NFL helmet face mask question

[gmu599]

http://www.pigskinbuzz.com/the-five-weirdest-helmets-ever-worn-in-the-nfl-1547

This is an awesome article about strange facemasks. Forget single-bar, how 'bout Harry Swayne?

This mask makes me wonder if maybe he had a broken jaw or something? I remember one player on the Eagles in Super Bowl XV that wore some crazy ass face mask that extended all the way to the middle of his helmet. There was also Dan Dierdorf's special Pro Bowl helmet to protect his broken jaw...

http://www.profootballhof.com/history/2011/11/17/dan-dierdorf-helmet/

[njmeadowlanders]

There's also Doug Williams after an Injury:

[Captain Apollo]

http://www.pigskinbuzz.com/the-five-weirdest-helmets-ever-worn-in-the-nfl-1547

This is an awesome article about strange facemasks. Forget single-bar, how 'bout Harry Swayne?

Holy cow, that guy has inprisoned his head!

Didn't I see him in "The Road Warrior"?

[Gothamite]

And that's why players should have zero input into uniform designs. They try too hard to look tougher, and end up looking like clowns.

[Sport]

Why?

[PurpleRush]

http://www.pigskinbuzz.com/the-five-weirdest-helmets-ever-worn-in-the-nfl-1547

This is an awesome article about strange facemasks. Forget single-bar, how 'bout Harry Swayne?

Instead of a number, he needs a license plate.

[oldschoolvikings]

And that's why players should have zero input into uniform designs. They try too hard to look tougher, and end up looking like clowns.

Amen

[winghaz]

So who was the last NFL player to not wear a facemask? Was it Larry Wilson? I remember watching him play in the '60s without a facemask.

[powersurge]

http://www.pigskinbuzz.com/the-five-weirdest-helmets-ever-worn-in-the-nfl-1547

This is an awesome article about strange facemasks. Forget single-bar, how 'bout Harry Swayne?

Instead of a number, he needs a license plate.

In all seriousness, why doesn't he just wear a helmet that goes all the way around with two holes for his eyes and a hole for his mouth to breathe?

okay, I wasn't serious but he's pretty damn close to having that anyway.

[ADW77]

Regarding why Swayne had that facemask, the answer is right in the link to the article where the image came from.

Occasionally, facial injuries force players to add extra protection to their helmets. That was the case with the Chargers? Harry Swayne in the photo above and the same thing was going on with the Eagle?s Charlie Smith and the Giants? Chris Canty below.

Here's the other two photos mentioned.

[BlueSky]

[/obligatory Saints reference]

[BBTV]

Regarding why Swayne had that facemask, the answer is right in the link to the article where the image came from.

What benefit would that provide? The extra part is just on the shell, not his face.

[milleg_2]

Justin Tuck recently went with a new crazy facemask similar to Canty's. He's been playing with a neck injury this year and has stated o-linemen would grab his old facemask to aggravate it. The new facemask makes it harder to get your fingers in there to grab, supposedly -- link

[Spearhead]

So who was the last NFL player to not wear a facemask? Was it Larry Wilson? I remember watching him play in the '60s without a facemask.

I would have said Tommy McDonald, but I recently found this photo of Pat Studstill labeled as 1967:

Did Larry "Wildcat" Wilson go without a facemask? My uncle coached him at Utah in the 1950s and he wore a mask there. I've never seen Wilson without a facemask.

[Spearhead]

I happened to run across an interview with LA and St. Louis Rams equipment manager Don Hewitt who said this about face masks:

How did you determine what type a mask a player should wear?

DH - I would hang the different style masks on the wall and the player would pick out the type of mask that he wanted to wear. I was never able to persuade Tommy McDonald to wear a mask -- all I would tell him is that "it's your teeth." Vince Feragamo wore a Dungard mask and when he left our team to play in Montreal in the CFL he called me and asked if I would send his Dungard mask to him which I was happy to do. When Joe Namath was traded to the Rams at the tail end of his career he brought the old bolt-on cage mask (from the late 1950s era) that he wore with the Jets. Most linebackers wore some type of cage face mask but I remember that our great linebacker Maxie Baughn insisted on wearing only a plastic Riddell two bar mask. I drilled face mask attachment holes for every helmet. For most of the helmets I drilled the holes in the conventional mounting position, depending on the type of the mask, as recommended by Riddell. A few players requested that I position their mask in a slightly unconventional position or angle. Roman Gabriel wore a one bar mask and he requested me to change the angle of the mask where it protected more of his nose area to where it protected more of his mouth area. Whenever I had to change the attachment position of a player's mask I would usually have to also replace the helmet with a new one because the required new drill holes combined with the existing holes would dangerously weaken the old helmet shell.

[winghaz]

I might be getting Tommy McDonald and Larry Wilson mixed up. Sorry, my bad.

But I could have sworn I saw a guy wearing No. 8 for the Cardinals not wearing a facemask in a game in the '60s. The ol' memory might not be what it used to be.

[BlueSky]

So who was the last NFL player to not wear a facemask? Was it Larry Wilson? I remember watching him play in the '60s without a facemask.

I would have said Tommy McDonald, but I recently found this photo of Pat Studstill labeled as 1967:

Did Larry "Wildcat" Wilson go without a facemask? My uncle coached him at Utah in the 1950s and he wore a mask there. I've never seen Wilson without a facemask.

But here's one from earlier where he's wearing a mask. Perhaps the one you posted was mislabeled?

Here's a twofer: fantastic Rams blue and whites and Tommy McDonald sans mask:

[Panthers]

Does anyone know what the impetus was for the switch to colored facemasks? I know San Diego, KC and Dnever were the first - in 1974. San Diego went to gold when they changed their uniforms, and Denver, KC went to white.

And, as far as I know, other than Cleveland, the Giants ('75), Atlanta ('76) (white), the Saints, Bucs ('76), Bills ('77) went to colored masks

[John in KY]

So who was the last NFL player to not wear a facemask? Was it Larry Wilson? I remember watching him play in the '60s without a facemask.

I would have said Tommy McDonald, but I recently found this photo of Pat Studstill labeled as 1967:

Did Larry "Wildcat" Wilson go without a facemask? My uncle coached him at Utah in the 1950s and he wore a mask there. I've never seen Wilson without a facemask.

But here's one from earlier where he's wearing a mask. Perhaps the one you posted was mislabeled?

Here's a twofer: fantastic Rams blue and whites and Tommy McDonald sans mask:

I think Pat Studstill might have had 2 helmets - one without a mask worn when punting and one with a mask of some kind (one bar or two bar) when playing his position.

[Gothamite]

Could be, but Presswire photos are notorious for mislabeling. I wouldn't trust any of their captions.