# How did the Telstar become THE iconic "soccer ball"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-telstar-become-the-iconic-soccer-ball/698624>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [September 16, 2014, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-telstar-become-the-iconic-soccer-ball/698624 "2014-09-16T04:15:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2014, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-telstar-become-the-iconic-soccer-ball/698624/21 "2014-09-17T03:47:39Z")

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I went to Telstar Elementary school.  
We didn’t play soccer.

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**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-telstar-become-the-iconic-soccer-ball/698624/22 "2014-09-17T17:51:56Z")

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Do most people remember the ball they see on TV or from far away in the stands or the ball they actually kicked when they were playing? I’d say few people could tell the structure of the World Cup or other high-level balls by observing them being used. They do remember the balls they kicked and most of them were made with the cheaper Telstar structure. At least they were when I was playing in school. I don’t know if they still are.

It’s iconic because it’s the one we remember.

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**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2014, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-telstar-become-the-iconic-soccer-ball/698624/23 "2014-09-17T18:27:37Z")

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> [@OldGuy](#):
>
> Do most people remember the ball they see on TV or from far away in the stands or the ball they actually kicked when they were playing?

I remember both, but if you asked me to _draw_ a football I’d draw a Telstar ball with black and white panels.

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