Spearhead Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 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 masksTexas Tech went with red facemasks (on white helmets) in 1974 as well. SMU went to red masks in 1976; Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas all went to white masks in 1977. I believe Michigan wore some blue masks around 1977 as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gothamite Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 The Packers experimented with green facemasks in 1959 and 1960 before settling on gray as the icon of the Lombardi Glory Days. The Green Bay Packers Uniform Database! Now in a handy blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raymie Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I believe the first colored AZ high school facemask is probably from 1980 or even 1977. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perfesser Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 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.According to Helmet Hut, you're correct on Studstill. Here's their post on the last players to go without a mask:Was Tommy McDonald was the last pro not to wear a face mask, or did certain kickers continue to go mask-less after he retired? (I've seen footage of others from the mid/late 60s without masks but can't pin it down to a particular year.) --The last players not to wear a facemask according to our imperfect memory were Pat Studstill and Bobby Joe Green. Studstill wore a one bar facemask as a receiver and wore a different helmet without a facemask while punting for the Rams until 1971. Green served as the Bear's punter through 1974. Tommy McDonald was the last player other than a kicker or punter to not wear a facemask What may be more impressive is that the Boston Patriot's Jesse Richardson played without a facemask until 1964 on the defensive line. Full ArticleHow about Jesse Richardson playing in the line without a mask? Sort of the anti-Swayne. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMac12 Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Can somebody have a photo of John Lynch's helmet? I though his facemask was a custom one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nash61 Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Can somebody have a photo of John Lynch's helmet? I though his facemask was a custom one. On September 20, 2012 at 0:50 AM, 'CS85 said: It's like watching the hellish undead creakily shuffling their way out of the flames of a liposuction clinic dumpster fire. On February 19, 2012 at 9:30 AM, 'pianoknight said: Story B: Red Wings go undefeated and score 100 goals in every game. They also beat a team comprised of Godzilla, the ghost of Abraham Lincoln, 2 Power Rangers and Betty White. Oh, and they played in the middle of Iraq on a military base. In the sand. With no ice. Santa gave them special sand-skates that allowed them to play in shorts and t-shirts in 115 degree weather. Jesus, Zeus and Buddha watched from the sidelines and ate cotton candy. POTD 5/24/12, POTD 2/26/17  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powersurge Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 I'm not sure if it has been discussed on here already but I've always wondered a couple of things in regards to custom facemasks:Who designs the custom facemask designs? Does the player go to the team's equipment manager and have him do it or does the manager go to the company? If he does it himself then wouldn't altering the facemask in any way potentially compromise the integrity of the mask and void any warranty or responsibility for the helmet company? I would imagine that these helmet companies spend a great deal of time and money testing their helmet/facemask designs to ensure that they are safe and minimize head injuries. I've just never gotten a straight answer on these items and I've always been curious about it. If anyone could shed any light it would be appreciated. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John in KY Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 I'm not sure if it has been discussed on here already but I've always wondered a couple of things in regards to custom facemasks:Who designs the custom facemask designs? Does the player go to the team's equipment manager and have him do it or does the manager go to the company? If he does it himself then wouldn't altering the facemask in any way potentially compromise the integrity of the mask and void any warranty or responsibility for the helmet company? I would imagine that these helmet companies spend a great deal of time and money testing their helmet/facemask designs to ensure that they are safe and minimize head injuries. I've just never gotten a straight answer on these items and I've always been curious about it. If anyone could shed any light it would be appreciated. thanksIn the old days it was usually the equipment manager pulling something together to protect an injured player. Sometimes those changes were pretty odd - I remember one of the Rams offensive linemen (maybe Jackie Slater?) wearing a "double Dunguard" mask back in the 70s. The Rams equipment manager added a double-bar Dunguard (the short mounting style like Csonka wore) to the eye area over the regular Dunguard lineman cage (like what Alan Page wore). I'll post a photo if I can find one. A lot of the other ones were just the manager welding part of one mask over the regular one.Now I think the equipment managers work with the facemask companies to put something together for a player, particularly on the new-style helmets like the Riddell Revolution, Revo Speed and the Schutt ION4D; probably the Schutt DNA as well but it seems like they already have a bunch of DNA masks that could be modded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc49erfan15 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 He has a poster of Raquel Welch covering the earhole on the inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSky Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 I'm not sure if it has been discussed on here already but I've always wondered a couple of things in regards to custom facemasks:Who designs the custom facemask designs? Does the player go to the team's equipment manager and have him do it or does the manager go to the company? If he does it himself then wouldn't altering the facemask in any way potentially compromise the integrity of the mask and void any warranty or responsibility for the helmet company? I would imagine that these helmet companies spend a great deal of time and money testing their helmet/facemask designs to ensure that they are safe and minimize head injuries. I've just never gotten a straight answer on these items and I've always been curious about it. If anyone could shed any light it would be appreciated. thanksIn the old days it was usually the equipment manager pulling something together to protect an injured player. Sometimes those changes were pretty odd - I remember one of the Rams offensive linemen (maybe Jackie Slater?) wearing a "double Dunguard" mask back in the 70s. The Rams equipment manager added a double-bar Dunguard (the short mounting style like Csonka wore) to the eye area over the regular Dunguard lineman cage (like what Alan Page wore). I'll post a photo if I can find one. A lot of the other ones were just the manager welding part of one mask over the regular one.Now I think the equipment managers work with the facemask companies to put something together for a player, particularly on the new-style helmets like the Riddell Revolution, Revo Speed and the Schutt ION4D; probably the Schutt DNA as well but it seems like they already have a bunch of DNA masks that could be modded.Good memory...I always liked Fred "The Hammer" Williamson's home-made mask: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMac12 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 He has a poster of Raquel Welch covering the earhole on the inside.Isn't the rumor true that if the designers added one more bar, the player would be blind? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PackerBadger Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 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.Charlie Smith's facemask was due to his broken jaw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayMac Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 He has a poster of Raquel Welch covering the earhole on the inside.A great reference to a great movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoHighSchoolUnisPlease777 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 What was the name of the guy that played in the secondary for the Oakland Raiders in the last 70's early 80's who wore a WHITE FACEMASK? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perfesser Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 What was the name of the guy that played in the secondary for the Oakland Raiders in the last 70's early 80's who wore a WHITE FACEMASK?That was Burgess Owens. He brought it with him from the Jets. I have no idea why they never redipped it to make it gray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoHighSchoolUnisPlease777 Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 What was the name of the guy that played in the secondary for the Oakland Raiders in the last 70's early 80's who wore a WHITE FACEMASK?That was Burgess Owens. He brought it with him from the Jets. I have no idea why they never redipped it to make it gray.Thanks, chum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jezus_Ghoti Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Photo for those (like me) who are curious what it looked like: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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