The original ball, meanwhile, was a dark brown laced leather soccer ball simply repurposed for the game Naismith had invented. The rubber molded balls that had been introduced to the sport the previous decade were, he decided, to be made bright orange. Although rubber balls had replaced leather soccer balls the previous decade, the balls had been kept the same rather dull, dark brown color. Hinkle’s simple idea, ultimately, was to replace the dark brown ball with a bright orange one that would make it far more visible during play. The idea was a success, and the standard orange ball was quickly adopted by teams, venues, and competitions across the U.S. and beyond.