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 "The Duke" is Back
League honors late Giants owner Wellington Mara by returning to "The Duke" game ball.
By Michael Eisen, Giants.com
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March 27, 2006
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.
? ?The Duke? is back.
 National Football League clubs today unanimously voted to return the name of the official game ball to ?The Duke? in honor of Wellington Mara, the late and much-loved owner of the Giants. Mara, one of the most influential and respected figures in professional sports history, died last October.
The announcement was made this morningby NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue during his opening remarks at the 2006 NFL Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida. Tagliabue then presented Ann Mara, Wellington's wife of 51 years, and team president John Mara with the first "Duke" football.
?My mother and our family are grateful to Commissioner (Paul) Taguliabue and the rest of the league for the return to ?The Duke? football,? said John Mara, the oldest of Wellington Mara?s 11 children and his successor as the Giants? president. ?My father treasured his association with the game. He loved his relationships with the players, the coaches, the scouts, the equipment people, the trainers, all the people who make our game possible. ?The Duke? football is a fitting acknowledgement of those relationships and my father's devotion to our league and our sport."
Mara spent 81 seasons with the Giants and made countless contributions to the franchise and the NFL. He was named Wellington by his father after the Duke of Wellington and was given the nickname ?The Duke? as a youngster by Giants players.
The NFL game ball was known as ?The Duke? from 1941-69.
?I got my first 'Duke' football when I was nine years old from the great Steve Van Buren at the Eagles training camp in my hometown of Hershey, Pa.,? Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi said. ?Now it's back. I can think of no tribute that would have pleased Wellington Mara more, because what Mr. Mara was most passionate about was the game and the playing of the game on the field.?
The NFL first used a ball in honor of Mara called ?The Duke? in 1941 at the suggestion of Chicago Bears owner George Halas, who had helped arrange with Giants owner Tim Mara (Wellington?s father) for Wilson to become the league?s official supplier of game balls.
?The Duke? ball was discontinued prior to the 1970 season, the first to be played in the NFL-American Football League merger. The NFL and AFL continued using a Wilson football, but with a new design.
The official NFL Wilson football will continue to be manufactured in Ada, Ohio. Wilson recently extended its NFL contract through 2011, which will mark the 70th year of partnership, believed to be one of the longest agreements in sports history.
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