Abstract: A game ball configured for direct contact with a user's hands includes a cover formed of a natural leather and having an outer surface. The outer surface of the cover includes a pebbled texture. The pebbled texture includes a plurality of spaced apart pebble-like projections extending from a base region. Each of the pebble-like projections has a pebble height measured from the base region adjacent to the pebble-like projection to a top surface of the pebble-like projection. At least a first portion of the cover includes alphanumeric and/or graphical indicia applied by a laser ghosting process, and a second portion of the cover is formed without the indicia. The average pebble height of a plurality of the pebble-like projections in the first portion of the cover is at least 80 percent of the average height of a plurality of the pebble-like projections in the second portion of the cover.