vintage potcards
Charles Goodyear was a soccer and (vintage postcard:) fan extraordinaire. He built this ball in 1855 out of vulcanized rubber panels glued at the seams.
Prior to this, balls were made out of irregularly shaped pig's bladders. The behavior of the ball was very unpredictable when kicked. Soccer players were also plagued with uncontrollable pork chop cravings.
Goodyear never made tires! The company was named in his honor 4 decades after his death. Rubber goods were sticky and decomposed quickly. The tenacious Goodyear (while in debtors prison) tried to solve this problem.
He eventually spilled a bit of rubber onto a stove and noticed that the charred piece was cured perfectly. Vulcanized rubber was born. Soccer players can cheer for Goodyear!