Fish and Roman Conquests Help Soccer Evolve

Because office workers all over Germany want to make sure they do their part in keeping the public informed on the state of soccer, the country's Patent and Brand Office in Munich released a study to show the world how soccer

Where the ball started rolling

Who was the first person to kick around a soccer ball?

Not even the patent office was willing to answer that one, but it did say the most ball-related games were part of preparations for cultural events, and that the first ever "soccer" game -- then called Ts’uh-küh, which translates to "kicking a feather and hair filled leather ball with the feet" -- is thought to have taken place in today's China some 4,697 years ago.

The Japanese game of Kemari is a likely Ts’uh-küh decendent. The first ever World Cup between Japan's Kemari experts and Chinese Ts’uh-küh masters is said to have taken place in 50 B.C.

The ancient Greeks put a more martial slant on the game, which some say is still visible in some slide tackles, in their sport Epskyros, or "ball battle." Living practically next door, the Romans adapted the game for their legionnaires who took the rugby-like game on the conquests as far as the British Isles, which are seen as the home of the modern sport millions will focus their attention on this summer.

What happened to the ball?

Air-filled balls, as documented in a 1519 English school book, seemed to be the norm for the Isles' soccer players, and was apparently already so well-spread that not even William Shakespeare could let the sport pass unnoticed. One of the much-abused characters in his Comedy of Errors complains that if he must be kicked around like a soccer ball, he should at least like to be sewn in leather.

Great Britain's Patent GB 1886-4359A improved the "modern" ball in 1886 by making it out of rubber, then in 1886 and 1887 patenting the valve and air pump. But it's the Germans who should be credited for the pattern of black and white hexagons and pentagons that is kicked around the world's soccer yards -- it's a Teutonic invention of 1970.

Anyone who has ever kicked the ball over the neighbor's hedges should also send their thanks to 2006 World Cup hosts. In 2003, it was a German who came up with the idea of implanting a radio transmitter to determine the balls exact position in DE 103 38 620 A1.

"Put your whistle away and get some glasses!"

Originally intended for police use, the whistle was invented by Great Britain's John Hudson, who was responsible for designing many of the whistles used by both police and referees, who suddenly got a lot more attention than when they just waved around white hankies to call a foul. The debate as to whether this actually improved the game is still raging.

Reconstructing the path back from today's goal to its original creator proved a difficult task for Munich's patent office employees, who, even after putting in long weekend hours -- Bayern Munich had after all wrapped up the German title about two weeks into the season -- could not determine where soccer's first strikers were aiming.

Gotta be the fish cartridge

While today's stars wedge their feet into cleats depending on their sponsoring contracts, it was hard to find any teams in the 19th century with 11 pair of the same shoes. The first pairs of mass-produced cleats -- thick, heavy, ankle-high boots often outfitted with six cleats -- were designed for students in middle of the 19th century.

It wasn't until new materials were developed that comfort and weight could be factored in to what players wrapped around their feet. Germany's DE 1998 909 U played a special role changing how contact is made with the ball -- the patent called for fish cartridge on the top of the shoe to give players more control.

The report did not state whether it was the fish guts that directed more balls toward the goal or the smell that kept the defenders away.