Why is the NFL football called The Duke?

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The nickname, “The Duke,” has been written on the official NFL ball from 1941 to 1970 and from 2006 to present.

(Getty)

We’ll give you a hint: It’s not named after John Wayne.

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The official football of the National Football League, made by Wilson Sporting Goods, is called “The Duke” after Wellington Mara, the beloved New York Giants owner who started as a ballboy with the team in 1925 and died at age 89 in 2005.

Named after the Duke of Wellington by his father, Giants founder Tim Mara, young Wellington got the nickname “The Duke” from Giants players.

According to a history of “The Duke” by Wilson, the NFL first used the ball in 1941.

At the urging of George “Papa Bear” Halas, the legendary Chicago Bears owner and coach, the ball was called “The Duke” in honor of Wellington Mara, to reward Tim Mara for arranging the contract that made Wilson the NFL’s game ball supplier.

The football with “The Duke” on it was used up until the merger of the National Football League and American Football League in 1970, at which time a Wilson ball with a different design was used.

After Wellington Mara died in October 2005, “The Duke” returned on the footballs in 2006.

The Mara legacy with the Giants continues with co-owner John Mara, Wellington’s oldest son.

The team has been in New Jersey since 1976 and in MetLife Stadium, home of the Super Bowl on Sunday, since 2010.

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