“It’s safer and easier to use and perfect for confined backyards.”

“The Nerf Football is the equivalent of the Wiffle Ball ,” says Christopher Bensch, vice president of collections at The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York. In this September 1997 photo, former Minnesota Vikings kicker Fred Cox holds his original Nerf football, among his other souvenir balls, in Monticello, Minnesota. Annual sales peaked at 8 million in 1979, but the toy continues to be a popular seller today. The former Minnesota Vikings field-goal kicker, who died last fall, invented the smaller, softer football that was safer to use since it didn’t strain young arms and legs. Introduced in 1972, the Nerf football has been a mainstay of gridiron challenges for kids of all ages. Many young-and even not-so-young- fans will head out to the backyard to challenge each other, pretending to be the quarterbacks of the top two teams in football.Īnd, just as likely, the ball they will be tossing around during that championship matchup will be made of foam.

Undoubtedly, Jimmy Garoppolo and Patrick Mahomes will meet countless times in imaginary games before and after Super Bowl LIV. Tiffany Hagler-Geard/Bloomberg via Getty Images Annual sales of the Nerf football peaked at 8 million in 1979, but the toy continues to be a popular seller today.

When did nerf come out