Spalding

Innovations from Spalding

In recent years, Spalding has repeatedly attracted attention with special developments and thereby worked its way up to become the leading manufacturer of basketballs. In 2001, the company presented the first and to date only ball with integrated micro-pump that can easily be pumped up at any time during the game. That was followed in 2006 by the Never Flat System, which ensures that the basketball does not lose any air for at least one year. Thus, these balls last ten times longer than conventional basketballs. The following year, Spalding introduced a portable basketball system.

Spalding – official supplier of the NBA

The high quality of its sports balls and constant innovations made Spalding the official ball supplier of the NBA in 1983. This means that all games in that world league are played with Spalding basketballs made of the finest grain leather. For that purpose, Spalding produces special NBA team balls in the respective design of the team. Spalding is also the official backboard supplier of the NCAA.

Leading in innovation and quality – for over 140 years

Spalding was founded in 1876 by baseball player and Hall of Fame pitcher Albert Spalding in Chicago, Illinois. Spalding was the first company ever to produce basketballs – hand-sewn from elastic leather – as early as 1894. Spalding was commissioned to do so by James Naismith, the inventor of the sport of basketball. It was the first official ball for the still entirely new sport, for which until then a football had to serve as a match ball. From then on, Spalding worked ambitiously on the further development of its basketballs – a quality to which Spalding has remained true to this day. In addition to the first basketball, Spalding also produced the first baseball (1876), the first American football (1887), and the first volleyball (1895) in America. The headquarters are now located in Bowling Green, Kentucky.