The ball, Big Wheel and Nintendo game boy have been inducted into the U.S. National Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester, N.Y. (Associated Press)

The ball, arguably the most popular plaything of all time, has finally earned a place inside a glass case at the National Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester, N.Y.

Along with the Big Wheel and the Nintendo Game Boy, the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, which houses the Hall of Fame, chose the ball on Thursday to be part of its all-star lineup of 41 classic toys.

It will join other timeless favourites such as the bicycle, the kite, the skipping rope and the teddy bear.

Twelve toys were on the 2009 short list. The nine that didn't make the cut were:

• Cabbage Patch Kids.
• Game of Life.
• Hot Wheels.
• Paper Airplane.
• Playing Cards.
• Rubik's Cube.
• Sidewalk Chalk.
• Toy Tea Set.
• Transformers.

The three winning toys date back to different eras. The Big Wheel tricycle was launched at the 1969 Toy Fair in New York City, and Game Boy was an instant hit for Japan's Nintendo Co. in 1989. The ball has pretty much been around forever.

Longevity is a key criterion for getting into the Hall. Each toy must also foster learning, creativity or discovery through play.

In 2005, the plain old cardboard box was inducted into the Hall of Fame. It was one of the very few non-brand-specific toys to be recognized. It may have set the stage for last year's inclusion of the stick.

Curators in 2008 praised the stick for its all-purpose, no-cost recreational qualities, noting its ability to serve as raw material that could be transformed in myriad ways by a child's creativity.

With files from The Associated Press