Qualifying Cup Final Ball

This week we are showcasing the Qualifying Cup Final Ball as our #ObjectoftheWeek, which is available to see in our museum. The Qualifying Cup was a competition set up in 1895 as a way for smaller clubs to qualify for the Scottish Cup. This ball was used in the match, which saw East Stirlingshire defeat Arthurlie 4-1. As you can see, football at this time was quite different from today. The end of the 19th Century saw the development of the first commercially produced balls, but they still would have been made by hand. One good thing about the new balls was that the middle could be filled with an inflatable rubber pouch rather than the traditional pig’s bladder, which made inflating a ball a messy and smelly affair.