The Hunter
Midfield
Correct...but balls with laces had disappeared as official match balls years before Dave's league years. I'm guessing but I'd say laces were history in match balls by the mid 60s or maybe early 60s.I am old enough to have encountered the really old leather cased balls with laces and rubber inflatable bladder, imagine heading something that, if you caught the laces and they had not been tied down correctly would split your head open.
Mind you, match balls were still leather in the 70s, though coated to prevent watet-logging.