The History of Nerf Footballs

Nerf footballs were invented by former Minnesota Vikings field goal kicker Fred Cox. Cox was talking to a fan who wanted to create a practice toy for kids that featured plastic field goal posts. The fan, John Mattox, later showed up at Cox’s house to discuss the idea. Cox almost didn’t let him in, but ultimately decided to listen to his pitch. After Mattox further described his idea for plastic field goal posts equipped with an adjustable crossbar that would allow kids to practice kicking at different heights, Cox was intrigued and asked what type of ball he planned to use. Mattox replied that he was going to use something heavy so that kids couldn’t kick it out of their yards. However, Cox replied that it should be something light so that kids wouldn’t hurt themselves. He then came up with the idea of creating a small football out of foam. A local injection molder made the prototype. Due to the heat-based process, the outside of the foam football had a thick skin that gave it durability and, even more notably, good grip — a feature that Cox later insisted was simply “dumb luck.” Cox and Mattox took their toy idea to Parker Brothers, which had already rolled out the Nerf ball (a soft foam toy designed to allow kids to play indoors without causing damage) in 1969. (Notably, the company had previously attempted to make a foam football, but it lacked a grippable surface and wasn’t deemed viable.) When the two men pitched their idea, Parker Brothers was only interested in the foam football that Cox had invented. The idea moved to production and the company introduced the Nerf Football in 1972. It quickly took off and became popular among kids as well as college students and adults. Ads featuring popular football players such as John Elway of the Denver Broncos and the Manning brothers (as well as their father, Archie), helped popularize the toy even more. It became so popular that Cox was able to retire early due to the royalties he received for his idea. Later, Parker Brothers was acquired by Hasbro, but the toy maker continued to produce the popular Nerf footballs. While sales peaked in 1979 (at 8 million!), the Nerf Football remains popular to this day and has even spawned an expanded line of similar products.