. In games from the Showa era, when the ball left the pitch, substitute balls were not handed out one after the other, as is the case these days. I think it was a method that I would continue to use.The referee will check the air intake before the start, (probably) use the harder ball, and will have no choice but to replace the ball only if it has been kicked out of the way during the match and it will take a long time to retrieve it. It felt like using .
Basically, it would have been ideal to use a new ball for every game, but due to club expenses, the number of balls that can be purchased each year is limited, so if you are a player on a weak team like me, it would be a good idea to use a new ball. I think it was extremely male to be able to interact with him. That's why I longed for the new balls that were sometimes dropped off during games.
The soccer club I belonged to both high school and university purchased Peacock. There were other Japanese genuine leather sewn balls (Figure 5), but for some reason I think peacock balls were the most popular.They may have been of good quality and had a long lifespan, but I have never compared them, and the genuine leather balls from the Showa era did not become round even when inflated, and were sometimes quite distorted. , I was sometimes forced to squeeze it to keep it in shape by filling it with air.
However, Peacock was used for a long time not only in regular soccer clubs like ours, but also in important matches in Japan (Figures 8 and 9).
Figure 8 Oenoki (Yamaha) and Kimura (Nissan) playing in the Emperor's Cup final on New Year's Day 1990 (left). Diego (right) playing in Japan in January 1982. bothMr. TomikoshiI think this is a valuable shot that clearly shows that the ball is a peacock. Figure 9 Peacock balls were used in the Japan League (Hitachi, Nishino), the University League (University of Commerce, Honnami), and the High School Championship (Seisho, Fujita). Of course, other manufacturers (Yasuda, Tachikara, Scepter, etc.) were also used, but I think the percentage of Peacock was quite high. Peacock soccer balls were indispensable in the Japanese soccer scene in the 1980s, but after the Emperor's Cup shown in Figure 8, the Tango used in the World Cup (at that time the Italian World Cup model) was changed to match the global trends. It seems that it is gradually being used in major domestic matches.
Up until the 1982 World Cup, tango balls were made of genuine leather, but starting in 1986, artificial leather balls were used, and genuine leather balls gradually ceased to be used.As shown in Figure 7, Peacock also started producing balls made of artificial leather, but they seem to have become less common in the 1990s.
It seems that the manufacturer, Maeda Sports Seisakusho, was very particular about the genuine leather of the ball when developing it (an episode from that time isHere), it may have become difficult to differentiate from other companies.It seems that the ``Peacock'' soccer ball, which is a dream of our generation, is rarely sold at online auctions these days, but it seems to be extremely difficult to obtain, so I had given up on my desire to kick it again.
However, when I obtained the ball shown in Figure 6, I asked a certain ``Patchmon'' shop about making a ``Peacock'' replica, and they actually made one (Figure 10).
Figure 10 Peacock replica. The original model has a long history, so the font and display have changed little by little, but we have adapted it to the final model (?) shown in Figure 7. I miss the uneven feel and distortion that is unique to genuine leather sewn balls.By the way, it says on the surface that this is a ball that has been used in the Japan Soccer League since its inception in 1965. 1965 is the year I was born, so maybe I feel more sympathy for it than for other balls.
I would really like to roll as many as Figure 1, but even in the Showa era I had never seen four new peacocks lined up. "Patchmon" shop is currently selling this model.ebayIt's on sale at , so if you're interested, please check it out.
When I look at a new, beautiful, round ball, I feel nostalgic and at peace, but the Earth, which is supposed to be round and beautiful, is a cruel place. I really want them to stop hurting the Earth with missiles, where so many people live in peace.
(Photos were reprinted from Yansaka, Soccer Magazine, Afro, Getty Images, etc.)
