Helmets and Facemasks

[Gothamite]

Ahhh yes! NFL players were having problems with concussions so the best solution was to add MORE HELMET!

....I think the only guy that would have been happy with that was a certain Lord Helmet from Spaceballs (Damn! I don't have a pic of him)

You rang?

[PackerBadger]

Namath wore the Stabler-style mask...

...as well as something similar to the one shown on Bledsoe, Marino, Young et. al.:

This illustration shows the earlier (lower left) and later versions of the Bledsoe/Marino/Young etc. facemask; I think he changed to it after some kind of face injury during a game:

[John in KY]

If I'm remembering correctly, Bradshaw wore the same one as Hadl circa 1972/73 (the Immaculate Reception game, etc.) and swiched to the version that attached at the top of the helmet for 1974.

That pic has to be from 1977, when the Steelers went to the black facemasks. In 1978, Bradshaw wore a more conventional facemask...if I can find a pic I'll post. I'm surprised he kept the above mask after he got his clock cleaned in Super Bowl X due to a hit on his jaw.

Right; but he wore that style mask starting in 1974; it was just grey instead of black. If you want to get really down into the details, he started wearing the "high fastener" version when he switched to a Rawlings helmet that had a single row of rivets going around the crown (as shown in that photo which could be 1976 or 1977).

He switched to the regular (well, the "bent corner" version) Schutt OPO for 1978 when he switched to the "Rawlings Ridge" helmet (another great HelmetHut replica here):

He continued using the regular OPO mask for the rest of his career but he used Maxpro helmets from 1979 on.

Back when he wore the Griese-style mask it was on a Rawlings helmet that had the same rivet pattern as that 1978 "Ridge" helmet shown above (but without the ridge, of course).

edited to fix the image tag

[John in KY]

Namath wore the Stabler-style mask...

Actually the Stable and Namath masks are different in construction. The Namath mask is an early version of the OPO mask; the bottom wire got more square over the years. Here is the Namath OPO (from HelmetHut):

These rounded bottom OPOs were discontinued not long after SBIII, although Namath moved on to the JOPO because of a broken jaw (and he wore 3 different versions, finishing out with that late 50s/early 60s version in your other photo).

The Stabler mask came later when Dungard tried to make a wire mask; the basic frame is a continuous loop, but it is reminiscent of the early Schutt OPOs:

[John in KY]

On the subject of first appearances, what teams started wearing this classic facemask design? I mean the mask fastening on the side rather than the cage design itself!

The first season it became mainstream appears to be 1985, but I have found some examples from the 1984 season on some players, all from San Francisco. Jeff Fuller, Dwight Clark and Riki Ellison all wore the new design a some point in the season, and also in Super Bowl XIX:

I didn't realise that this type of mask made it's appearance quite as early as 1984, and I haven't seen it on any footage or photos of any other team that year, unless anyone knows differently?

I think that your're right - I don't remember the "modern" or "reversed" side-fastening facemask was in widespread use until 1985. It could be that the 49ers equipment manager was testing them out, much like the Giants are tetsing out the new Schutt ION and Air XP helmets this year.

[Spearhead]

But you can't beat a Dungard!

Indeed! This is the helmet I wore in high school complete with the Dungard face mask I found after I split my old skull bucket from ear hole to crown:

My dad wore this style mask for a season in the late 1950s:

[BBTV]

Wow - this is a f'ing amazing thread!

My favorite in a long time!

[Old School Fool]

Howabout Jerry Rice? I always forget he wore the 3-Bar facemask:

2-Bar:

Revolution:

And yes, I purposely posted Rice in a Raiders uniform for 2-Bar.

[powersurge]

Ahhh yes! NFL players were having problems with concussions so the best solution was to add MORE HELMET!

....I think the only guy that would have been happy with that was a certain Lord Helmet from Spaceballs (Damn! I don't have a pic of him)

You rang?

[rtrich11]

Were these masks coated iron, coated aluminum, or plastic? Always wondered.

Also, looking at the Jerry Rice photos you can see how the mask WAS really thick, due to the thicker rubber coating, then they became thinner when the coating was thinner. Or were the iron bars actually thicker back in the 70s and 80s?

[Old School Fool]

Rice's facemask when he first started playing wasn't thick, I remember seeing footage of him with that mask, and if you're wondering what kind of footage.........bloopers.

[chargersfan]

This would look good attached to a helmet:

I have to say that as much as I love LT, I really don't like his new mask.

[John in KY]

Were these masks coated iron, coated aluminum, or plastic? Always wondered.

Also, looking at the Jerry Rice photos you can see how the mask WAS really thick, due to the thicker rubber coating, then they became thinner when the coating was thinner. Or were the iron bars actually thicker back in the 70s and 80s?

Sorry; I can't see your posted photo here so I can't address that question.

However, yes the bars were thicker going back to the original metal cages in the mid/late 1950s. They didn't start to thin out until the current designs came in circa 1984/85 (it appears they were tested in 1984 and began to creep into use during 1985).

RetroDan #16 - I may have misunderstood your question yesterday - they started using plastic clips to fasten the metal facemasks in the 1960s. The old "cow-catcher masks bolted directly to the helmet (like this Namath replica):

The next generation bolted to the helmet at the top but used clips on the side (see the "butterfly" part at the top):

They moved to clips and eventually outlawed masks that bolted directly to the helmet (like the Dungards) to prevent neck injuries - the masks held in place by clips have some "give" to them before they apply force to the helmet (and therefore the head). Of course, Morten Andersen gets to wear his Dungard because of both the grandfather clause and the fact he is a non-contact player.

[John in KY]

edit: sorry, double post

[RetroDan#16]

RetroDan #16 - I may have misunderstood your question yesterday - they started using plastic clips to fasten the metal facemasks in the 1960s. The old "cow-catcher masks bolted directly to the helmet (like this Namath replica):

Hi John, you understood my question perfectly yesterday! My observation was based more on the actual moulding of the mask rather than the fastenings themsleves (although it makes no odds as the reverse fastening came in at the same time as these new masks!).

I'm still looking to see if any other teams tested the new thinner masks in 1984, but nothing yet.

[BlueSky]

RIP Max McGee, an unexpected hero if there ever was one.

To our topic though, his helmet looks too small and as if there's not a bit of padding in it!

[John in KY]

RIP Max McGee, an unexpected hero if there ever was one.

To our topic though, his helmet looks too small and as if there's not a bit of padding in it!

We've all heard the story that Max figured he wasn't going to play in Super Bowl I so he partied the night away and came out with a hangover. After his death I heard an addition to that story - he was so sure he wasn't going to play that he left his helmet in the locker room; he had to borrow a too-small helmet and just kept it on for the rest of the game.

There is no padding in a Riddell suspension helmet; they are like hard-hats on the inside (photo of a 1972 Riddell TK Dolphins helmet from HelmetHut):

[PackerBadger]

I read once that football coaches of the '60s wanted the helmets small to keep their players' hair short. Obviously this didn't last:

[Gothamite]

I have to say that as much as I love LT, I really don't like his new mask.

I'm really surprised that the League lets him get away with it.

[John in KY]

I have to say that as much as I love LT, I really don't like his new mask.

I'm really surprised that the League lets him get away with it.

I think this was a training camp photo so LT was able to wear the reflective shield; I also think he has a waiver to wear a tinted (but not reflective) shield during games due to migranes.

The facemask itself might be a prototype; I'm not sure if this squared-off version is on the Schutt website.