Let's start this off with a math question. The current year is 2020. How many years has it been since 1914? The answer: 106 years! That's how old a football was in a photo sent to us by a customer recently. Jordan Carter, the owner of the football sent this selfie with him and the antique football in our Rugby Ball Display Case.
Here is what Jordan had to say about the display case, "This is a great display case... I bought a rugby size case because I'm displaying an early football from 1914, which is much fatter than today's footballs. I don't think a regular football case would work. I love the mirror on the back because my football has a bunch of 100 year old signatures on the back that now you can see in the reflection and I don't have to take the ball out of the case. Super cool!"
"This is a ball commemorating the Oregon State Beavers vs. the Oregon Ducks football game (known as the Civil War), which was played to a 3-3 tie on November 21, 1914. The game was played in Corvallis at Bell Field in front of 7,000 fans. Each team kicked a field goal for the only points of the game. The “Civil War” was first played between the two teams in 1894 and it’s the fifth longest rivalry game played between D-1 teams in the country. Back in 1914, Oregon State University was knows as Oregon Agricultural College (OAC), and they “Aggies” they were called. U of O was the University of Oregon, same as it is today. I believe they were called the “Webfoots” back then...The back of the ball does have a bunch of autographs and some little drawings, although I realized they are not player autographs from that game. It appears to be from U of O students who got the ball somehow in the 1920’s and passed it down over the years. Some were members of the Signa Nu Fraternity at U of O, and at least one was a Phi Sig. No real rhyme or reason why they had it, but maybe as a prize or trophy or something... or something fraternity related...Anyway, it’s a cool ball and cool piece of OSU vs. U of O history… so I wanted a football display case to protect the football while also having the mirror on the back so you can see some of the signatures on the back of the ball without taking it out of the case. Your display case works perfectly for this!"
He brings up an interesting point about the mirror back of the display case. The mirror back offers a unique opportunity to display the football in a display case and still see the signatures without having to ever remove it from the display case. Along with that, the clear acrylic does not obstruct any visibility to see the interior of the case. If you'd like to read more on that, please read our posting on "What makes Better Display Cases better?"
The Rugby Ball Display Case is perfect to display your rugby ball or antique football. You can choose from a mirror option, as talked about in this blog, or a clear display case option. There are various base styles you can choose from including black, white, clear, mirror, turf and wood. There are also 11 different metal riser color options to select from as well: gold, silver, black, white, red, blue, green, orange, yellow, pink and purple. Ultimately, the customization options are in no short supply and allow you to best display your story in your most ideal way.