Telstar was a design of association football made by Adidas. It was the official match ball of the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico.[1] The similar Telstar Durlast was one of two official balls, along with the Chile Durlast, of the 1974 FIFA World Cup held in West Germany.[1][2]
The Telstar was the first World Cup ball to use the now-familiar truncated icosahedron for its design, consisting of 12 black pentagonal and 20 white hexagonal panels.[1][2] The 32-panel configuration had been introduced in 1962 by Select Sport,[3][4] and was also used in the official logo for the 1970 World Cup.[5] The black-and-white pattern, to aid visibility on black and white television broadcasts, was also well established before the Telstar.[4][6] The name came from the Telstar communications satellite, which was roughly spherical and dotted with solar panels, somewhat similar in appearance to the football.[1]
The ball was made of leather.[1] The 1974 model's "Durlast" polyurethane coating provided waterproofing as well as protection from damage such as scuffs and tears.[7]
Only 20 Telstars were provided for the World Cup; an estimated 600,000 replicas were sold subsequently.[1] Some 1970 matches were played with a brown ball.[8] The 1974 Chile Durlast was all white.[2]
| Preceded by Challenge |
Official World Cup Ball 1970 and 1974 |
Succeeded by Tango |