When you turn south off Interstate 75 at Exit 145, it’s about a 10-mile drive through vast acres of farmland, past barns and churches dotting both sides of a quiet two-lane road to reach the village of Ada, Ohio.
About an hour south of Toledo, Ada is like most little Ohio villages and cities: It grew up around a railroad crossing, post office and small college in the 19th century. Today, its quaint downtown is dotted with vape, pizza and sandwich shops that cater to Ohio Northern University students.
But unlike Ohio’s other 683 villages, Ada has a particular claim that fuels a bit of wider name recognition: A 38,000-square-foot Depression-era leather factory on its east side has manufactured every single NFL regular-season football since 1955, and every single Super Bowl ball since 1969.
Chicago-based Wilson Sporting Goods, whose relationship as ball supplier to the NFL actually dates informally to the league’s 1920 founding, employs 125…
