History of the football helmet

Professionals and amateurs alike wear protective gear to reduce the chance of injury while playing the game of American Football. The history of the football helmet is responsive to both the evolution of materials technology and rule changes in the game itself.

Origination

It's widely thought that a change in the rules of football led quickly to the need for better protective equipment. In 1888 the college football annual rules convention voted to allow tackling below the waist. Players and coaches soon viewed pads as essential for the game. However, helmets were the last thing to be accepted. They were not a mandatory piece of equipment in college ball until 1939 and they were not made mandatory in the National Football league until 1943 [Beau Riffenburgh, The official NFL Encyclopedia: The Helmet.]

As a side note "the last NFL player to play in a game without a helmet probably was end Dick Plasman of the Chicago Bears in 1940." [Beau Riffenburgh, The official NFL Encyclopedia: The Helmet.] There is a photo of him without one, taken during the 1940 championship game in which Chicago beat the Washington Redskins 73-0.

The man largely credited with inventing the first helmet was George Barclay of Lafayette College who probably developed the "head harness" in 1896. He designed a headgear which had three thick leather straps forming a close fit around his head, made by a harness maker. It became known as a head harness. It slowly began to take more of the appearance we recognize today when around 1915 more padding and flaps were added with ear holes for better on-field communication. Painted helmets have been around almost as long as helmets themselves: used to show team spirit and to help the quarterback distinguish a down field receiver from the defenders. Logos didn't come until 1948, when Fred Gehrke, a Half-back for the Los Angeles Rams, began painting a horn design on all of the Rams' helmets. Gehrke studied art at the University of Utah.

The next innovation came probably in 1917 in the form of suspension: to "cradle" the skull away from the leather shell. Straps of fabric formed a pattern inside the helmet. They absorbed and distributed the impact better, and they allowed for ventilation. It was a breakthrough. They were first known as "ZH" or Zuppke helmets named after the Illinois coach who came up with the design. Rawlings and Spalding were some of the first manufacturers.

The first person to design a bar face mask on a football helmet was Vern McMillan, the owner of a sporting goods store in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was a rubber-covered wire mask on a leather helmet. This kind was used in the mid-1930s. Here's a leather helmet with a leather covered wire mask used around the same time.

A great place to view and purchase leather helmets from this period is a web site called [http://www.pasttimesports.biz/football.html Past Time Sports]

Plastic helmets

The plastic football helmet came in 1939. It was invented and patented by John T. Riddell and his son John T. Riddell Jr., of the John T. Riddell Company in Chicago, a sporting goods provider. The single molded plastic shell was stronger, lighter, longer lasting, and didn't rot the way leather does when damp. Colors could also be baked into the plastic so the paint jobs would be longer lasting. In 1940 Riddell also developed the first chin strap to rest on the chin instead of the neck and the first plastic face mask.

There were problems however. The plastic helmets were brittle when hit head on. And the bar hole that was drilled for the face mask tended to pop loose. Because of this Riddell was in trouble and so was the plastic helmet.

The plastic helmet survived because of an intercession by one George Halas of the Chicago Bears on its behalf, and the plastic helmet was made legal in 1949, the beginning of the end for leather helmets.

Riddell's plastic helmet was a little flat on top at first but it changed to its tear-drop shape, which allowed a blow to slide to one side or the other rather than be met head-on. Its web suspension could be raised or lowered to fit the head of a player.

In 1955. G.E. Morgan a consultant to Riddell, and Paul Brown the coach of the Cleveland Browns, invented the BT-5 face mask which is the single bar design. The year after the BT-5 a single wave radio was installed in a players helmet so the coach could give the play to the quarterback over a radio frequency. It only resulted in game time interference but the experiment was ahead of its time.

1971, Morgan, now chairman of the board of Riddell got a patent for "Energy Absorbing and Sizing Means for Helmets." The result: new HA-91 and HA-92 energy-absorbing, "microfit" helmets. They had valves on their crown to allow air to be pumped into vinyl cushions that were crammed into every space inside the helmet. The player put it on and then had it pumped up to fit firmly around the player's head. Sometimes fluid was also used. An anti-freeze solvent, was used by some of the Green Bay Packers to beat the cold of Lambeau field.

Sources are unsure as to who first designed air blatters for football helmets but Dr. Richard Schneider of the University of Michigan Hospital is reported to have believed that air was the most effective way to protect against blunt force. With this theory in mind, he invented an inflatable bladder for use inside a football helmet. The Michigan Wolverines Football team used a prototype and Schutt Sports hired Schnieder and started mass producing the AirTm Helmet in the early 1970s.

Many Vet's still preferred the old web suspended Riddell TK-2 because it was generally lighter and more breathable. Interior helmet pads were then developed that were lighter didn't need to be filled with air or fluid by both the Schutt and Riddell sports companies. And because of safety they were soon preferred by all positions.

In 1976 because of concern for safety, four point chin straps were required in college ball. These kept the helmet firmly in place.

Space age rigid Polycarbonate alloy plastic helmets and vinyl coated steel alloy face masks are the norm in the 80's and 90's.

In 2002 Riddell released a new more spherical design for the helmet called the Revolution and it is currently the most widely used helmet in the National Football League The Schutt counterpart is called the DNA Pro Adult Helmet. A study released by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center shows that the Riddell revolution, and others like it, reduce the incidences of concussion by 31%. [ University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Jan. 14, 2006, Science Daily Magazine: Newer Football Helmet Design May Reduce Incidence Of Concussions In High School Players, Shows University Of Pittsburgh Study. ] Soon these helmets will be the norm.

The Future

Manufacturers and scientists are continually investigating new raw materials that will help to spread out or extend the deceleration time of impact when a helmet contacts another object. The round/teardrop configuration currently used slides off another helmet but impact is still sustained.

Scientists believe the next step is to make a one-piece helmet and shoulder pad combination which may help to protect players by distributing force through the entire upper body/torso.

Other ideas come from studying the strength of impact that leads to concussion or injury and developing gear that prevents this type of situation. A new helmet called the Riddell Revolution IQ HITS, can measure the strength of impact and is helping scientists develop new designs, and helping players find out how hard they can hit.

ee also

* Football helmet

References