ADA, OH (WLIO) - The Wilson Football Factory in Ada, Ohio, has been a foundational piece of the National Football League. On Thursday, they unveiled their new state-of-the-art factory, and while the look may be new, the faces who make the footballs are still the same. Our Casey Mulcahy has that story.
Since 1941, every single point that has been scored in the NFL has been scored with a Wilson football. The partnership between Wilson and the NFL is one of the longest in sports history. And all those magical moments we, as football fans, can remember all started right here, at the Wilson Football Factory here in the small town of Ada, Ohio.
"It's incredible. I've been with Wilson for 36 years. So not only is it a new era, it's a continuation of just the history of our company. We've been here so long, and the people of Ada—you know, it's part of our family. I always say to people, 'We're a big brand, but we're kind of a small company. We all know each other and love each other, and care about each other, and just to kind of have this family feel and to be able to stay in Ada, Ohio, and build this new factory, it's gonna have us here a long time. It just feels great for all of us. We're really proud of it," said Kevin Murphy, general manager of Wilson Team Sports.
Wilson opened its first domestic leather football dedicated manufacturing facility in Ada over 70 years ago, and it's been a cornerstone for the local economy as well as how folks make a living by providing jobs. The new factory will double its capacity and provide a new, updated workspace for the familiar faces that have called Wilson home for years.
"I know everybody out there. I know their first name. I'm not the guy that sits behind the desk; I'm on the floor. I'm an engineer by trade, so I'm curious anyway, so when we're making process improvements, I'm out there with everybody, the engineers, talking about how we should do this, move that. So I've built those relationships for the first three and a half years of my career here as an engineer, then I got promoted to plant manager, so I just took those relationships and I just moved my desk basically. I'm the same person, right? But the cultures are amazing in there; we have a great group of people. We have a lot of 35, 40-year employees, and we also the one and two year and five-year employees, that as we change, and people retire, and we change that generation, but the transition has been really good, so this facility helps with all that," said Andy Wentling, plant manager at the Wilson Football Factory.
Footballs in the factory are carefully made by the hands of these employees, with roughly 2,500 balls made each day—with the new factory, hopefully up to 3,000 balls per day. Those balls end up in the hands of world-class athletes, who are proud to see where the ball comes from that they use on Sundays.
"I grew up with a Wilson football, from the GST's in high school to CFP college and clearly playing at Ohio State with the ball and then the NFL with 'The Duke' so it's pretty cool to see like 'hey, I'm really a part of history' of the I guess the expansion and really the brand of the ball. These balls are handmade. This is a company that's been around for nearly 100 plus years and to see where they started to now. I think the cool thing about it is also having the opportunity to go to the Hall of Fame and see what the football used to look like, to now. Well, they were all part of that," said Cardale Jones, Ohio State 2014 National Championship quarterback and former quarterback in the NFL.
The Wilson Football Factory is open Monday through Friday, with a retail store inside for people to shop along with occasional tours of the factory. The annual Wilson Garage Sale will not be able to be held this year, with priority being on factory production, but you've got to check out this marvelous new facility right here, where it all started in small town Ada, Ohio.
NEW YORK & CHICAGO – June 27, 2024 – Wilson Sporting Goods Co. and the National Football League announced today the renewal of their historic partnership, naming Wilson again as the official football of the league. Since 1941, every point in the NFL has been scored with a Wilson® Football, making this one of the longest partnerships in sports history. As part of the multi-year extension, Wilson will unveil a brand-new football factory in Ohio, as well as become the official football of NFL Flag programs internationally, continuing the brands’ joint mission of growing the game across various demographics and countries.
“Wilson and the NFL are one of the most iconic relationships in sports, dating back over 80 years,” said Kevin Murphy, global general manager of Team Sports at Wilson. “Since then, Wilson has been part of every snap, pass and touchdown in NFL history. We are thrilled to build upon this partnership as we continue to work with the league on growing the game globally and open opportunities for everyone to be part of the sport.”
Every Wilson NFL game Football, dubbed “The Duke,” has been handcrafted at Wilson’s facilities in Ada, Ohio through a 20-step process. Wilson’s football factory is the world’s oldest factory dedicated to producing only game-ready genuine leather footballs. Today, Wilson debuted their new and improved football factory, nearly doubling the capacity of the previous plant. This new space gives the true craftsmen and craftswomen in Ada – who make each football by hand – more space to continue their game-changing work, as well as the opportunity for Wilson to continue innovating, designing and offering the top product in sport.
“The NFL’s time-honored partnership with Wilson Sporting Goods Co. is integral to our past, present and future, with ‘The Duke’ at the forefront of every NFL game played since 1941,” said Ryan Samuelson, vice president of consumer products at the NFL. “Renewing and expanding our relationship with a partner so ingrained into our culture is paramount for the league to continue to grow the game and the opening of the new football factory is a testament to Wilson’s commitment to NFL football.”
The factory generates best-in-class products from youth to pro, making game footballs for the NFL season, including every Super Bowl and Pro Bowl, as well as youth, high school and college play. The new space includes a football museum that celebrates iconic Wilson and NFL moments, as well as a pop-up shop and manufacturing tours. Tours can be reserved online starting in July with a percentage of ticket proceeds being donated to youth sport groups in the greater area. The upgraded facility is also home to product testing, ball customization and Wilson’s game-ready product break-in process.
To celebrate this milestone partnership extension and factory expansion, Wilson and the NFL will bring together greats across the global football ecosystem at their new factory, including Cleveland Browns running back Jerome Ford, former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jordan Palmer, NFL Flag Football Ambassador and Mexico National Flag Football Player Diana Flores, Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith, former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones and former Ohio State wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. The grand opening celebrations will conclude with a youth flag football camp hosted by Smith, Ginn, Palmer and Flores.
Wilson will also become the official football of NFL Flag programming around the world. NFL Flag, the official flag football program of the NFL, brings the non-contact version of football to young athletes and is across 12 markets globally. Fast, highly accessible and inclusive for all, flag football is spearheading extraordinary growth in participation — played by over 20 million people across 100 countries, with women and girls driving some of the sport’s fastest growth. In collaboration with the International Federation of American Football (IFAF), the NFL is investing in the development and growth of flag football at grassroots and elite levels across the world.
For more information, please visit wilson.com and follow along @wilson.
