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Date Codes
Wilson Sporting Goods used a “Date Code” for a time, that would indicate the date (month/year) of manufacture and the likelihood that it was a NFL Issued/Game Ball.
This “Date Code” could be found straddling the air valve on NFL footballs. The codes are made up of two (2) letters. (See photo above)
The codes are formatted so the first letter (A-K) indicates the year.
First Letter in Date Code = Last Digit of Year:
A= XXX8 (1968) being the first year of date codes.
B= XXX9 (1969)
C= XXX0 (1970)
D= XXX1
E= XXX2
F= XXX3
G= XXX4
H= XXX5
J= XXX6
K= XXX7
Second Letter (O-Z) = the month. O = January and Z = December:
O= January
P= February
Q= March
R= April
S= May
T= June
U= Jully
V= August
W= September
X= October
Y= November
Z= December
Date codes that have “double year” (same letters) were produced for NFL game use. They were not available for retail purchase.
For example, date code code “HH” would indicate an NFL game ball produced in 1975 for the NFL
The double-year (dual letter) codes seem to have been utilized from 1968 to the mid 1970’s to indicate NFL issued game balls.
Please let me know of any additional information/corrections or if a definitive source is available. Thank you!