I had an ITZA ball growing up too! It was awesome! I still have it to this day...it needs to be pumped up before each use, but it gets the job done playing catch with my kids. Can't find anything like it these days - that's a shame.

ITZA balls we the Sh*t. Man we would be thorwing the ball like Tom Brady. It was a far superior product then the Nerf Ball

It's a ITZA. I want one again....they sold them at Snyder's and Duber's when we were little. I fauckin want one again now fer my boy. Let me know if yo find where to get'em: twolves17@comcast.net Thanks

check this out! http://www.kazootoys.com/wsearch.html?method=iframe&site=kazootoys.com&result-font-family=arial%2C+helvetica%2C+sans-serif&result-title-font-size=13&result-title-font-weight=bold&result-font-size=10&include-description=t&max-desc-chars=280&img-size=65&background-color=&img-border=&result-border-style=&result-border-width=0px&result-border-color=&text-color=%23000000&price-color=%23000000&price-size=10&price-font-weight=bold&link=%23000000&link-visited=%23000000&link-active=%23000000&link-hover=%23000000&q=football

Looking to purchase an old Itza Football. if you have one please send me an email...bizforthree@hotmail.com will pay good $$

Yes we had the Itza football back in the laste 70's/early 80's was awesome our was yellow you could throw it a mile and if you ever got a hand on it oit would bounce up in the air, made for some serious highlight catches. I have been looking for one for years!!

Best backyard and street football ever made.

Man! I have been looking forever! My brother and I had a Purple one! We are Vikings fans.. I can see the logo in my head! I cant even find an original Nerf!

A lot of people from Minnesota here...I wonder if the Itza was a regionl phenomena. I had an orange one. I liked to overfill them a bit and draw the NFL logo on the side. I'd LOVE to find one. I bought one online that calls itself an Itza Football, but it's not the real deal.

Please someone find it and bring it back. Best backyard ball ever made!

Best backyard and street football ever - I had several as a kid (am now 40) - not a regional deal - I'm from NJ - would love to find one for my boys, but so far, no luck online

We had these in Ohio. Would love to find one for my kids. You could pass bombs and boot long FG's and punts with these baby's. I can even smell one.

Funny, i was just talking about this special ITZA ball to a younger co worker. I thought for a moment that maybe it was one of those childhood things that now seams exagerated as being great. After reading this site, i see that it was real. As a kid we played with the ITZA ball everyday. Also now that i look at it, the fact that it was so bouncy to catch what a great learning tool it was for catching a real ball too.

I lived in Connecticut and had the green football, never saw anyone else with one, I can remember what seemed to be 80 yard rainbow spirals back then I was Roger Staubach or Fran Tarkington, Now I'm just an old man who wants to throw that damn ball!

I'm from the Chicago area. I had a pink one. I'm in my 40's now and when I see my old schoolmates we talk about that ball like it's a long lost friend. You could chuck that thing a mile.

Itza footballs are like Bigfoot. They are legendary but nobody can find one. I agree with all the comments that this is the best football ever invented by man (or was it alien technology?). I'd love to find one!

had an orange one in colorado in the 70's and used it for years. Unlike nerf ball (which are a consistent foam throughout) this was air filled so the outside diameter was weighted and added to the gyroscopic effect. It also was extremely tacky feeling and slightly smaller than a standard football. You really could throw a long and beautiful spiral with it. Would love to find one in a thrift store.

I wish someone had a picture of one of these. I had one and it seems like it was pink and it rocked! It was the precursor to the nerf balls and they could really bounce off your younger brothers head!

My friend Dana had a Itza ball. He said it rocked and that it was the precursor to the nerf balls and that they could really bounce off younger sibblings heads. I too, wish someone had one because this was right before my time and with my strong, accurate arm, I could throw it a country mile (uncle rico).

I feel like I need to add comments about the awesomeness of this football. So it is inaccurate to compare it to a Nerfball in anyway. Nerfball is a piece of foam. This is a rubber football, constructed like a real football, where you have a shell and you inflate it. It had a pronounced pigskin texture, and even raised lases (all fake..part of the mold) so it felt like a real football. The rubber was extremely tacky so you could really grip it. And as mentioned, it was smaller than a regular football. It was extremely durable. If you like playing catch, and have not had the chance to throw one of these...it is the closest feeling you will get to know what it must feel like to be John Elway and effortlessly throw a perfect 50 yard spiral.

I've been looking for an Itza for years. I had several a youth. These babies were the best recess or backyard football ever. The decriptions above are acurate (nothing nurf about them). A nasty thorn or sticker bush was the thing that could ruin a good game of itza. They did pop when pierced by something sharp...no problem, they only cost like 8 bucks. For a few birthdays in the late 70's and early 80's I could count on getting a couple!

I had one,my mom paid a quarter for it.I live in Ohio and havent seen one since the late 70's. It was also a great pool toy.It would be a great way to teach a young kid to catch, as it didn't hurt to get hit by it.

I've got a green one in awesome condition still. My dad bought it for me at rosedale mall in roseville, mn in 1974 when I was in 4th grade. I'd bring it to elementary school and all of us guys with one would have a blast with them during recess. I felt so cool and privledged.

I did a Google search on Itza, as this ball is - in my opinion - the greatest street football ever made - and I want to expose my son to the many incredible memories of my childhood. Glad to find this site, and to see that so many feel the same way. I wanted to share with everyone that while I couldn't find a place that actually sells the ball, I started entering some site names in, and landed on www.itzafootball.com . It gives a link "for more info". Not quite sure what that means, but I put in an email just in case. I'll let everyone know what I find out.

What I would give to get several of them. My brother would litterally freak out if I could get him one as well. We spent many days with our Green ITZA on the streets of Shreveport, LA. Please post, if anyone finds anything!!

Just found one in my attic. It's an orange one, it probably been up there for the last 40 years untouched and still had air in it. Now my 11 year old is going nuts over playing with the famous Itza ball

I grew up in the 1970's and agree that it was the greatest street football of all time. Very surpising that there is no information (history, manufacturer, pictures, eBay listings, etc). I want one bad!

The Itza football was first manufactured in 1976 by the Eagle Rubber Co. of Ashland, Ohio. The company has since changed its name to Hedstrom Entertainment.

Lookie what I found!.... http://www.backtobasicstoys.com/item/productid/8981/txt/Itza_Football I'm ordering 10!

Um we just went to the backtobasics site NO ITZA dude! thats wronge! Still looking!

I used to have a few Itza's in the 70's I think my grade school gym teacher may have been involved in the design of them, I am from Mpls/St.Paul area, I found the ball on the back to basics site, back ordered until Dec.4th

I am also from Mpls/St.Paul area.I got in a fight over a itza in the 70's lol.we were playing catch with a few friends and one guy would not give up the ball. Next thing i knew he hit me in the eye with it.After that it was game on! I chased him all the way home until he ran in to his house and hid behind his mom. Two days later i hit him in the back of the head with a basketball :)

Pat, you son of a....I still owe you for that hit, just kidding, unless of course maybe it was us.

In MPLS...just got orange itza ball today from back to basics toys...it's the real deal!!! having a flashback to my moms backyard

I just got one from back to basics toys too! They were out of stock for a while, but they're in stock right now. Here's the link: http://www.backtobasicstoys.com/item/productid/8981/txt/Itza_Football I pumped it up but haven't had a chance to throw it yet - we're in the middle of a snowstorm at the moment! But I can't wait to try it out. I never heard of them until I found out about them on another forum online. I collect old Nerf footballs, and everyone said such great things about the Itza that I had to get one! If you're a fan, you should get one while they still make 'em!

Glad I found this site. I just bought three from Back To Basics as Christmas gifts (one to myself!) - hope they're the same as when I was growing up.

actually its not really made by headstrom toys its made by a diffrent company now and they're made in thailand. But headstrom emailed me that they are gonna come out with a new football just like the itza but with a diffrent name because that other company is using the name "itza"

http://cgi.ebay.com/Itzaball-Beach-and-Pool-Football-/390288002467?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5adefa4da3 This ebay link states made of cotten and polyester, so, I wonder if the new Itzas are the same? I did love playing with these back in North Iowa...Mason C.!

Just received my ITZA from BTBT (green one). Just like I remember it - soft, sticky rubber. Ordered two more for my brothers. Definitely the best football ever made! I grew up in Indianapolis, and have friends in Ohio and New York who grew up with one too.

Dangit! Waited too long to order and now have to wait until August when they get more in!

I HAVE AN ORIGINAL ITZA FOOTBALL FROM THE 70'S. ITS A RED ONE,YOU CANT READ THE WRITING ON IT ANY MORE AND I'M TRYING TO SELL IT, IF ANYONE INTERESTED MY E-MAIL IS wiltall@bellsouth.net

@jg i saw your link. Sorry its not the real deal but someday someone'll find it. dont worry. in the meantime, just enjoy the back to basics toys version.

Eagle Rubber was the original manufacturer of ITZA Football. Eagle Rubber is now Ball, Bounce & Sport Inc. in Ashland, OH and we are coming back out with the ITZA Football (now called G2 Pro) since the ITZA name was take by another company.

Great news. Hope the 45 year old arm holds up.

thank god for G2 pro. BTBT went out of buisness. So, no more new itza ball unless the company finds a new site where they can sell it again. Otherwise just engoy G2 pro (A.K.A. ITZA).

Found a new site they made for selling ITZAs. It's itza shop.com. Here's the link: http://itzashop.com/

Itza ball was magic... it was fun to play with. I looked like Tommy Kramer throwing the bomb. I could get that ball in between defenders arms like i was a pro...awesome ball.

itzafootball.com

Awesome ball. My two sons haven't put it down long enough to put our name on it. Long live the ITZA.

DO NOT GET G2 PRO!!!! NOT REAL THING AT ALL. SMALL AND OBLONG!! NOT EVEN MADE FROM ITZA MATERIAL!!!

yeah itzashop.com is where you can find the real itzas and thed don't just heav orange and green but they also have yellow!

Grew up with ITZA balls. We had spirited games like you read about. Best street ball...bar none.We had orange and hot pink...neighbors had banana yellow and green.New balls had an unmistakable smell. They smelled like 75 yard spirals and highlight reels.

Bought two a couple years ago from back to basics. Left one in the box. Did they ever make an Itza Basketball? Why do I remember an Itza Basketball?

Back in the 70s and early 80s in southeastern Wisconsin we had an intra-neighborhood Itza ball league. When there weren't enough folks for football, we played a made-up game called "Hit the Light" (the "light" being an ordinary streetlight), which was sort of a hybrid sport between between golf, horse, and dodgeball. As I recall, the original Itza ball was pink and very rubbery. It's wasn't particularly tacky. It was easy to grip and easy to throw because it had dimples, it was relatively small, but because of the rubber it had some weight that enabled it to fly straighter in the wind relative to the vastly inferior Nerf football. On the other hand, if you got hit in the face with a bullet spiral thrown from point blank range or any time when the weather was approaching freezing, you would be very sad indeed! And that happened occasionally, sometime intentionally, sometimes not ... Although it lasted a long time, at some point our original Itza ceased to be. We soon discovered that it could not be replaced (this was back in the late 70s or early 80s). The "new" Itza footballs produced at that time time were a hybrid between the original Itza (inflatable rubber) and Nerf, with a "softer" outer texture and a lighter weight overall. Definitely not as nice. I'm guessing these are similar to the "G2 Pro" balls discussed above ...

I was just talking with some of my younger coworkers about itza footballs. When I was a kid, these were the greatest! Me and my best friend Mike had several of these through our childhood. we played qb receiver year round, not to mention all the neighborhood football games. Off the diving board, over snow banks making crazy pass and catch combos. Man I wish I was a kid again, haha. Amazon seems to have them for sale.

Wow... memories. I worked for my father representing Eagle Rubber Co. (later bought by Hedstrom). The ITZA football was brought out to compete with the Nerf football and was, I agree, better in many ways, since it was more durable and re-inflatable. They also made the "super pinkie" to complete with the pinkie ball sold on the east coast that would lose air... and at one point sold an Itza trike.

I had an orange ITZA a ball back in the late 70's & this thing was awesome.the whole neighborhood loved it and we couldn't wait to get home from schsool to play with it or on the weekends, it had a great grip and even if you were a small kid with small hands you could chuck this thing like 70 feet with a perfect spiral and it was easy to catch as well.it went missing one day never to be seen again & we were heartbroken for a while and I just wish they'd produce them again so my kids and grandkids could play with them Thank You Cooker in Connecticut

I will keep this short. I could make "one-hand, Side-line catches," like Chris Carter and Randy Moss; before they were ever doing it. My friend had an orange ITZA Ball. I had a green Nerf football and there was no comparison. The ITZA ball won. Hands up, down, and all around. It was, without question, the second-best utilitarian toy I had. The first, you ask? A hockey puck.

I was the greatest ITZA runningback of backyard football of all time! One handed snags, fullback passing and running wild through secondaries like Walter Peyton carrying my ITZA with an outstretched arm one handed keeping that lime green football away from any defender trying to strip the ball. No way- the ITZA soft gummy texture never allowed some grimey brother or other street urchin to take that ball from me TD!!! Thanks for the great childhood of the early 80's in Western Illinois ITZA.