BlueSky Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 Helmets and facemasks have always interested me, from the design and appearance aspects to styles of facemasks to how different players wear them. I'll take the opportunity before continuing to recommend the outstanding helmethut.com site. Great stuff for anyone interested in headgear.Here's some of what I'm talking about. Willie Roaf wore his helmet so high that most of his forehead showed......while I sometimes wondered if Aaron Brooks could even see where he was going.In fact, he sometimes had to lean his head back just to get a look downfield.LT started out wearing a fairly common facemask......but evolved into an almost Vaderesque look...(Side note - the outline of the shoulder numbers appears to be raised. Hmm...)Continued... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSky Posted October 21, 2007 Author Share Posted October 21, 2007 Then there's Steven Jackson, who wears his so close it looks like the mask is an extension of his face...We have Joe Theismann and the "no, please, not the nose" high one-bar style...And the opposite, the geeky Scott Player "chinmask" look. Sidebar - has anyone ever looked worse in an NFL uniform?Please post your own favorites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoneranger Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 I always wondered how they got Charlie Krueger's head into his helmet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OB33 Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 This might be a little out of left field, but I've always like Willie Anderson's facemask for some reason. #CHOMPCHOMPCHOMP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacker12 Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Looks like LT went to Schutt's new "Bulldog" mask. Also, the reason for the raised outlines on the shoulder numbers are because Reebok went to using the kiss-cut stretch twill for the letters and numbers. That is where rather than the base color on the numeral being sewn on top of the layer making the outline, the outline is cut out and then sewn on top of the base colored layer. Also, if you look closely at this year's jerseys, and last season jerseys, you could tell that the stretch twill is not as shiny as the standard tackle twill. I'm shocked that no one else has noticed this yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSky Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 Finally found a pick of Rickey Jackson's "can't get a pinky through this" mask... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroDan#16 Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Whatever happened to the Pro Cap?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sport Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 I was always a fan of Thurman Thomas' facemaskIt's the kind that I wore in pop warner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sport Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 This might be a little out of left field, but I've always like Willie Anderson's facemask for some reason.god I miss those uniforms. They actually looked like a football team (sort of) now they're just wearing tigger costumes. And that thick plastic facemask is awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew22 Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 I was thinking about trying to come-up with a helmet/facemask database, with all the different ones worn now. Then I realized how much work it was. Eagles/Heels/Dawgs/Falcons/Hawks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infrared41 Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Classic. Â Â Â Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-(dp)- Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Looks like LT went to Schutt's new "Bulldog" mask. Also, the reason for the raised outlines on the shoulder numbers are because Reebok went to using the kiss-cut stretch twill for the letters and numbers. That is where rather than the base color on the numeral being sewn on top of the layer making the outline, the outline is cut out and then sewn on top of the base colored layer. Also, if you look closely at this year's jerseys, and last season jerseys, you could tell that the stretch twill is not as shiny as the standard tackle twill. I'm shocked that no one else has noticed this yet.Last years chargers jerseys were kiss-cut also. In the actual cover of this SI, you could clearly see the outlines were sewn ON TOP of the white numbers. You can't really tell on this pic of it, but this is the cover.Also, this LT helmet, which you didn't show, is by far his best. The new one will take some getting used to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroDan#16 Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 I was thinking about trying to come-up with a helmet/facemask database, with all the different ones worn now. Then I realized how much work it was.It really is a lot of work - I'm working on one as an ongoing project covering every facemask seen at some point. This is still one of the weirdest ones I've seen - Doug Williams' jaw protector facemask.This is a strange one too, not very keen on this one:But you can't beat a Dungard! (or two!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSky Posted October 23, 2007 Author Share Posted October 23, 2007 A couple of oddities from helmethut.com:Necessity being the mother of invention and all that.Holy cow! Barbed wire?!?And of course, Tommy McDonald was the last non-kicker to play maskless. From 1968: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luigi74 Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 I was always a fan of Thurman Thomas' facemaskIt's the kind that I wore in pop warner.In 7th and 8th grade football are whole team wore that facemask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John in KY Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 I was always a fan of Thurman Thomas' facemaskIt's the kind that I wore in pop warner.In 7th and 8th grade football are whole team wore that facemask.Thurman did hang on to that old early-80s style Schutt facemask forever, didn't he.One of my childhood favorites was Kenny Stabler with the Raiders - this was an odd wire mask from Dungard - it was an RB model with the upper part of the bar cut off (photo from HelmetHut). Also note the really odd Wilson helmet; Stabler also used this mask on an old-school Riddell RK: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sport Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Whatever happened to the Pro Cap?!I think modern helmet technology got better and rendered it useless. And they just look goofy as hell. I would rather have concussions than look like gazoo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John in KY Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Whatever happened to the Pro Cap?!I think modern helmet technology got better and rendered it useless. And they just look goofy as hell. I would rather have concussions than look like gazoo.True about the new technology. Of course, I think these Schutt DNAs have that "Gazoo" look as well as shown in the Arrington pic from above:Edited to add: Not really in the spirit of the odd/unusual helmets, but when Brett Favre hangs them up he will be the last player to wear an old Riddell WD-1 helmet - these are pre-inflated; you don't pump them up to adjust the fit. Note the really wide rear snubber in this photo: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroDan#16 Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Interesting note that about Favre's helmet. What span of time were WD-1's generally used if Favre is the last to have one? I find helmets one of the hardest things to identify sometimes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oz615 Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 here a unique facemask that quite frankly frighten when i was a bit younger,can any Eagles fan shed some light on this please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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