Around World War I the helmets were so flimsy that they were often mistaken for aviator caps. The Golden Age of college, pro and high school football helmets, like the ones we are offering here, always were strictly of leather construction. But the great old leather helmet was spared much of this clutter as its days faded into history before 1950.
The helmet 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 fro
m the defenders. Logos didn't come until 1948, when Fred Gehrke, a Half-back for the L.A. Rams, began painting a horn design on all of the Rams' helmets. Gehrke studied art at the University of Utah. During the 1920s and 1930s, makers began to utilize harder leathers and some fabric cushioning for greater protection. Helmets also began evolving from the flat-top shape, adopting more of the teardrop shape of the skull and allowing the impact of a blow to slide to one side rather than being absorbed head on.Because t
he flaps on the original head harnesses covered the ear completely, however, they were criticized for hindering communication on the playing field. The first helmets offering full protection of the skull and featuring holes in the earflaps were introduced between 1915 and 1917. Although the flat-top caps were still made of soft leather, they offered some suspension, rather than resting directly on the skull.The granddaddy of helmet innovation, however, came in 1939, when the John T. Riddell Company of Chicago introduced the first plastic football helmet. In addition to being stronger than leather models, the plastic helmet proved to be more durable. Riddell is credited with adding the first face mask, also plastic, in 1940 and moving the helmet strap from the Adam’s apple to the chin. Now the helmets have been modified to newer a way nicer, with more protection and better looks.
