Any child born in the last few decades knows what a Nerf football is. That's because it is still the top-selling football of all time. It would be pretty nice to be the inventor of such a successful product, right? Just ask Fred Cox, who did in fact invent the Nerf football.
Cox is a former Minnesota Vikings kicker, and while he was still playing, he came up for the idea for this football. John Mattox approached him about creating a movable goal post for kids to use in their back yard. Mattox wanted to use a heavy ball so that children wouldn't kick it out of their yard. Cox thought it would be a better idea to use a lighter ball and avoid a lot of sore-legged kids.
Mattox and Cox began making prototypes of such a ball in the early 1970s. They got the weight right and made sure that it flew and reacted like a real football. Parker Bros ended up buying the Nerf football and guaranteeing Cox a portion of each ball sold. Considering that millions of Nerf footballs have been sold, that's a pretty sweet deal for Cox. He was able to retire at age 50.