Adidas became the official supplier of match balls for the FIFA World Cup in 1970, and still is. The very first black and white ball was called “Telstar”, coming from the union of two words: television and star. It was said at that time that the combination and contrast of black and white would amplify the visibility of the balls on both colour and black and white televisions, given that the Mexican World Cup was the first World Cup to be broadcast on TV worldwide. The Telstar consisted of 32 panels (20 white regular hexagonal and 12 black regular pentagonal), and on the outer surface a special plastic coating was applied and called “Durlast”. This helped the ball to protect the leather more than previously on any surface and to keep it waterproof. The Telstar is still one of the most iconic and classic football of all time and by far the most expensive one (if ever found on sale).
Content courtesy of Worldcupballs.info