If you’ve never heard of Leather Head Sports, that’s okay; neither had I until not too long ago. This small company of skilled artisans creates handcrafted, custom made footballs which resemble the ones made years ago before factories churned them out by the hundreds.
I first got acquainted with Leather Head Sports after seeing some unique footballs that were used as promotional items for the Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner movie “Draft Day”. When I saw those footballs, I knew I had to find out who made them and get one.
After learning more about the company, I chose Leatherheads to produce three custom made footballs. One of the main reasons I chose them is their reputation for doing high quality work with the best materials available. The leather for every Leather Head ball is tanned in America. Side note: the leather used to make my McGuire Design football was from the same suede material that was used for the Draft Day footballs!
Also, Leatherhead’s attention to detail (the stitching, the lacing, the engraving) are second to none and are worlds away from what you find with mass produced balls. The laser engraving process used to personalize my football created a clean, clear design which only adds to the ball’s beauty. Mine is engraved with my business logo (McGuire Design) and the year 1997 (the year that I first created my first ever logo for an engineering firm).
On top of that, the fact these footballs carry the ‘Made in the USA’ label was attractive to me. Each football is handmade one at a time in New Jersey. In a day and age when so many things are mass produced overseas, it is almost a novelty to find anything that is hand crafted in the USA. And while it is true that Leatherheads balls cost more than something that you would buy at a department store, you won’t find the same quality in those cheaper balls.
Apart from all of those things, there were also some intangibles that I didn’t expect. As I unpacked the football and stand from their custom cloth bags and removed the packing paper, I was struck by such a strong feeling of nostalgia from just smelling the fresh leather. And then as I held the ball for the first time, the feel or it took me back to my younger days when footballs were softer. I grew up in a town that was always about a decade behind the big cities and our footballs were different from the high tech, mass produced footballs that are so tight that they feel synthetic. Those balls were broken in, softer, and easier to handle, just like the balls made by Leather Head Sports.
When you hold the ball, it feels like it was made to fit in your hand. And even though I originally ordered my custom football to be displayed in my office on its own custom stand, it begs to be held and tossed it around (something I do from time to time).
The staff at Leatherheads were all friendly, helpful, and accommodating. Each one was and more than able to answer any of my questions and handle my requests. Communicating with them was a real pleasure. Jessy Giordano, my main contact, worked closely with me throughout production. She was patient and easy to work with and kept me on top of the process, even going so far as to send me step by step photos as my footballs were being made.
Lastly, I offer my most sincere thanks to Paul Cunningham who crafted three beautiful pieces of art that I can not only show off, but also toss around with my daughter.
Finding something that you truly love is not always easy, but with Leatherheads, I certainly have found something – a one of a kind, handcrafted, work of art that I can enjoy forever.
